A critical part of recognizing the power of Music Therapy is spreading awareness about it’s benefits. By sharing your experiences with music therapists, engaging with nonprofits like the Children’s Music Fund and staying educated about the ways music therapy affects our brain, you can successfully reach and impact different communities. Recently, there has been a spike in music therapy representation in media, particularly film and television. In a media-defined world where our strongest connections lie with the devices in our hands, it’s important to acknowledge the impact of Music Therapy in the film industry and in the world.

Music therapy representation in film started to spike in 2011 with the film “The Music Never Stopped,” based on the essay “The Last Hippie,” by Dr. Oliver Sacks, a music therapy advocate. It was a story of a young man who was diagnosed with brain cancer and forgot the past decade of his life. The movie highlights his journey to recovery and his family’s advent in believing in music as the most important saving grace for their son. They connected him with Dr. Dianna Daly, a music therapist based on the real life practitioner Dr. Concetta Tomaino. She discovers the key to aiding the ill Gabriel, connecting him to the world through his favorite band, the Grateful Dead. The lyrics and power behind each song inspire Gabriel to form new memories with his loved ones and fall in love.

In addition, music requires both the involvement of the left and the right hemispheres, engaging your entire brain. Therefore, like in the story of Gabriel, music aids in bypassing barriers borne from brain damage, and works to create new neural pathways considered pivotal when it comes to reconnecting with speech and communication.

A similar 2011 film, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” is set in a psychiatric ward where a music therapist often works and aids the patients with “musical exploration.” They play instruments and sing songs together, learning to express repressed emotions and connecting with others around them, despite mental barriers. The film calls to attention the non-invasive, fun and beneficial practice of music therapy and how it brings groups of disparate people together.

In the documentary industry, Dr. Norman Doidge introduced neuroplasticity to our world seven years ago. He shared with us the idea that the circuits in our brain are capable of changing and reforming through mental experiences and activities we encounter throughout our lives. In his new film, “The Brain’s Way of Healing,” he shows how the brain can not only change but it can form connections that heal. His Music Therapy study is centered around non-invasive methods of treatment where patterns of energy are used to resynchronize the neurons in our brains that are being fired improperly during illness. He shares the stories of different people around the world who seemingly “walked off” illnesses, like a man in South Africa who overcame his Parkinson’s disease. He says, “light, sound, vibration, electricity and motion – these are forms of energy that provide natural noninvasive avenues in the brain that pass through our senses and our bodies to awaken the brain’s own healing capacities.” ‘

Music Therapy is revolutionizing the medical and biopsychosocial field. Here at CMF, we connect chronically ill and hospitalized children with board certified music therapists who help alleviate their symptoms of stress, anxiety and fear through musical demonstrations and sessions. We believe that now more than ever, it is crucial to use science and medicine to look at the brain differently and understand that we can utilize music to create an environment of hope, positivity and change.
To hear more about the mentioned documentaries visit the links!

• “The Brain’s Way of Healing”
• “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”
• “The Music That Never Stopped”

Join our mailing list and keep up with our CMF kids’ stories by texting “CMF” to 22828

The post Music Therapy Representation in the Media appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

Mental illness in children and adolescents adds an additional level of stress and difficulty at a key point of development. For many of these young patients, Music Therapy provides relief from their mental health conditions. It offers a calm and non-threatening medium for them to explore their thoughts and feelings. Our mission at Children’s Music Fund includes providing the benefits of Music Therapy for young patients affected by mental illness.

Music Therapy increases communication, socialization and memory in children. Because Music Therapy bridges the gap between art and science, and the artistic nature of the therapy allows children and teenagers to open up and explore their feelings. It also helps them cope with their mental health issues. One of our Music Therapist states,

Teens have difficulty expressing their emotions verbally, and lyrics can help them to find the right words to express and relate to their emotions.

Most adolescents consider music to be an important part of their life. The lyrics resonate with them and help validate their feelings. Music Therapists use the importance of lyrics to help their patients relate and communicate. Sometimes, a patient will write lyrics outlining fears, goals and dreams, then uses the music to process and validate current feelings. Through song writing, patients are able to begin to manage their fear and anxieties.

While the long-term effects of Music Therapy on children and adolescents with mental illnesses still needs to be further validated, the short-term results are promising. Patients are able to communicate through music, process their emotions, feel successful and in control, and take steps towards their recovery. Music has a positive benefit on the mind and body.

Success stories from children and teens that have used Music Therapy as part of their healthcare treatment plan are inspirational. Read some of them posted here from our CMF Kids. If you are in need of additional information on mental health issues in children, talk with your healthcare provider. Resources available online include, but are not limited to, Child Mind Institute (not an endorsement of services provided) and the CDC. 

The post Children’s Mental Health: The Benefits of Music Therapy appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

During the month of September, we honor all the children in the world who tackle cancer daily.  National Tackle Kids Cancer is designated on September 15, and since its creation 4.5 million dollars have been raised from over a dozen countries to help pediatric cancer research. 

At Children’s Music Fund, we focus on the benefits Music Therapy provides for our cancer patients. This is a non-invasive, cost effective and enjoyable form of therapy for anyone who speaks any language to take part in.

Neuronal pathways associated with changes in pain, anxiety, and depression are all affected during Music Therapy sessions, which explains the reduction in negative and noxious symptoms observed in patients. To further support this, The Cancer Research Center in the United Kingdom reports that Music Therapy offers a safe place for cancer patients to explore their emotions.

