Music therapy: harmony for change

1. Music can be an effective treatment modality for low-functioning clients. With psychiatric clients, music can strengthen ego, increase socialization, decrease psychotic symptoms, and increase activity. 2. In general, music was applied to manage the clients' focal, contextual, or residual stimuli. By directing the use of music at the influencing stimuli, the stimuli was removed, increased, decreased, or altered, thereby changing the clients' ineffective behavior or ability to cope. 3. The music program has proved most effective with clients diagnosed with organic brain damage, mild to moderate mental retardation, and schizoaffective disorder. It is difficult, however, to measure improvement exclusively related to the music program.