Music Therapy Research and Practice in Medicine

In this interdisciplinary and wide-ranging volume, David Aldridge explores the power of music as a healing treatment for a broad spectrum of physical and mental conditions including AIDS, cancer, coma, senile dementia and autism. This eye-opening book is valuable reading not only for music therapists but also creative arts therapists, occupational therapists, healthcare professionals, hospice workers and any other professional or student who works with chronically ill patients or the dying. Interweaving theory and practice, Aldridge demonstrates the many ways in which a culture of research may be developed in a practice setting to the benefit of all. With case studies he illustrates the use of music therapy as an effective treatment in a range of medical settings. By providing an account of the development of a research programme, he also shows how research may be structured to describe and analyse the clinical benefits of music therapy. Music Therapy Research and Practice in Medicine is a trenchant argument for the linking of music and medicine. Human beings, Aldridge demonstrates, are not mechanical but rather 'symphonic' beings, and for this reason music can be an immensely powerful and effective factor in rehabilitation and palliative care.