What is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is a therapeutic intervention that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. It involves a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program using music to help clients achieve specific goals through the creation, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music.

How Does it Work for Medicinal Purposes?

Music therapy works by engaging the brain's neural networks that are involved in emotion, stress regulation, and sensory processing. It can alter brainwave patterns, influencing physiological systems such as heart rate and breathing, and engaging areas of the brain involved in attention, cognition, and emotion regulation. This helps alleviate symptoms in various disorders, improves social and behavioral outcomes, and enhances feelings of well-being.

What does Music Therapy help with?

Music therapy means working with a trained therapist who uses music as care. You may listen, sing, drum, write songs, or move to a beat. It is used in hospitals, cancer units, care homes and rehab wards.

The overall evidence grade on file is A. That rests on many randomised trials in people, above all for anxiety and pain. Not every use is backed that well, so each one below carries its own grade.

• Feeling anxious or stressed, including before an operation
  Strong evidence — consistent randomised trials before surgery, in cancer care, in ICUs and in mental health care. Across many trials in these settings, people reported less anxiety after music therapy. Studies also measured lower cortisol, a stress hormone, and slower heart rates. Even a single session before a stressful medical procedure made a clear difference in trials.
  Evidence grade A · Traditional tier T1
• Long-term pain
  Strong evidence — consistent studies in post-surgical, cancer and fibromyalgia patients. Patients reported lower pain scores when music therapy was part of their care. In the same studies, they needed less pain medicine. Brain research suggests music shifts how pain signals are handled, but that is lab work, not a trial.
  Evidence grade A · Traditional tier T1
• Fear and distress during cancer treatment
  Strong evidence — one of the most studied add-ons in cancer care. Studies found less anxiety during procedures and easier chemotherapy-related nausea. Mood lifted, and people reported more of a sense of control. Sessions ranged from quiet listening to singing and songwriting.
  Evidence grade A · Traditional tier T1
• Social communication for children and adults on the autism spectrum
  Strong evidence — a large body of trials in autistic children and adults. Research found gains in social communication with steady, ongoing therapy. Anxiety scores also went down in these studies. Musical play gives a low-pressure way to practise turn-taking, eye contact and shared attention.
  Evidence grade A · Traditional tier T1
• Low mood and depression
  Good evidence — clinical trials of music therapy added to standard depression treatment. Trials found that music therapy added to usual care improved low mood. Active methods were used most, such as improvising and writing songs. It was studied as an add-on, not as a stand-in for other treatment.
  Evidence grade B · Traditional tier T1
• Agitation and low quality of life in dementia
  Good evidence — clinical studies in people with dementia and their caregivers. Studies found less agitation, better mood and better quality of life for patients and caregivers. Some people also recalled more when songs were used. Music memory often survives even in advanced Alzheimer's; that comes from brain science, and therapy leans on this spared pathway.
  Evidence grade B · Traditional tier T1
• Walking and speech after a stroke, brain injury or with Parkinson's
  Good evidence — rehab research on Neurologic Music Therapy and Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation. Neurologic Music Therapy uses set rhythmic cues to retrain walking, speech and hand use. Research in rehab settings found faster gait, longer strides and smoother speech. In Parkinson's, Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation eased freezing of gait, both in sessions and with regular practice.
  Evidence grade B · Traditional tier T1
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
  Good evidence — studies in older adults and in people with chronic pain. People who listened to slow, gentle music at bedtime reported better sleep quality. They fell asleep faster and woke less during the night. The music used was often around 60 beats per minute.
  Evidence grade B · Traditional tier T1
• Post-traumatic stress (PTSD)
  Early evidence — early studies in veterans and trauma survivors. Early research found lower PTSD symptom scores after music therapy. Methods included group drumming, songwriting and rhythm work to settle the nervous system. This work is early, so the picture is not settled.
  Evidence grade C · Traditional tier T1

What Music Therapy has not been shown to do

• No study on file shows that music therapy slows or reverses Alzheimer's disease itself.
• It has not been shown to replace antidepressants, since depression trials tested it as an add-on.
• Nothing here shows it acts on cancer itself; those studies measured distress, nausea, anxiety and mood.
• Pain studies found people needed less pain medicine, not that music can take its place.
• It has not been shown to cure autism; the research tracked social communication and anxiety.
• Stroke and Parkinson's studies measured walking and speech, not full recovery from the condition.
• For PTSD, the evidence on file is early, so it has not been shown to stand in for trauma-focused therapy.

How to read this:

Grades run from A down to insufficient. A means many randomised human trials agree. B means at least one good human trial. C means small or early human studies. D means weak or mixed results. Insufficient means no human study at all. This page reports what studies found, in the past tense. It is not medical advice and not a treatment plan. Talk with your own care team before you change anything.

Music therapy is primarily used as a treatment method rather than prevention. However, its use in stress reduction and overall mental health maintenance can indirectly help prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions.

Which foods are rich in Music Therapy?

Music therapy is a practice, not a compound, so it has no food sources. However, the same brain systems that music activates — dopamine, serotonin, and endorphin pathways — are supported by specific dietary patterns. Foods rich in tryptophan (turkey, eggs, oats, bananas) support serotonin production. Omega-3-rich foods (fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseed) support brain health and neuroplasticity. Dark chocolate and fermented foods support dopamine and mood pathways. Staying well hydrated and avoiding excess sugar and alcohol helps maintain the stable neurochemical environment that makes music therapy most effective. A whole-food, Mediterranean-style diet is the best dietary companion to any mind-body practice.

Music therapy is generally well-tolerated with minimal side effects. Possible adverse reactions, though rare, can include:

• Emotional discomfort or distress during some sessions, particularly if the music evokes strong memories.
• Overstimulation in sensitive individuals, especially in cases of neurological disorders.

What’s the Recommended Daily Dose?

There is no standardized "daily dose" of music therapy as treatment plans are highly individualized based on the client's needs and the specific goals of therapy.

How Many Days Does it Take to Work?

The effectiveness and the time it takes to observe changes can vary widely depending on the individual and the specific therapeutic goals. Some may feel immediate relief in symptoms like anxiety, while long-term goals, such as improving communication skills in autism, may take several sessions to observe progress.