Music therapy is an activity that anyone can participate in. People of all ages enjoy and can benefit from music therapy. Even people with hearing impairments can enjoy music therapy because they can feel the vibrations of the instruments and play the instruments. Benefits of music therapy include: increasing self-awareness, improving reality testing and problem-solving skills, develop healthy verbal and non-verbal communication skills, learn relaxation and coping skills, exploring feelings and making positive changes in mood states, helping a child manage pain and stressful situations, and because the brain processes music in both hemispheres, music can stimulate cognitive functioning and may be used for remediation of some speech/language skills.
Music therapy sessions can be one-on-one with a therapist and a client or they can be in a small group with one therapist and multiple clients that are there for similar reasons. One-on-one sessions might consist of a therapist playing and singing at a patient's bedside or the patient participating in a more active way. Group session might involve every participant playing an instrument and/or singing with the therapist. Sessions will be different for each client based on their personal goals.
To participate in music therapy you first need a certified music therapist. These can be found online at websites like http://musictherapywisconsin.org/. The music therapist will use various instruments to facilitate the therapy session. Music therapy is facilitated by one therapist who is in control of the session. The therapist may take suggestions from participants, but the therapist is the leader the entire time. I found music therapy at http://www.musictherapy.org/. People looking for more information on music therapy should look at this website or the previously mentioned Wisconsin website. Here's a good example of music therapy in use in a hospital http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYLlfUTxOOk.
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