“Music is not a replacement for other treatments, but a way of enhancing aspects of healings,” said Ani Patel (Novotney Web). Music cannot replace all the different types of therapies, but it helps in more ways than one. Music is one of the best therapies for mental disorders. What is Music Therapy? “Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program” (Membership in AMTA Web).
“Mental Health disorders in children and adolescents are caused by biology, environment, or a mix of both. Many factors in a young person’s environment can affect his or her mental health, such as exposure to violence, extreme stress, and loss of an important. Anxiety disorders are the most common of childhood disorders. It affects an estimated 8 to 10 of every 100 children and adolescents “(Bellenir n. pag.).
Anxiety is channeled into thoughts or actions that are repeated over & over when the person is reminded of a certain event it brings back the feelings that they felt. "The root of an anxiety disorder may not be the threat that triggers it, but a breakdown in the mechanism that keeps the anxiety response from careering out of control” (Gorman Web).
“Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a pattern of excessive unrealistic worry not attributable to any recent experience. Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder is like being trapped in a pattern of repeated thoughts and behaviors such as counting or handwashing” (Bellenir n. pag).
“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involves unwanted and disturbing thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) that intrude into a child/teen's mind and cause a great deal of anxiety or discomfort, which the child/teen then tries to reduce by engaging in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). Anxiety disorder requires treatment, simply trying to talk oneself one of anxiety is futile as trying to talk oneself about a heart problem” (AnxietyBC Web).
“People suffering from a bipolar disorder goes to the extremes. When he is high, he is energetic, sometimes aggressive His thoughts are mixed up racing at high speeds. Only focusing on one thought, not bothering to consider anything else” (Bellenir n. pag). People with this disorder are terrified of being hospitalized. The fear and terror that they feel might lead them to commit suicide. Lithium is a common drug used to help with these episodes of terror, it helps their moods stabilize. Most likely, the person is also feeling anxious about trouble sleeping because their thoughts keep them pondering in their heads. They have trouble focusing on one particular object or reason and not lashing out at loved ones. They tend to lay in bed not getting out, not remembering important parts of their lives and they may also lose their appetites.
“ Dementia is a disease of the brain that cannot be altered with medication. Some symptoms of Dementia is combativeness and aggression” (Bellenir Web). Most of the symptoms caused by this disease can be handled with medication. The parts of the brain damaged cannot be regenerated and as it gets worse, more of the brain is destroyed. The person’s entire mood and personality can be changed, they may become depressed or lash out it anger for losing the ability to do some things.
“Bipolar Disorder starts before the age of 35. It really is rare in children but can appear in both children and teenagers. The symptoms of Bipolar Disorder are changed in the mood, unrealistic highs in self-esteem, their energy levels will increase, as will their levels of talking” (Bellenir n.pag). One day they can be friendly like the nicest person in the world, the next it's like a bomb set them off and they treat some like they kicked their dog. The smallest reasons can set them off, from borrowing a pencil and not returning it or something major.
The recommended treatment for Bipolar Disorder is psychotherapy, It often helps build the person self – esteem and courage to be around other people. It would be helpful if the entire family is educated about the illness. It will be the parent’s role in the treatment to make sure the entire family is involved. That way it will help with how severe the episodes are, and how often they happen. A lot of the person’s environment affects their mental health, whether it be exposure to violence, extreme stress, or the loss of something important to the person.
The whole reason for a therapist to diagnose his client is to determine what he is treating. There are dangers of seeing the client as a “disorder” instead of a person. Therapists have been known to tailor a diagnosis so that the young person does not have to be cripple by a heavy diagnosis. Outpatient therapy nowadays the sessions cost from $60 to $120 an hour. If they have insurance they might get a reimburse. A Psychologist is someone with a degree in Clinical Psychology or Counseling” (Simpson Web).
“Since the rhythmic pulses of music can drive and stabilize this disorientation,” said Lee Bartel (Noventary Web). “Active music engagement allowed the patients to reconnect with the healthy parts of themselves, even in the face of a debilitating condition. Music therapy can involve playing music, singing, creating music, moving to music, listening to music, or teaching a person to play music. Music is used to help people recover when they have lost speech ability because of a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Ancient Greek Philosopher, Plato said “Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. There is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form” (Chadwick Web). Plato considered that music played in different modes would arise different emotions.
