Music therapy is a type of therapy that uses music as its medium to achieve specific improvements in peoples lives.  Music Therapy differs from simply stating that music is therapy, in that it is implemented by a certified music therapist in order to obtain targeted results.    There are a variety of different techniques used by music therapists, which differ based on the goal of the session.  Chords for Change using a variety of approaches in order to achieve its goal of empowering women to reclaim their voices and their lives.

Extensive research on the physiological effects of music has proven that music can be a positive force for change in a person’s life.  For example, Jennifer Jones studied the emotional changes experienced when chemically dependent patients were exposed to music[1].  In her study, she noted “Music therapy significantly increased feelings of acceptance and joy/happiness/enjoyment and significantly reduced feelings of guilty/regretful/blame and fear/distrust.”   Another promising experiment showed that music therapy decreased the anxiety levels of abused women in shelters[2].   Scientific experimentation has also shown that listening to music decreases the perception of pain[3].

[1] Jones JD (2005) A Comparison of Songwriting and Lyric Analysis Techniques to Evoke Emotional Change in a Single Session with People Who are Chemically Dependent. Journal of Music Therapy: Vol. 42, No. 2 pp. 94–110 [2] Hernández-Ruiz E (2005) Effect of Music Therapy on the Anxiety Levels and Sleep Patterns of Abused Women in Shelters. Journal of Music Therapy: Vol. 42, No. 2 pp. 140–158 [3] Mitchell LA, MacDonald RAR (2006) An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Preferred and Relaxing Music Listening on Pain Perception. Journal of Music Therapy: Vol. 43, No. 4 pp. 295–316