Music Therapy Article: Music in Therapy

Music in Therapy

by Admin

Music can be used in a wide range of treatment programs for an equally wide range of ages. Music activities such as singing, playing musical instruments, dancing and creative movement accommodate and fulfill the needs of people with different therapeutic needs.

For Mental Disorders

Music eliminates or deuces the impact of maladaptive behaviors. It can act as a supportive, activity oreinted therapy, as areeducative, insight-oreinted therapy, or as a reconstructive analytical tool. Music activities used in the treatment of clients with mental disorders are music performing, music and movement, recreational music, music and relaxation, and music with expressive arts. Such activities promote healthy behavior and foster participation, improve social interaction and awareness of others and of one’s own behaviors and control impulsive behavior.

For Mental Retardation

Mental retardation affects millions of people, both children and adults. These people are, however, educable and trainable.  The use of music helps improve their social and emotional behavior, motor skills and communication, as well as serves as an aid in teaching pre-academic and academic skills and as a leisure activity.

For Physically disabled and Cerebral Palsied

Physically disabled children often suffer from multiple impairments such as intellectual, speech or sensory – blindness or deafness.

Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive disorder of movement and posture caused be damage to the motor areas of the brain. These children have been identified according to the type of movement disorder,  characterized by shakiness of limbs, tightness of the muscles of the arms and legs, or involuntary, purposeful movements of limbs, uncoordinated movements and lack of balnce.

Physically disabled and cerbral palsied children are aided in three ways: educational, rehabilitative and developmental. Education focuses on social, emotional and physical skills development; rehabilitation on remedial therapy for physical deficits such as use of muscles for movement, posture and respiration, or in sensory perception, auditory, visual and tactile. The developmental goals focus on enhancing the normal growth and development of a child.