Molly Vickers
After research, I realized that my question cannot be answered. Music therapy reaches such a wide variety of patients that I figured I could easily find who benefits "most" from it. I assumed a little bit of research would tell me, for example, that leukemia patients benefit most from music therapy because the soothing music allows them to relax before chemotherapy. Although this may be true, music therapy has many benefits and one is not necessarily better than the others
I read a story in CNN health about a music therapist at Boston Children's Hospital who treated a four-year-old oncology patient. The patient began music therapy because she was nervous about an upcoming x-ray. The music therapist played the guitar while she walked all the way down the hall, rode in the elevator, and all the way through the procedure. The therapist said "I'm not completely sure that she realized when it was happening...because before you knew it, we were back in the elevator, back in the room, and the music just continued straight through."
It is evident that music therapy works. However, oncology patients are not the only ones who benefit. It can help all hospitalized patients express their thoughts and feelings related to the illness, facilitate positive self-esteem, and promote a sense of independence for ALL patients, from young children to the elderly. Music therapy in the past has helped patients with schizophrenia, autism, cerebral palsy...the list goes on.
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/health/music-therapy/
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