Music Therapy Commons^™

A Remotely Delivered, Personalized Music Therapy Pilot Intervention For Lonely Older Adults During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nichola R. Haddad M.D., Twisha Bhardwaj B.A., Benjamin S. Zide M.St., Hema Kher M.D., Jessica M. Lipschitz Ph.D., Maria A. Hernandez M.D., Suzanne B. Hanser Ed.D., Nancy Donovan M.D.

Faculty Works

Introduction

Methods

Editorial: Music Therapy In Geriatrics, Volume Ii, Suzanne B. Hanser, Amy Clements-Cortés, Melissa Mercadal-Brotons, Concetta Maria Tomaino

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Examining The Efficacy Of Music-Applied Therapies On The Upper Extremity Of Post-Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Haley Galvis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide, due to an interruption of blood flow to the brain, which ultimately results in necrotic cell death. This pathological cascade has ramifications in neurological motor, sensory, and behavior deficits. Recent research has used a therapeutic application of music as a vehicle to improve motor function of post-stroke patients. Music-supported therapy is a newer class of music therapy that works to improve motor function through a standardized program of keyboard and drum exercises, and it is continuing to be integrated into the field of rehabilitation.

This study aims to search areas …

Exploring How Music Therapy Can Support Transition-Aged Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: An Adapted Multiple Case Study, Hayley Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Young adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) face barriers and challenges after their transition from high school to their post-high school lives. While in high school, a student with IDD receives support and services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but once a student with IDD graduates high school, they no longer have access to the services that they were once receiving. While this phenomenon (often referred to as the “disability cliff”) has been examined, there is a lack of research surrounding the perspectives and lived experiences of young adults with IDD. Furthermore, there is very limited research …

Humor Matters: An Adapted Multiple Case Study Exploring Music Therapists’ Perspectives Of Humor With Older Adults, Caleb M. Posey

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Humor is a ubiquitous human experience and a skill retained in older adulthood. It is also an integral but elusive therapeutic tool with numerous benefits and risks to well-being. Therapeutic humor – the application of humor to client well-being – is an emerging area of study. However, scant music therapy literature on humor is available. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to explore the use and function of humor in music therapy with older adults from the perspectives of experienced music therapists. There were three research questions: (1) how do music therapists describe their use of humor with older …

Understanding The Effects Of Hormone Treatments On The Transgender Singer: A Pedagogical Study And Voice Studio Guide, Erin M. Hannon

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Transitioning from one gender to another can be an arduous and emotionally charged experience, accompanied by many physical and mental transformations. The journey of self-discovery and vocal explorations is both unique and deeply personal. Modifications that emerge in an individual's vocal characteristics have a profound influence on their capacity to communicate and express themselves.

Transgender vocal students and professional singers must navigate the delicate balance between their vocal and gender identities while considering the possible risks of Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy. Though these therapies may significantly alter one's appearance and overall well-being, they are also capable of causing notable declines …

Formative Musical Experiences Of Older Adult Sexual Minority Women From Rural Areas: An Adapted Case Study, Sabrina Hartsfield

Theses and Dissertations--Music

People often have strong emotional connections between music and memories, which can affect a person’s identity and self-concept. The deep meaning that individuals find within music that is important to them helps music therapists to make connections to clients and to work with clients to understand their experiences through the lens of music. The purpose of this project was to examine in depth the musical experiences of sexual minority women aged 65 and older from rural areas, and to see how musical experiences may have impacted their identity. In this adapted case study, I conducted in-depth one-on-one interviews and constructed …

Expert Perceptions Of Needs Of Pregnant Individuals With Substance Use Disorder In Kentucky: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study, Emma Foret Latham

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Substance misuse is a pandemic with far reaching effects on those personally affected, their families, and their communities. Kentucky has one of the highest rates of substance use disorder (SUD) in the country, and most research has focused on how to help men in recovery. There is very little research regarding how to support pregnant individuals with SUD. The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to identify the perceived needs of pregnant individuals with SUD, define characteristics of effective care, and learn how music therapists can support this population in substance use rehabilitation settings from the perspectives of experienced professionals. …

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Music Therapy Services, Joy Allen, Brian Jantz

Music and Health Research Briefs

Music therapy in neonatal intensive care is based on over 25 years of music therapy research and clinical practice as well as cumulative knowledge of premature and newborn infant development and human responsiveness to music.

