February 09, 2009
Music to my mind:
I've just realised that a new series of ABC Radio National's excellent All in the Mind just kicked off the other week with a fantastic programme on the therapeutic potential of music.
The programme is both wonderful to listen to because music is threaded woven throughout the interviews, but it's also a critical and well-balanced look at music therapy.
It immediately tackles the fallacy of 'Mozart makes you smarter' but then goes on to discuss the evidence behind music therapy itself.
This form of treatment is usually regarded with a great deal of enthusiasm by staff and patients but doesn't have a huge research base to back it up in comparison to other forms of psychological treatment, largely, it has to be said, because music therapists get very little in the way of research training.
However, the studies that have been done (for example, see this Cochrane review on its effect in schizophrenia) suggest it can be quite effective.
The programme is a really great introduction to the topic and great to see AITM back with a new series.
Link to AITM on 'Music: Is it really therapeutic?'.
