Music Therapy - For Kids in Need

When we think of music in our culture, we usually think of it as entertainment, or perhaps as an artistic activity that stimulates both our children and ourselves. Music has another important function which is becoming widely known: music therapy.

As stated on the American Music Therapy Association website, “Music therapy is the prescribed use of music by a qualified person to effect positive changes in the psychological, physical, cognitive, or social functioning of individuals with health or educational problems.”

What exactly does a music therapist do? Says Professor Susan Gardstrom, director of the music therapy program at the University of Dayton, “We listen to music (for relaxation, for stimulation, to structure movement experiences. etc.), we create music (through the immediacy of improvisation or the more thoughtful, generative process of composition), and we sing and play music that has already been written (sing-alongs, choir chime groups, combos, etc.). Each method places a specific set of demands on the client, and each has unique benefits in stimulating development. For example, a child with a speech disorder would benefit more from singing than listening. A child with a physical disability may need to play instruments that require coordination and endurance in the affected area. A child with cancer may need to improvise on instruments or create a song in order to express feelings. It’s an individualized process.”

“Music therapists work with people of all ages, including neonates, young children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly,” says Gardstrom. “Settings include hospitals, schools, residential treatment facilities, psychiatric clinics, prisons, nursing care facilities, rehabilitation clinics, and community-based programs, to name a few.”

To prepare for this profession, music therapy students at UD pursue a four-year course of study as music majors who follow a curriculum designed to help them prepare for work with incredibly diverse populations, with whom they get practical experience in the field at local hospitals and schools. Upon graduation, they enter into an internship (over 1,000 hours) after which they take examinations to become board-certified. Programs offering advanced degrees in music therapy are also offered.

For many children, music therapists present activities that are used to strengthen nonmusical abilities that are important for daily life such as communication skills and physical coordination. They are often hired in schools to provide services listed on the Individualized Education Plan for mainstreamed special learners. Music therapists also work in private practice.

One of the biggest misconceptions about music therapy is that the client or patient has to have some particular music ability or talent in order to benefit from the activities. Professor Gardstrom recognizes “the musical child inside all of us that strives for expression,” and a good music therapist can bring that to the surface even if music has not been an active part of a client’s life.

Some of the most exciting music therapy work is being done in neonatal wards at hospitals, where it has been proven that its use has resulted in very positive outcomes for the babies, such as increased weight gain and other physiological factors. Says Gardstrom, “It also offers an opportunity for parents of premature infants to nurture their babies at a stage where traditional activities such as holding and breastfeeding are not yet possible.”