Music therapy first involved the patient choosing the style of music her or she wanted to hear, after which Gallagher herself (or a music therapy intern under her guidance) played appropriate selections on keyboards. The therapy averaged approximately 25 minutes, during which patient family members were also present about a third of the time.
Physical and psychological tests were conducted both before music therapy and after an initial therapy session. The results indicated that in addition to marked benefits in patient anxiety, mood, pain and shortness of breath, more than 80 percent of the patients said their mood had improved following music therapy.
Movement, facial expression and verbal skills were also found to have significantly improved as well. Having had a prior musical background seemed to play no role, and, for the most part, women and men derived similar benefits from the experience.
Source-ANI
SRM