Music Therapy and Veterans: Key takeaways from a recent presentation

By: Lizzy Davis, MT Intern
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I recently had the privilege of attending a continuing music therapy education credit in Columbia, SC, hosted by the Music Therapy Association of South Carolina. The topic of the presentation was discussing the impacts of music therapy on the Veteran population. I was excited to attend this presentation, as the PMT clinic has been running a music therapy group for Veterans this past month, and I wanted to know more about how we can utilize music-based experiences to best support this population. 

    The first key takeaway that stood out to me was that music can be an intimidating medium for people who are less familiar with recreating music. As a musician and future music therapist, it can be easy for me to forget that music is not something that is always approachable to everyone. It helped me think of new ways to make music more inviting, such as using receptive music-based experiences to help Veterans ease into the music space, rather than being thrown into something that is potentially uncomfortable. 

    Another piece of information that stood out to me was how veterans perceived music therapy and how they feel it impacts them. Dr. James Trazile presented a study he conducted where his goal was to find the main themes that Veterans reported after engaging in music therapy. According to his research and interviewing veterans, they reported that music therapy helped them create a “sense of belonging,” “reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety,” and “increased confidence and social interaction skills.” I think it’s extremely important to get feedback from participants or Veterans on what works well for them. This research helped me to gain perspective on what offering group music therapy sessions can do, and also this literature helps create more access to music therapy for this population. 

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*Image pulled from: https://happenings.lpu.in/neural-music/neural-music-affects-different-regions-of-brain/

One last great takeaway I got from this presentation was how music affects the brain and what happens when we engage in live music-making. I learned that when people engage in music improvisation, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making, takes a small pause. This implies that when engaging in improvisation, it allows our brains to take a break from unhelpful thinking and be fully present in the moment. Listening or engaging in preferred music also can help to regulate the amygdala, which is responsible for our emotions as well as our “fight or flight” response. Music also naturally releases dopamine, which is our “feel good” hormone in the brain. All of these influences of music on the brain reinforce the need for access to music therapy in the Veteran population, as it can potentially help symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, or depression. 

Overall, this presentation highlighted the importance of making music therapy more accessible to Veterans. In a world that can be dismissive of people’s struggles and needs, it’s important to validate what people have experienced and provide outlets for people to connect and express themselves.

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