Music With Medicine, Music As Medicine: Music Therapy in the Hospital
Written by Alecia M. Meila, MM, MT-BC
When I was in graduate school, I remember talking over lunch one day with some of the undergrads, and one of them asserted that music therapy could be used to fix any problem a person might have. The student was very eager to get out into the world and save it with the power of music, and was affronted when my friend scoffed at the bold claim.
“Name one thing music therapy can’t cure,” the undergraduate said.
My friend raised an eyebrow. “Blindness.”
I don’t remember the undergraduate’s exact response, but it was something along the lines of “that doesn’t count.”
But while my friend’s remark was somewhat flippant, the exchange addressed a very important issue that some people – medical professional and laypeople alike – may wonder about music therapy. If music therapy can’t cure an illness, what is its place in a medical setting?
So, for the most part, when people think of music in a hospital, they often imagine background music playing softly in a waiting room. But music therapy is something entirely different.
What Is Music Therapy, and What Is Music Therapy’s Role in a Hospital?
Music therapy is the clinical, evidence-based use of music by a board-certified music therapist to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs. In hospitals, music therapy becomes another tool in the healthcare team's toolbox to help patients manage pain, cope with difficult treatments, reduce anxiety, and improve overall quality of life.
More Than a Distraction
Music therapy is sometimes (often?) misunderstood as simply providing entertainment or helping pass the time. But while enjoyable experiences certainly matter, music therapy interventions are designed specifically to influence the brain, the body, and the mind.
Research has shown that music therapy can help:
Reduce pain perception
Lower anxiety and stress before, during, and after medical procedures
Promote relaxation and improve sleep
Support emotional expression during difficult diagnoses
Reduce feelings of isolation during hospitalization
Improve coping skills for patients and families
Enhance overall quality of life
And the impact can be immediate. During my time working at an acute care hospital, I co-treated with a physical therapist with teenagers who had undergone scoliosis surgery. These teens had to get up and walk the next day after surgery, which involved transitioning from sitting to standing (the bed sat them up), transition from standing to walking, walking up and down the hallway, and then transitioning from standing to sitting again. I usually only saw these teens once, during their “first walk.” But the physical therapist started requesting me when I was working on a different unit or during my days off, because she reported that the patients walked further, faster, with a steadier gait, and with less reported pain than when she was with them alone.
How Does Music Therapy Do All These Things?
Music affects multiple regions of the brain simultaneously. It can influence heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, and stress hormone levels while also activating areas involved in emotion, memory, attention, and reward. These changes can help patients feel calmer, more comfortable, and better able to participate in their medical care.
Please note, music therapy is not a replacement for medical treatment or pain medication. Instead, it serves as a complementary intervention that can enhance comfort and support healing alongside traditional medical care.
Music Therapy in Cancer Care
September is Lymphoma and Leukemia Awareness Month , to raise awareness of these blood cancers and to promote early detection and treatment. There are treatments available for these cancers, but receiving a cancer diagnosis is still a devastating blow to a person. And the diagnosis affects much more than the body. Patients often experience anxiety, uncertainty, fatigue, pain, disrupted routines, and emotional distress throughout treatment. This doesn’t even begin to take into account the impact the diagnosis and treatments have on the family of the diagnosed person.
Music therapists work alongside physicians, nurses, child life specialists, psychologists, rehabilitation therapists, and other healthcare professionals to address these challenges.
Depending on a patient's needs, sessions may include:
Live music tailored to the patient's breathing and comfort level (Fun fact: this can have a positive impact on pain perception, and patients who receive music therapy often report using less pain medication)
Singing for emotional expression and respiratory support
Instrument play for coping, empowerment, and physical engagement
Songwriting to process difficult emotions
Guided relaxation with music
Music-assisted imagery
Legacy projects, such as recording songs or creating meaningful keepsakes with family members
Research consistently shows improvements in anxiety, mood, pain, fatigue, and overall well-being for many oncology patients receiving music therapy as part of comprehensive care.
Music Therapy for Leukemia and Lymphoma Patients
Patients receiving treatment for leukemia or lymphoma often spend extended periods in the hospital or infusion center. Chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, immunotherapy, lumbar punctures, bone marrow biopsies, and prolonged isolation can be physically and emotionally exhausting.
Music therapy can provide meaningful support throughout this journey.
For individuals with leukemia or lymphoma, music therapy may help:
Reduce anxiety before procedures and treatments
Decrease the perception of pain during medical procedures
Provide coping strategies during long infusions or hospital stays
Improve mood during extended admissions
Encourage relaxation and emotional regulation
Maintain a sense of identity and normalcy during treatment
Create opportunities for positive family interactions despite hospitalization
For pediatric patients, music therapy also transforms the hospital experience into a space where children can continue to play, create, make choices, and experience success—important developmental opportunities that illness can interrupt.
Parents often report that music therapy sessions provide moments where their child is simply able to be a child again.
While studies specifically examining leukemia and lymphoma patients are still growing, research across pediatric oncology, including children receiving treatment for leukemia and lymphoma, demonstrates improvements in distress, anxiety, quality of life, and coping during hospitalization.
Supporting the Whole Family
Medical diagnoses, treatments, and hospitalizations affect entire families, not just the patients.
Partners (or parents) may experience fear, exhaustion, and caregiver stress. Siblings often struggle with changes in routine, uncertainty, and the stress of parents or caregivers who may be distracted and needing support themselves (read: the sibling sees what’s going on and diminishes their own needs so as to not “be a bother,” or they may step into a caregiver role themselves in one of myriad ways). Music therapy can create opportunities for families to reconnect through shared musical experiences, helping strengthen communication and create meaningful moments even during difficult circumstances. A music therapy session may provide the family with a safe and protected time to focus on being a family, without the layered complexity illness adds to the dynamic.
Whether it's writing a song together, singing a favorite lullaby, or making music at the bedside, these experiences can foster connection when families need it most.
How Does Music Therapy Help People Heal, Beyond Diagnosis Symptoms?
Medicine treats the disease.
Music therapy helps care for the person experiencing it.
By addressing emotional well-being alongside physical health, music therapy helps patients feel seen, heard, and supported throughout their healthcare journey. Whether someone is preparing for a procedure, coping with a new diagnosis, recovering after treatment, dealing with pain, or receiving palliative care, music can become a powerful therapeutic partner in healing.
As hospitals continue embracing whole-person care, music therapy remains an evidence-based, compassionate intervention that supports both patients and the families who walk beside them.
If you have any additional questions about how music therapy can be used to support patients with medical needs, please give us a call at 862-217-6042, email us at info@riverstonetherapies.com , or send us a message.
References
Cole, D. M., Beane, K., Engel, M., Shaffer, M., & Tartabini, S. (2024). The Effect of Music Therapy as an Adjunctive Treatment in Pediatric Cancer Patients Receiving Traditional Therapies: A Systematic Review. Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, 15(4), 265–276.
Facchini, M., & Ruini, C. (2021). The role of music therapy in the treatment of children with cancer: A systematic review of literature. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 42, 101289.
Gómez-Romero, M., et al. (2021). Music-Based Interventions in Paediatric and Adolescents Oncology Patients: A Systematic Review. Children, 8(2), 73.
Bradt, J., Dileo, C., Myers-Coffman, K., & Biondo, J. (2021). Can music interventions benefit people with cancer? Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Nguyen, T., et al. (2022). Music Therapy as a Form of Nonpharmacologic Pain Modulation in Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Current Literature. Cancers, 14(18), 4434.
