Medicine You Can Hear

Music therapy is the clinical use of music by credentialed professionals to achieve therapeutic goals. It is not background music in a waiting room. Board-certified music therapists use specific musical interventions — singing, playing, composing, listening, and moving — to treat conditions from PTSD to autism to stroke-induced speech loss.

The field gained momentum after World War II when musicians visited hospitals to play for wounded veterans. Doctors noticed that patients exposed to music showed measurable improvements in mood, pain tolerance, and recovery speed.