Community And Cultural-Centered Music Therapy With The Boys & Girls Club: A Qualitative Case Study, Moriah Treadwell

Music Therapy Theses

COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL-CENTERED MUSIC THERAPY WITH THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

Abstract

Music therapy with The Boys & Girls Club of a rural area of middle Georgia would create a positive outlet for the youth to delve into an experience that would create worthwhile opportunities for them outside of their everyday routine, while implementing coping mechanisms, self-actualizing habits, and social benefits. With the implementation of music therapy used in The Boys & Girls Club of The Big Bend, this population would be exposed to not only a therapy that they are not accustomed to, but they …

Editorial: Perspectives On Music And Pain: From Evidence To Theory And Application, Annabel J. Cohen, Andrea Mcgraw Hunt, Eduardo A. Garza-Villarreal, Xuejing Lu

College of Performing Arts Departmental Research

No abstract provided.

Music And Academics: The Ultimate Mashup?, Emmah Keller

BUHealth

Music surrounds us. It is a significant part of our daily lives. People listen to music in a variety of settings and for multiple reasons. Students often listen to music while studying, in hopes of increasing productivity. Others listen to music as a way to relax before an exam. Yet...is there proof that music is beneficial for academic performance? Research shows that music and academics is a good mashup. Study after study reveals that music has several benefits for students. It reduces anxiety, improves focus and concentration, and enhances cognition. These all result in improved academic performance. So, students who …

The Bereaved Songwriters' Project, Laura A. Figueroa

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to evaluate bereaved individuals’ responses to a reflective songwriting program intervention (RSPI). The purposive and convenient sample included 30 bereaved adults who were members of the teaching staff at a private, Christian, K-12 school in the southeastern United States and/or past or present members of the church with which the school was affiliated. The researcher developed a simple and succinct RSPI in which study participants were prompted to create an original musical piece using personal reflections, memories, and descriptions in song form to commemorate a deceased loved one. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being …

Music As A Therapeutic Medium In Occupational Therapy: A Scoping Review, Kevin Leon, Steven M. Gerardi, Angela Blackwell

Summer 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Music has been recognized as having therapeutic properties for people with a range of conditions and is the focus of the music therapy profession. Although occupational therapy (OT) has used music as therapeutic medium, the limited literature on the use of music in OT has not been systematically reviewed, making it difficult for OT practitioners to frame the use of music in their practices. The objective of this review was to identify how OT practitioners have reported they have used music as a therapeutic medium in OT practice. This review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses …

Church Music Leaders In The Usa: Prioritizing Technical Competence And Inclusion, Heather Maclachlan

Department of Music Faculty Publications

Church music leaders in the United States pursue two priorities: technical accuracy and fluency in the music-making of their church ensembles, and, including as many volunteers as possible in those same ensembles. At times, the prioritization of technical competence and inclusion conflict, because volunteers whose playing or singing is less than competent seek to be included in church music groups. Facing this ethical dilemma, church music leaders operate ethically; that is, they employ strategies and develop policies based on their understanding of their responsibilities to other people (Warren 2014). During interviews, they verbally espouse an ethic of deontology, but in …

Why Not Be Free: The Black Worldmaking Praxis, Research Method, & Manifesto For Developing Music Interventions Against Stress In Black Youth, Armond Epps Dorsey

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Why Not Be Free? is an interdisciplinary exploration of music intervention development demonstrating the application of my integrated research and artistic practices through an outlined antiracist method for designing music to reduce stress in Black college youth and a manifesto detailing the compositional process. I draw from Black feminist and womanist thought, music cognition, and public health literature to outline a framework for designing music interventions to reduce stress among Black populations: the Music Medicine Critical Race Praxis. I situate my work among Black speculative artists reimagining experiences in everyday Black life as well as music intervention researchers integrating …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Jewish Wordless Singing In Music Therapy And Burnout Prevention With Outpatient Mental Health Clinicians, Elizabeth Zinn

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Existing literature has shown a rise in burnout levels for mental health clinicians, especially in light of the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This capstone project focused on understanding how Jewish wordless melodies (niggunim) may be used as a technique in group singing in music therapy as a strategy for preventing clinician burnout. Research has demonstrated that music therapy techniques may be beneficial in addressing the causes and components of burnout though there is minimal research on the use of niggunim in music therapy, and none on the use of niggunim to prevent burnout. A single-session niggunim-based intervention was …

Exploring The Hinterland: The Development Of A Person-Centered Music Therapy Method For A Hospice Patient With Lewy Body Dementia, Paige Chaplin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the development and implementation of a music therapy method with an individual diagnosed with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) receiving home hospice services. There is very little known about the effect of music therapy on patients diagnosed with DLB. Informed by Tom Kitwood’s Person-Centered Care (PCC) philosophy for dementia care, Yumiko Sato’s Musical Life Review (MLR) model, and Lisa Kelly and Bill Ahessy’s Reminiscence-Focused Music Therapy (RFMT) model, a clinical method was developed to explore the effects of person-centered music therapy on reminiscence, caregiver connection, and identity. I drew inspiration from music therapy concepts by Tony Wigram …

Using Vignettes To Change Music Therapists' Attitudes Toward Research, Adrienne Flight

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study used a three-condition experimental design to determine which was more effective in changing music therapists’ attitudes toward research: a vignette demonstrating positive outcomes of using research to inform clinical work (PO), a vignette showing negative outcomes of not using it to inform clinical work (NO), or a research summary (RS). The outcome measure had three subscales, focused on perceptions of usefulness, anxiety, and positive predispositions.

Respondents (N = 656) included students and professionals. Findings indicated that anxiety decreased more for the RS than the NO condition, F(2, 653) = 4.0, p = .02, η² = …

What Is Competency? Exploring Perceptions Of Functional Musicianship In Music Therapy, Catherine Befi-Hensel

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of music therapy clinicians, educators, clinical supervisors, and students in the United States regarding functional music skill competence. The study further attempted to identify potential factors that may influence perceptions of functional music skill competence, including the principal instrument, amount of clinical and supervision experience, and educational background of the rater. Data for this study were collected using an online survey that asked participants to listen to 12 musical excerpts and rate each for proficiency in overall musicality, instrumental accompaniment, vocal performance, and musical competence. Additionally, participants had the option …

How Sensory Exploration Using Expressive Arts Provides A Cohesive Experience For Children With Multiple Diagnoses, Chanelle Goguen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis looks at the potential benefits and cohesive experience of sensory exploration for children with multiple diagnoses through a trauma informed lens. The researcher was inspired by Prendiville’s (2021) idea of how interactive sensory exploration and art making can help foster and develop reciprocal communication and socio-affective relationships influenced the researcher to design a method that would be used to collect data about potential similar findings. In the method, the interaction of the sensory-specific art mediums were reflected through the expressive therapies continuum (ETC) framework. The research of this thesis acknowledges and explores how trauma and adverse childhood experiences …

Talk Box In Music Therapy With Speech And Language Impairments Resulting From Tracheostomy: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Jonathan Kang

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Tracheostomy patients struggle with one of the most significant and essential components to the human identity, that is, communication. When a person’s communication is obstructed, access to their intangible, inner world is also severed – leaving their thoughts, feelings, and memories, all of which are core to the human experience, unshared. Speech assistance for tracheostomy patients currently includes above cuff vocalization efforts using one-way speaking valves, augmentative and alternative communication methods such as speech generating devices and the electrolarynx. This thesis will introduce and discuss a musical instrument effect called the talk box as an integration of music therapy techniques …

The Breath As A Holistic Regulator: An Expressive Arts Therapy Community Project, Jacobita Munoz

