Music therapy is currently being used in brain rehabilitation for people who have experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). This creative therapy is being clinically used to stimulate brain functions involved in cognition, emotions, speech, sensory perception and movement. Some of the interventions used by music therapists include music improvisation, music listening, song writing and lyric analysis. Research has shown that music therapy can promote the well being of clients in many areas, including stress and pain management, physical rehabilitation, memory enhancement, emotional expression, and the development of communication skills.
To provide a supportive and safe environment in which the service users can creatively express themselves in order to achieve therapeutic goals. By using various techniques, the music therapist promotes the restoration, maintenance, and improvement of the clients’ physical and mental state, thus contributing to their TBI rehabilitation / Brain rehabilitation and overall well being. The music therapist has the responsibility to develop effective therapeutic interventions based on each individual client’s needs, as well as to liaise with the staff and management, aiming towards common goals.
In recent years there has been growing literature to support the use of music therapy in addressing the many social, emotional and cognitive needs of clients with acquired brain injury. Evidence has shown that music therapy stimulates brain functions involved in movement, speech, cognition, sensory perception and emotions (Bradt et al., 2007). Knox and Jutai (1996) found that music listening activities can lead to better outcomes in TBI rehabilitation, due to the activation of specific neural pathways. They observed that music seemed to engage the most important and complex neural systems for human attention and memory, thus improving the clients’ recovery during the brain rehabilitation process. Baker, Kennelly and Tamplin (2005) observed that, through song writing, coping and adjusting to trauma was promoted within music therapy programmes by facilitating the exploration of the clients’ thoughts, feelings and reactions to their acquired injury. Additional studies refer to the benefits of music therapy strategies in the rehabilitation of speech and language disorders resulting from acquired brain injury. Tamplin and Grocke (2008) found that singing can be a motivating therapeutic medium for clients in neurorehabilitation, as these exercises may bypass the conscious thought processes involved in more cognitive, traditional interventions.
The use of music therapy in addressing the physical needs of clients who have experienced an acquired brain injury is also evident in the literature. Schneider, Schonle, Altenmuller and Munte (2007) carried out a study on the affect of a music-supported training program on stroke patients. By the end of the program patients showed significant improvement in the areas of precision, speed, and smoothness of movements. Moreover, music therapy has been successfully used in this clinical setting to assist in the rebuilding of self identity and self esteem following emotional trauma. This was evident in the study conducted by Bright and Signorelli (1999) who found that music improvisation, in individual music therapy, led to an increase of the patient’s sense of individuality and identity.
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