Clinical Services: Adult through Geriatric

• Cardiac Rehabilitation • Family Medicine • HIV & AIDS • Intensive Care Units • Maternity • Music & Health Clinic • Oncology • Pain Medicine & Palliative Care • Pulmonary Rehabilitation • Respiratory Step-down Unit • Sickle Cell Anemia • Spinal Cord Conditions • Additional Inpatient Services

Additional Inpatient Services

Photo by Stephan Elleringmann

About Additional Inpatient Services
These areas include adult through geriatric specialty units otherwise un-noted in other listings of services available for inpatient care through the Louis and Lucille Armstrong Music Therapy Program. In addition to care provided for patients hospitalized in primary units of care (as shown in the list of links above), our department receives ongoing case-by-case referrals for services from additional units spontaneously throughout the medical center.




These additional units include, but are not limited to:

• Psychiatry
• Physical Rehabilitation
• General Medicine
• Pre-/Post Operative Care
• Chemical Dependency
• Neurology/Stroke

Music Therapy for Additional Inpatient Services
Individualized treatment for all referred patients is based in a medical music psychotherapy approach and is conducted with a patient-centered focus. As in other units of care, the role of family/caregivers and staff is respected and acknowledged, and the relative needs of these individuals are incorporated into the overall treatment plan for the patient. Needs of varying patients admitted to one of the above units cover a broad range of issues in all domains of care, including the physical/medical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual. Music therapy services provided for patients, families and staff on additional inpatient units are varied to address needs spanning these large patient populations, while remaining consistent with other units of care in offering advanced level services by highly skilled music therapists, such as:

• Daily individual music therapy sessions conducted at the patient's bedside or in the music therapy studio
• Procedural Music Therapy, using live music with patients undergoing treatment procedures and/or testing such as radiation, biopsies, endoscopies, and wound care. Patients use drumming for release/entrainment or relaxation/meditation with live music to ease pain experience
• Pre-operative Anxiety: Live music relaxation to help prepare patients for surgery and/or treatment, accompanying patient to the operating/treatment room
• Environmental Music Therapy (EMT), which helps to create a less tense environment;
• Weekly group sessions, available on many inpatient units, which offer opportunities for interactive/collaborative experience in music-making in order to create a ‘home' feel for patients and staff, changing the hospital atmosphere as well as facilitating identification and connection to healthy coping resources
• The use of music for patients and families who are at the end of life. Music therapists provide daily session easing the passage from life to death, assuring comfort and support. Music is also used to assist in expression of grief and /or to ensure a dignified death
• Sessions in early recovery—including group expression and creative music alternatives for patients who have substance use and abuse

Our program maintains the highest quality musical instruments from around the world, and our team is trained in multi-cultural music and a variety of music therapy techniques including: guided visualization, African drumming techniques, song writing, and song sensitation, with background training in piano, guitar, string and wind playing, and voice.

Related Research and Articles
For articles from peer-reviewed journals, research studies and authoritative literature, please see the bibliographies in the Suggested Reading section. Additional information is available through Websites listed on the Related Links page.

For Questions and Further Information
For questions and further information about music therapy or referrals for yourself, your loved ones or your patients, please call (s212) 420-2704 or email info@musicandmedicine.org.