The author of "Soul Therapy" communicates that there are some small things that can make a big difference in quality of life, and that music and music therapy can help make those things available to people, including hospital patients in difficult circumstances. He makes this point through his direct observations of how music and music therapy helped him and one of his patients, despite his initial skepticism and discomfort of being at the music therapy session. I am always pleased to hear about a time when music therapy was helpful to someone or when an aesthetic experience is valued by a skeptical or "logical" type of person. When I say "logical," I am referring to the author's explanation of his work facility's oncology ward where efficient and caring service is offered to the patients, and his thoughts when a friend explained a music therapy intervention to him: "... I was thinking, 'Have they not heard of Baclofen or Botox?')."
I have personally experienced times when the outlook on an entire day or situation has been improved, at least for a while, by an uplifting song or other short experience, but there is a certain amount of validation that comes from having another intelligent person show it to be true for them as well. I loved the way the author walked us through doubts about attending a music therapy session, like "I imagined myself in a room with wannabe musicians, banging my head on the wall." And it was emboldening to note that although it took several invitations and explanations before the author would voluntarily attend a music therapy session, he eventually decided it was worth a try. As a therapy student, it is good to look at some things that seemed to have influenced him to come: personal connection to the asker, curiosity, the explanation of the MT intern that the MTs were filling a complimentary role to the doctors, and his own beliefs about music. Though parts of the session were still uncomfortable for him, as he saw the joy of a patient he concluded that music therapy did have a separate and useful role, seeing that "...what I failed to give my patient was being provided by the music therapists."
My favorite part of the article is the description of the man who comes to the MT session with the doctor. "He was dying and he knew it; but he was still happy." This encapsulates what I think is really an important goal for some music therapy sessions, especially in a hospital setting where you may only get to see a client once. Certainly the hope would be that a good experience like this could be enjoyed again in the patient's memory even at a time when they are physically unable to participate. The author concludes with an enigmatic statement where he ponders if he needs his trip to Peru after all. I am not exactly sure whether that relates to a vacation or a search for the simpler life he imagined his patient enjoyed before coming to the hospital, or something else entirely. However, what I feel is the important take-away message from the article is that a real aesthetic experience can be quite significant to a person's well being.
The article “Soul Therapy” illustrates the attitude and perspective of someone who works with music therapists in a hospital setting. The author, Chafic Karam, is a doctor in the oncology department of a hospital and from the very beginning he states his skepticism and uncertainty of music therapy sessions. For example, he writes, “According to him, the vibrations transmitted from the harp would relax the spastic muscles (In my head I was thinking, ‘Have they not heard of Baclofen or Botox’?).” However, after bringing one of his patients to a music therapy session and watching how the patient reacted to the music, he said, “What I failed to give my patient was being provided by the music therapists.”
The music therapy session helped the patients accelerate the healing process and not think about the pain. I have personally experienced times when I am feeling down. After I have been able to listen to an upbeat song, I feel much better and my attitude towards life in general has changed. For example, when I am exercising I listen to very rhythmic and energetic music because that motivates me to run faster and sometimes even longer than if I was exercising without music. It is appreciated that the author realizes that music and music therapy can change your mood because his attitude towards music therapy at the beginning of the article was very negative.
My favorite part of the article was when the author described his curiosity and doubts of music therapy sessions with, “I imagined myself in a room with wannabe musicians, banging my head on the wall.” After talking to a music therapy intern, he decided to take one of his terminally ill patients to the session. The author describes his experience step by step through the session. At the beginning, he states, “I actually felt embarrassed to go to music therapy” and half way through the session he realized that his patient had been given something by the music therapists that he could not provide, happiness. “He was dying and he knew it; but he was still happy.” The display of happiness the patient showed made the author realize how important music therapy is to patients. As a music therapy student, I have experienced many different sessions with different types of populations. At the end of the session, I have realized that the client/client’s attitude has changed and changed for the better. That is why I have chosen this profession.
Much like the response from another music therapy student, Amethyst Jamieson, it is always great to hear that an intelligent person has grown to believe that music therapy really works and helps patients in a way that sometimes medicine cannot. In my own life as a music therapy student, I am always confronted with the question “What are you doing now?” my response is usually always “I am in school for music therapy.” The reaction I get is, “Oh really, what is that?” or “is that like art therapy?” This article reassures me that even though some people don’t believe or know what music therapy is, choosing to pursue a career in music therapy was the right choice for me because it does truly help people in many different ways.