Music Therapy To Palliative Care Patients: Article Analysis

Following the developing of social sciences, everybody has started to get concerned about the issue if music is good for healthy body and mental recently. This phenomenon makes the music therapy becomes popular. Music therapy is defined as “ the therapeutic use of music as to reduce anxiety, improve cognitive functioning, promote physical rehabilitation, or enhance interpersonal communication that typically involves listening to music, singing, playing musical instruments, or composing music “ in the Merriam-Webster.com. In other words, through the activity of music people can improve physical or psychological disease that achieves cure and health.

“The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as ‘an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals’” (Barnett & Shale, 2013, p.48). Music Therapy (MT) is shown to be able to help people with many different kinds of mental health problems such as anxiety, stress, and minor cases of depression. There have been many studies done showing that MT is an effective form of therapy that can improve someone’s overall Quality Of Life (QOL). MT is known as an alternative technique therapy. It is often used instead of, or along with, medication to produce a result in the patience who need it. MT involves all aspects of the music process, including listening to, writing, singing, and analyzing music. Overall MT addresses physical and emotional problems and is used to enhance the life and health of the patient. This review is simply to inform readers of the effects music and MT has on mental health, specifically:

Reducing pain among terminally ill persons is a nursing phenomenon of great importance. In this evidence based paper, terminally ill refers to patients with cancer that have six months or less to live and patients that are in hospice or undergoing palliative care. Pain, weakness, decreased intake of food and fluid, and altered breathing patterns are some physical symptoms often experienced by the terminally ill (Leow, Drury & Poon, 2010). Treating pain in the terminally ill is very important and challenging for nurses. Therefore, it is important for nurses to use both pharmacologic and nonpharmacological methods to reduce patient pain. Music therapy is one specific non pharmacological intervention nurses can use to manage pain in the terminally ill. The purpose of this paper is to write an empirically based literature review related to the effects music therapy has on reducing pain in the terminally ill.

This article focuses on hospice patients. Hospice provides music therapy to patients and they often prefer it over other therapy’s. “Patients expect multiple benefits from music therapy, including emotional and spiritual support, support coping with pain, and an opportunity to express feelings. (Burns, 225) Study approved by Purdue University focused on patients physical, emotional and spiritual comfort in their last days. Also keeping in mind length of stay gender, marital status, home care and visitors. These could all effect the mood rather than just the music therapy. “Anxiety and pain are common reasons for referral to music therapy; however, research supporting the use of music therapy to decrease anxiety and pain is equivocal.” (Burns, 229) In conclusion, family’s did not notice a change in pain or anxiety and through research there was no significant change within the hospice

When diagnosed with cancer, a multitude of emotional side effects are almost guaranteed to follow. According to the American Cancer Society, some of those side effects affecting both the patient and his or her family include distress, anxiety, fear, and depression, coping with the sickness or loss of a loved one, and a worsening attitude towards cancer itself (American Cancer Society, 2016). As cancer moves to its advanced stages, a patient will need constant care. At this point, it is up to the immediate caregiver to take a course of action. Thankfully, there are many different settings one can choose. The wisest choice would be a facility in which music therapy sessions are conducted. Often times, assisted living facilities and hospice care settings are the best places to turn because, “the chief mission of hospice care is to assist patients in living out their remaining days in as much comfort as possible and with the highest quality of life possible” (Belgrave, 61). Numerous studies have proven that music therapy helps improve quality of life among terminally ill hospice cancer patients.

Hilliard, R. E. "Music Therapy in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Review of the Empirical Data."

Music therapy is one of several approaches individuals can utilize to improve or maintain their mental condition and treat various underlying health conditions in a holistic manner. It is a modality that utilizes many allied health professions. Music therapists have found the use of music during therapy improves patients’ ability to maintain and improve their daily routines, cognitive abilities, sensory-motor skills, social skills, confidence, and overall perspective. The most important mind-set that a patient can achieve is that of confidence. When a person is under the continuous stress that comes with declining health, their confidence and self-esteem is often shattered. The patient’s negative perception of themselves can trigger numerous

Black, B. P., & Penrose-Thompson, P. (2012). Music as a therapeutic resource in end-of-life care. Journal Of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 14(2), 118-125 8p.

