Music Therapy

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Music therapy with a trained music therapist is beneficial for teens. Many recent studies have shown the positive effect of music therapy on adolescents with substance abuse disorder and mental health issues. Music therapy studies conducted in hospitals in the late 20th century found that music as therapy has a positive effect on clinically relevant outcomes.

What Is Music Therapy?

Music therapy, also known as sound therapy, employs music as a therapeutic modality. The goal of music therapy is the use of musical interventions to accomplish goals within a therapeutic relationship. After an assessment, music therapy treatment can include creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Moreover, music therapy is based on psychological disciplines like psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic therapeutic approaches.

Furthermore, music therapy opens up avenues for communication that transcend the limitations of verbal expression. Consequently, this form of therapy can be particularly impactful for teens. Additionally, music therapy programs have been used to foster emotional balance, while also providing insight into feelings below the surface that need to be expressed.

The two different forms of music therapy are active and receptive. In active music therapy, the music therapist and the client create music with instruments, their voice, or other objects. Receptive music therapy or sound therapy takes place in a more relaxed setting, in which the therapist plays or makes music as the client listens.

Sources: American Music Therapy Association, US National Library of Medicine (NIH), Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry