Page 54 - The Visual Suite Vol2.6

The Visual Suite
54
SOUND EVIDENCE
A SOUND FOUNDATION
From its humble beginnings of assisting in the recovery of wounded soldiers in World Wars I & II, music therapy’s earliest mention comes from
an unsigned, American article in Columbia Magazine in 1789, but
it’s roots have been said to
stretch as far back Ancient
Greece according to
Ayushveda, an online blog
network. The profession
since then has grown
modestly since 1950 with the
birth of the National
Association of Music Therapy
(NAMT). But in 1971, the American Association of Music Therapy was founded, introducing alternative perspectives on the certification
and training of music therapists
than that of its predecessor and
sister organization the NAMT. Together in 1998, both organizations unified to create the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) making it the axial authority on all things regarding the practice. Internationally, the World Federation of Music Therapy or (WFMT) is a global, non-profit organization seeking to advocate and promote music therapy practices around the world making the sound of healing world-renowned.
This new form of therapy often used in hospitals, hospices and many other rehabilitative institutions soon spread to become an applied science, but failing to become a primary means of clinical medicine due to the lack of “consistent” results making it untrustworthy and a supplementary form of medicine. Regardless of its status in contemporary medicine, music therapy has been most
effective in its endeavors of pain control, comfort and relaxation in both terminally ill patients and those who suffer from autism and cancer. Biologically, a study conducted by Barry B. Bittman MD, CEO and medical director of Meadville Wellness Center in Meadville, PA concluded that group drumming (a type of music therapy) significantly increased the body’s production of “killer” T-cells and lymphokine cells to patients who elected to receive this alternative means of
medication.
Furthermore, Clarissa
Karlsson, a board-certified music therapist in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Children’s National Medical Center
in Washington D.C points out that advancements in music therapy theory have gained national attention via
medical journals and practitioners of the profession alike through the studies of Dr . Michael Thaut, PhD . With his definition of neurologic music therapy and applicable techniques, scientists have been able to verify the effects “music medicine” has on the brain and define a medical triumph which was previously ambiguous to a skeptical medical community. Vast improvements in deficiencies including speech, motor and cognitive processes have been studied and reported to further emphasize the contributions music therapy has provided to the healthcare industry. Board-certified music
therapist Nicole Bowen offers a more in-depth