Amy Clements-Cortes (2016) wrote, “As with other clinical populations, music therapy techniques in palliative care may be categorized in one of four categories: receptive, creative, recreative, and combined. Receptive methods are common at end-of-life considering the patient may have decreased energy levels and involve more passive responses on the part of the client; typically involving the patient listening to music. Approaches that fit in the creative category include things such as: music and lyric composition, and other music creation on voice or instruments. Performing previously composed music either on instruments or by singing are considered recreative approaches, and combined approaches involve various fusions of music with other modalities such as movement, art or drama” (pg. 126). Receptive methods of music therapy can include listening to relaxing music, guided or unguided music imaging, song lyric discussions, using songs that mean something to the patient, or other sorts of music listening. The point of receptive music therapy is to get the patient to focus on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of the music they are listening to.

This article’s purpose was to compare the effects of Music Therapy (MT) versus Music Medicine (MM) impacts on cancer patient’s psychological outcomes and pain. Music Medicine is pre-recorded music for symptom management which is planned by a profession music medicine therapist. The therapists typically do not stay in the room while the patient listens to the music. On the other hand, Music therapy purpose is for psychotherapy use and is also trained by a professional music therapist and they interact with the patient composing or preforming live and improvised music. To study the impacts between MT and MM the researchers conducted a cross over-trail. The study included thirty-one cancer patients from August 2012 and June 2013 urban hospital

Pain, increased weakness, decreased intake of food and fluid, altered breathing patterns are some physical symptoms often experienced by the terminally ill (Kouch, 2006 as cited in Leow, Drury & Poon, 2010). Treating pain in the terminally ill is very important and challenging for nurses. Therefore, it is important to use both pharmacologic and nonpharmacological methods to reduce pain. The ability of nurses to use music therapy as a nonpharmacological method to manage pain in the terminally ill is a phenomenon of great importance to nursing. Terminally ill in this literature refers to patients with cancer that have six months or less to live and patients that are hospice or are undergoing palliative care. This literature revealed that using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), significantly less posttest pain was reported in the music versus the control group. Cancer patients that listened to soft music in addition to using analgesics experienced increased compared to those using analgesics alone (Huang, Good, & Zauszniewski, 2010). Furthermore, statistical difference was noticed between the groups for mood level and oxygen saturation during live saxophone performance (Burrai, Micheluzzi, & Bugani, 2014). In addition, this research indicated that music may have a more positive effect on females and elderly than younger and more educated males (Chan, Chung, Chung, & Lee, 2008). The

Needle pricks, medicine, exhaustion, sickness, pain, feeling different ‒ these are just a few of the things that people with mental disabilities and serious diseases have to go through on a daily basis. But what if there was a different kind of treatment that could comfort them or reduce their pain even a little bit? Fortunately, for the people facing these issues, there is. Music therapy is a relatively new approach that doctors, teachers, and many others are taking to help heal and improve the quality of life for their patients and students. It’s starting to become more common around the United States and is expected to become even more popular in the future. Books like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart support the idea of music therapy by demonstrating how music can be used to soothe and improve the moods of individuals regardless of what they may be going through. Music therapy is an effective way to speed up the healing process and improve the emotional state of a wide range of people facing different obstacles in life.

Music therapy is the prescribed use of music credited by a profession to effect positive changes of an individual’s cognitive, psychological, physical, and or health problems.1 Music therapy involves interactions between the therapist, client, and music. There are many different forms of Music therapy, such as, group music therapy, music assisted relaxation, and receptive music therapy. Through musical elements such as rhythm, melody, and harmony the therapist and client can develop a relationship that can improve the proper communication that can be helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words and or overcome negative emotions that he/she may be experiencing. The purpose of this paper is to determine if Music therapy has the ability to lower the levels of anxiety and stress in an individual.

Music therapy, a clinical use of music interventions to accomplish therapeutic goals, involves a broad range of activities including playing an instrument, singing, or listening to music. Similar to occupational and physical therapy, this expressive arts therapy remedies psychological conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or hypertension to maintain the well-being of an individual. Likewise, music has been a therapeutic tool that has shown positive effects to parts of the brain including regions involved in emotion, sensation, movement, and cognition. Although music therapy is a somewhat new-found treatment, it is used prominently today. Administered by a trained therapist, this type of therapy is used in correctional facilities, nursing homes, hospices, and special education schools.

Nowadays, in the society a lot of people get more stress from many situations and some people will have some health problems. Therefore, the music therapy will be created to diminish strain, express feeling, improve communication and treat people who have health problem. Music therapy is defined as “therapy based on engagement in musical activities: the therapeutic use of music (as to reduce anxiety, improve cognitive functioning, promote physical rehabilitation, or enhance interpersonal communication) that typically involves listening to music, singing, playing musical instruments, or composing music” in Merriam-webster.com. In the other words, it is the practice of using music or instrument helping people decrease pain, concern, stress. Moreover, music therapy can include singing, creating,