Music Therapy Makes a Difference
According to the American Music Therapy Association, 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.”
In other words, music therapy is an established health profession that uses music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals within a therapeutic relationship.
Music therapy may include creating music, singing, dancing or moving to music or simply listening to music.
The credentialed music therapists who work at Spring Gardens Recovery in Florida help recovering addicts discover new strength. In the therapeutic setting, music can also be helpful in establishing avenues for communication for those who find it difficult to express themselves in words.
As the AMTA explains, the effectiveness of music therapy has been demonstrated through research. In fact, research has shown music therapy can be effective in a number of areas, including physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing people’s motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings.
At Spring Gardens Recovery in Florida, you will find skilled music therapists who work with an interdisciplinary team to assess emotional well-being, physical health, social ability, communication abilities, and cognitive skills. Within the professional therapeutic setting involving alcohol or drug detox in Florida, music therapy is an efficacious and valid treatment option for clients experiencing pain, withdrawal, or mental health issues.
Like the AMTA, Spring Gardens Recovery in Florida supports music for all and applauds the efforts of individuals who share their music-making and time. Listening to music that moves you isn’t the same thing as music therapy, though. As the AMTA explains “Clinical music therapy is the only professional, research-based discipline that actively applies supportive science to the creative, emotional, and energizing experiences of music for health treatment and educational goals.”
You may be interested to know the following facts about music therapy and the credentialed music therapists who practice it:
- Music therapists – like those who facilitate drug detox in Florida at Spring Gardens – must have a bachelor’s degree or higher in music therapy from one of AMTA’s 72 approved colleges and universities, including 1200 hours of clinical training.
- Music therapists must hold the MT-BC credential, issued through the Certification Board for Music Therapists, which protects the public by ensuring competent practice and requiring continuing education. Some states also require licensure for board-certified music therapists.
- Music Therapy is an evidence-based health profession with a strong research foundation.
- Music Therapy degrees require knowledge in psychology, medicine, and music.
We are not alone in believing in the power of music to heal. Here are some words about music therapy provided by the AMTA from others who have seen the light:
Jodi Picoult (Author of the bestselling book Sing You Home):
“Music therapy, to me, is music performance without the ego. It’s not about entertainment as much as its about empathizing. If you can use music to slip past the pain and gather insight into the workings of someone else’s mind, you can begin to fix a problem. ”
Michael Greene, President & CEO of NARAS – 1997 Grammy Awards:
“When we look at the body of evidence that the arts contribute to our society, it’s absolutely astounding. Music Therapists are breaking down the walls of silence and affliction of autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.”
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.):
“Simply put, music can heal people.”
Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead):
‘”(Rhythm) is there in the cycles of the seasons, in the migrations of the birds and animals, in the fruiting and withering of plants, and in the birth, maturation and death of ourselves,” Hart told a Senate panel studying music therapy.’
– REUTERS, Aug. 1, 1991.
Dr. Oliver Sacks (“Awakenings”):
“Dr. Sacks reports that patients with neurological disorders who cannot talk or move are often able to sing, and sometimes even dance, to music. Its advocates say music therapy also can help ease the trauma of grieving, lessen depression and provide an outlet for people who are otherwise withdrawn.”
– ST. Louis Post Dispatch.
Barbara Crowe (past president of the National Association for Music Therapy):
“(Music therapy) can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and comfort — between demoralization and dignity.”
Mathew Lee (Acting Director, Rusk Institute, New York):
“Music therapy has been an invaluable tool with many of our rehabilitation patients. There is no question that the relationship of music and medicine will blossom because of the advent of previously unavailable techniques that can now show the effects of music.”
About the Author
Kelly Fitzgerald is a sober writer based in Southwest Florida who is best known for her personal blog The Adventures of a Sober Señorita. Her work has been published across the web including sites like The Huffington Post, Thought Catalog, Ravishly, SheKnows, Elite Daily, The Fix, Brit + Co, Addiction Unscripted and AfterPartyMagazine. She is currently writing a memoir.