History of the relation between music and the mind is skewed to the effects on one function of the mind. Human Nervous system processes music in different ways, perceptual processing, emotional processing, automatic processing, cognitive processing, and behavioral or motor processing. Music stimulates skin receptors by changing local pressure it is primarily made of sound waves. Human primary acoustic circuit involves auditory nerve, brainstem, a medial geniculate body of the thalamus and the auditory cortex. Music signals are perceived through sharing of hair cells within the cochlea. Cochlear filters these sounds and the outputs are ordered tonotopically. The auditory brainstem processes the neural signals from cochlear and sends them to the send them to the thalamus, which projects them into the auditory cortex. The primary auditory cortex is located on the transverse gyri of Heschl in the lateral fissure. Cingulate gyrus and medial orbitofrontal cortex are involved in the processing of emotional behaviors. Structures are found to have auditory projections these are proposed to be involved in emotional processing of music” (Novotney Web).
Studies have shown that music therapy can be helpful to lots of different mental health issues. They are wonderful for helping people process their emotions, trauma or grief. There are used as a calming agent for anxiety and depression. One of the many ways that music therapy is used is active music listening, Because of the beat of a certain song. They often listen to certain genres of music that goes along with their mood. For example, When someone is angry they tend to listen to loud fast beat music to go along with their heartbeats. A music therapy can slowly change the speed of the song to help calm down the person.
Different studies done by different people have found out that when people who are in pain, they would rather listen to music then be given pain medication. Music tends to distract people from the pain and takes their minds somewhere else. The music is good at motivating people in physical rehabilitation, similar to when someone goes for a run and a certain song comes on motivating them to go the extra mile.
Music is known to help people fall asleep. It helps people with insomnia by calming their heart rates and luring them to sleep. It can also be used in cases of dementia. It can stir up both emotions and memories. A recent study has found that music can help lower the stress levels of pediatric emergency room patients. “Ages 3 -11, University of Alberta researchers found that patients who listened to relaxing music while getting an IV inserted reported significantly less pain. Researchers at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore found that patients in palliative care who took part in live music therapy sessions reported relief persistent pain” (Novotney Web).
“Brain activity is present predominantly in the frontal lobes of pleasant music and in the temporal lobes of unpleasant music. Tones and sounds occur either in a single line or multiple lines and the feeling of movement of sounds in time are essential elements of music” (Nizamie and Tikka Web). Music is found to help people relax, lower blood pressure, and heartbeat. Soft, slow, classical music helps lower blood pressure, heart rate, slows breathing and oxygen intake. Music with a faster beat tends to increase the speed of the heart and breathing. Music helps people express the feelings they are not able to express otherwise.
Music helps with the symptoms of autism; patients who have difficulties communicating and interacting socially should follow music therapy. A lot of the people with autism are interested in singing or playing an instrument, it helps the increased focus, attention, and helps improve communication skills and social behavior. It helps alleviate anxiety. Listening to music will also help with fetal development; it causes the child to be more responsive to music after birth. It’s quite known to help them gain weight, eat, and reach a deeper sleep. Lullabies and classical music help decrease the stress level of the parent when caring for a premature baby.
“Some experts claim that music isn’t the best therapy for dementia patients. Although it helps them unwind and reduce stress, it can also cause harm. Listening to melodies can create false memories, distress, and confusion to those whose memories are already altered” (Hunger Mountain Boys Web).
Music is second only to smell with its ability to trigger memories and emotions. Clinically, there are certain situations where this can be incredibly powerful, with cases of dementia a well – known song creates moments of lucidity. But it can also be unwanted and unwelcome. Music has the ability to trigger powerful emotions, often in tune with a memory, but sometimes not. Music is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Not everyone likes music. And very few people like every type of music. In fact, most people I have talked with have certain genres, songs, or artists on their personal "no listen to" list. Hearing that song, artist, or genre—even in an open public space—can induce negative responses physiologically and/or emotionally.
“In a clinical setting, music therapists are trained to be aware of responses that may indicate heightened anxiety, even in clients who are unable to speak for themselves. For example, consider a community of individuals living with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Although music can be a powerful elicitor of memories for them, the "wrong" music can have a different effect, causing anxiety and distress in one individual that could easily spread throughout the group” (Moore Web). Like what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The same can be said about music. It has an incredible power over their minds, bodies, and emotions. At the same time, they need to be aware that this power does not always work in their favor
Music has nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities. There many types of mental disorders, ways of treatments for the disorders, and people have learned that the body reacts to different kinds of music differently. One of the best therapies for mental conditions is listening to music.