Music therapy quells pain in people with cancer

Another great article exploring the benefits of music therapy.  Enjoy!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/08/10/music-therapy-cancer.html

OU School of Music offers unique music therapy program

Happy to report that we have resolved our website issue and are resuming our regular blogs.  Someone sent this article to me to share – a basic, good overview on what music therapy is.  Enjoy:

http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-34155-ou-school-of-music-offers-unique-music-therapy-program.html

Facing Rehab: Exhaustion, Exhilaration and Love

Based on his own recovery, Bob Woodruff charts Gabrielle Giffords’ possible milestones in this ABC news clip.  Treatment plan includes music therapy!

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/facing-rehab-exhaustion-exhilaration-love-gabrielle-giffords-mark-kelly-bob-woodruff-health-12734567?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=1363340&page=1

Music rewards brain like sex or drugs

So this is why we all love music so much!  Research studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada find connection between dopamine levels and music.  Check it out: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/10/science-music-brain-dopamine.html

Ventilator patients helped by music, says study

Thanks to speech therapist Neysa Hansen for bringing this BBC News article to my attention, about a research study highlighting the benefits of music for patients on a ventilator.  Read this article for yourself at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11935522.  Enjoy!

CBC North By Northwest Interview

I wanted to share with you an interview that CBC’s North By Northwest did with one of my best friends and fellow music therapist Brooke Angus.  Brooke speaks about the power of music therapy in her work at BC Children’s Hospital and in palliative care at Lions Gate Hospital, in promotion for the Music Therapy Ride fundraiser happening on the lower mainland next week.

Listen to Brooke’s interview here: http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/bcnxnw_20100829_37420.mp3
She is on approximately a third of the way through the program.

Jan’s Story: A Love Lost to Alzheimer’s

This story is so heartbreaking, and the statistics of dementia diagnosis to come, scary.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6601253n

Scientists Release Songs Made by the Sun

Found this very interesting article in Time magazine that I thought I would share… it would seem that music is not only an earthly experience!

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998366,00.html

Music Therapy In the News

A study conducted by Neuropsychologia on the benefits of music therapy in dementia care was mentioned briefly on Global BC news hour last night.  There are a few steps in getting to the video, but worth celebrating none the less.

To get started follow this link: http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html.
Once you’re there click “News Hour” on the left side panel
From there click on the video “News Hour Full Newscast Thu, May 13″
Scroll the video along to 29:00

For more information about the study visit: www.neuropsychologia.com.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

I just recently finished reading Mitch Albom’s, The Five People You Meet In Heaven with my book club and wanted to share it with you as a resource.  It is a fiction novel, where the main character dies and meets five people in heaven who changed the path of his life in some way, giving him an entirely different perspective on what his life was.  I loved this book personally and professionally, felt it was an easy read, and definitely an interesting book for anyone working in palliative care or exploring existential issues about what happens after death.  This was a perspective on death I’ve never heard of before, or even thought of myself.

To learn more about The Five People You Meet In Heaven or Mitch Albom, you can visit his website at http://mitchalbom.com/books/node/3874, search Amazon, or find it in your local bookstore.