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone offers the idea that evolution has challenged appropriate breathing and led humans to breathe incorrectly, thus negatively affecting their physical and mental health. As breath can damage the body, it can also serve as a regulator of the mind and body. This thesis points out the multiple effects when uniting controlled respiration, drumming and nature sounds. Breathing, music and nature have many things in common. These include repetition, pattern, awareness of the present moment and relaxation. They all contain a rhythm, and they offer self-regulatory skills. Music-based expressive arts therapies intervention is postulated to provide breathing techniques, united …

Prescribing Music To Forensic Settings: A Literature Review, Sydney A. Bouchard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Though prison is inherently musical, evidence-based forensic music therapy is rather understudied. This thesis critically reviews musical experiences in forensic environments and synthesizes its intersection with inmates' psychological distress. Additionally, the literature explores how forensic music therapy can act as a health and social resource for the incarcerated and their communities. Engaging in this work is vital because healthier correctional systems mean healthier communities (Hopwood, 2021). This review synthesizes relevant literature to inform better practices in music therapy, counseling, and healthcare and seeks to popularize discussion around an otherwise unpopular population, incarcerated folx. Emerging themes include (1) incarceration breeds negative …

Hailey's Hearing Aids, Hailey Marie Garcia

Whittier Scholars Program

Individuals from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community are likely to experience more anxiety and depression due to defective cognitive, social, communicational, and emotional skills (Azizi et al., 2019). The word “disability” is embedded with historical negative connotations with phrases such as “deaf and dumb” because if they were deaf or mute then they were automatically labeled as inferior (Horovitz, 2007). Since the 18th century, the DHH community has been seen as incapable, even inhuman, hence the development of emotional deficiencies that bleed into one’s perception of society and their self esteem (Gallaudet, 1886).

How do you navigate a hearing world …

Use Of Eeg-Based Machine Learning To Predict Music-Related Brain Activity, Charles Skutt

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Music has many awe-inspiring characteristics. Some may refer to it as a “universal language” with the ability to transcend the barriers of speech, while others may describe its ability to evoke intense emotional experiences for the listener. Regardless of the description, it is a commonly held view that music can have many profound effects. Studies of music’s effects have found these beliefs to be more than pure conjecture, finding that music interacts with and changes our brains in physical and emotional ways. Music can even have clinical applications, such as music therapy. This type of therapy has been shown to …

Use Of Eeg-Based Machine Learning To Predict Music-Related Brain Activity, Charles Skutt

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Music has many awe-inspiring characteristics. Some may refer to it as a “universal language” with the ability to transcend the barriers of speech, while others may describe its ability to evoke intense emotional experiences for the listener. Regardless of the description, it is a commonly held view that music can have many profound effects. Studies of music’s effects have found these beliefs to be more than pure conjecture, finding that music interacts with and changes our brains in physical and emotional ways. Music can even have clinical applications, such as music therapy. This type of therapy has been shown to …

How Music Therapists Experience Improvising With Nonspeaking Clients: A Thematic Analysis, Alexandra Timoshenko

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore music therapists’ subjective experience improvising with nonspeaking clients with intellectual disabilities. The research question addressed was: How do clinicians experience improvisatory music-making with clients who are nonspeaking? In music therapy, the client and the therapist both have significant roles to play within the therapeutic relationship. Three music therapists with at least five years of experience primarily using improvisation when working with nonspeaking clients with intellectual disabilities were chosen via purposeful sampling to participate in this study and were individually interviewed to discuss their subjective experiences. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews …

Music Therapists' Perspectives On The Use Of Heavy Metal Music In Music Therapy, Jessie E. Davis

Theses & Dissertations

There is little research on heavy metal music in general, and even less research on the application of this genre in music therapy. This study collected data from 201 board certified music therapists who have experience using heavy metal music in their music therapy practice. A variety of open- and closed-ended questions were answered by these participants to gather their perspectives on this topic. Analyzation of quantitative data occurred using cross-tabulation descriptive statistics through Google Forms and qualitative data were analyzed through coding and a content analysis. Quantitative data concluded that participants would like to see an increase in the …