The Healing Power of Music
Unleash the therapeutic potential of melodies and harmonies. Explore how music, an omnipresent force in our lives, can serve as a powerful healing tool, transforming our mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Use of music therapy to help patients cope with stress and promote healing
Andrew Rossetti, a licensed music therapist in New York, uses guitar music and visualization exercises to help calm patients undergoing medical treatments.
- The healing power of music – lauded by philosophers from Aristotle and Pythagoras to Pete Seeger – is now being validated by medical research.
Healing Power of Music
Dr. Rossetti has seen increases in acute anxiety since the onset of the pandemic, making musical interventions even more impactful
- Mount Sinai has expanded its music therapy program to include work with the medical staff, many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress from months of dealing with Covid
The invasive symptoms of PTSD can affect combat veterans and civilians alike. Early intervention is critical for managing the condition.
Removing the stigma: Misconception about how PTSD develops and its symptoms can prevent people from seeking treatment
- Psychedelic Drugs: As studies explore the therapeutic value of substances like MDMA, veterans are becoming unlikely advocates for their decriminalization
- Virtual Reality: A treatment using new technology to immerse patients in a simulation of a memory could help them overcome trauma
- Pandemic Trauma: Covid-19 has exacerbated mental health issues among medical workers, putting them at great risk of developing PTSD
- A growing body of research suggests that music played in a therapeutic setting has measurable medical benefits
- It can also help people deal with longstanding phobias
- Music has also been used successfully to support recovery after surgery
- Some hospitals have introduced prerecorded programs that patients can listen to with headphones
- Dave Bosanquet, a vascular surgeon at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, says that music helps surgical patients relax and helps surgeons focus on their task