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Treatment of bereavement through music therapy


Treatment of Bereavement Through Music Therapy: Bereavement, as defined by Webster, is the state of being bereaved or deprived of something or someone. The DSM-IV TR lists Bereavement as a mental health diagnosis when the focus of clinical attention is related to the loss of a loved one and when symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder are present for up to two months. A number of treatments for Bereavement have been used and evaluated, but music therapy models have been found to be the most successful in treating grief and bereavement (Rosner,Kruse & Hagl, 2010).

Music therapy practice is working together with clients, through music, to promote healthy change (Bruscia, 1998; Abrams, 2010). The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) has defined the practice of music therapy as "a behavioral science concerned with changing unhealthy behaviors and replacing them with more adaptive ones through the use of musical stimuli" (Davis, Gfeller & Thaut, 2008).

The use of music to soothe grief has been used since the time of David and King Saul. In I Samuel, David plays the Lyre in order to make King Saul feel relieved and better. It has since been used all over the world for treatment of various issues, though the first recorded use of official "music therapy" was in 1789 - an article titled "Music Physically Considered" by an unknown author was found in Columbian Magazine. The creation and expansion of music therapy as a treatment modality thrived in the early to mid 1900's and while a number of organizations were created, none survived for long. It wasn't until 1950 that the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) was founded in New York that clinical training and certification requirements were created. In 1971, the American Association for Music Therapy (AAMT) was created, though at that time called the Urban Federation of Music Therapists. The The Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) was created in 1983 which strengthened the practice of music therapy and the trust that it was given. In 1998, the American Music Therapy Association was formed out of a merger between NAMT and AAMT and is now the single largest music therapy organization in the world (American music therapy, 1998–2011). More about the history along with general information and application of music therapy can be found on the American Music Therapy Association website.

Though music therapy practice employs a large number of intervention techniques, some of the most commonly used interventions include improvisation, therapeutic singing, therapeutic instrumental music playing (TIMP), music-facilitated reminiscence and life review, songwriting, music-facilitated relaxation, and lyric analysis. While there has been no conclusive research done on the comparison of interventions (Jones, 2005; Silverman, 2008; Silverman & Marcionetti, 2004), the use of particular interventions is individualized to each client based upon thorough assessment of needs, and the effectiveness of treatment may not rely on the type of intervention (Silverman, 2009).


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