Two additional studies also support the positive benefits of Music Therapy for cancer patients:

A 2013 Turkish study of 40 people, revealed how Music Therapy and visual imagery helped relieve patients from the side effects of chemotherapy. The participants’ anxiety levels were greatly reduced and physical symptoms of nausea and vomiting were eliminated. Similarly, patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer or breast cancer experienced a reduction in post-treatment anxiety.

A study in Southern Taiwan studied the effect of Music Therapy versus verbal relaxation on anxiety in patients receiving chemotherapy. In total, 98 patients were separated into three groups: those receiving Music Therapy, those receiving verbal guided meditation, and those receiving standard care. The results showed that Music Therapy had a positive effect on post-therapy anxiety while the two other groups didn’t experience such a reduction. Even those with a high baseline of anxiety experienced a significant drop in their intrusive thoughts after Music Therapy.

At Children’s Music Fund, we also focus on the journey to healing after treatment when rehabilitation and social integration is paramount. Music Therapy has helped equip survivors with coping mechanisms to deal with the reintroduction into everyday life and to control their mood disturbances.

With the help of music therapists, young cancer patients not only find peace, but they regain a critical sense of control over their body and mind. Music Therapy is now being offered by 30 National Cancer institutes designated in the United States. 

Learn more about Music Therapy here and join our mailing list to stay updated.

The post National Tackle Children’s Cancer Month! appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

Children’s Music Fund and Creative Healing for Youth in Pain (chyp) co-sponsored a panel discussion focusing on Music Therapy as a complement to medical treatments and how it can provide children with coping mechanisms for their chronic pain and illness. This is part two of our blog series featuring Dr. Talin Babikian’s commentary on music and our brains.

Why is Music Therapy so important? Dr. Babikian explained that music activates the limbic system, our reward center, and the frontal cortex of our brain. The limbic system is responsible for an individual’s ability to learn, retain memories, form emotional responses and find empathy — which is especially important during the grueling and difficult journey many hospitalized children face everyday. 

Brain scans done during Music Therapy sessions reveal that music releases chemicals in the brain that play a significant role in altering our moods and feelings. These include dopamine and oxytocin, known to increase levels of motivation and movement for a child, and responsible for creating trust between individuals.

This is why a Music Therapist and a CMF child can form a profound connection while they sing and dance during their sessions. Additionally, hormones are released that affect and strengthen a sick child’s immune system and lower the sensitivity to pain. 

Music Therapy offers assistance to a wide patient base by unlocking memories, reducing cognitive decline and aiding in social communication. This can provide boundless benefits to individuals with Autism or neuro-degeneritive diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. It helps patients find a community where they belong, as they combat their cognitive impairment. A branch of neuroscience known as neuroaesthetics showed that other than medical benefits, listening to self-selected music even improves one’s mood and mental health. 

Outside of a clinical setting, music has been developmentally crucial, helping with the growth of motor, hearing, memory, verbal and literacy skills as well as math. The emphasis on introducing children to music at a young age has additional advantages, as playing and listening to music creates increased neural connections in the brain.

A study conducted by Harvard Medical School describes the process as a sort of “warm up” for the brain as it allows certain brain cells to process information much more efficiently. In this study,  music was played for one group of patients undergoing surgery while the other group remained in silence during the procedure.

The results showed that the group with no music remained highly hypertensive during the surgery while the group exposed to music had significant reductions where the mean diastolic dropped down to 24 mm Hg for the lowest person. A mean blood pressure considered optimal during surgery is under 100 mm HG diastolic, which is why the results presented in the study are astounding and prove Music Therapy’s success in improving our mental and physical states of being.

Music is the glue for human connection, and has been a way of communication before words were ever spoken. Dr. Babikian says,

Language may individualize, but music harmonizes, it binds us all with it’s healing powers and universal voice. 

The non-profit chyp works to help kids and their parents deal with chronic pain. There are a plethora of common healthcare barriers that individuals face on a daily basis, and chyp works to eliminate those by offering online resources that inspire strength, health and hope in the lives of today’s youth. 

The non-profit Children’s Music Fund focuses on overcoming pain, fear and anxiety that children experience during hospitalization or treatment by allowing the power of Music Therapy to heal their mind, soul and body.

Watch our webinar to learn more about pain management and the benefits of Music Therapy for our youth and read the first blog in the series that discusses Creative Healing: Music As Therapy.

Keep informed about all the happenings at Children’s Music Fund by joining our mailing list, here.

The post Music and Our Brain appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

It’s difficult living like I’m looking through a lens. From the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep, my vision is plagued with dots, like a flurry of snow. The blizzard is so strong it’s difficult to see, to find relief and to engage in basic activities like watching TV. After many doctor visits, I found out I have Visual Snow Syndrome. 

Visual Snow is a rare and unknown neurological disease. The synapses fired between the brain and eyes get disrupted and although they cause no damage, they result in the painful and uncomfortable distortion of one’s vision. Your entire field of vision is like you’re seeing everything through a snowstorm or perhaps it looks like you’re watching your life through the static of a TV.

Beside the persistent positive aural phenomenon, symptoms include palinopsia, photo phobia and impaired night vision. Causes are unknown and every patient experiences the syndrome differently. Usually the symptoms tend to appear during the stages of puberty, and intensify as they get older. Currently, no cure exists, but certain experimental therapies have been known to provide temporary relief.

When I got diagnosed with Visual Snow, I lost all hope of a normal life. I had to give up my favorite things like reading, because focusing on the tiny words made the illusion worse. I struggled doing my daily work because staring at the computer screen for hours made the symptoms more painful. 

Even the journey to a diagnosis was difficult, because all the ophthalmologist exams and brain MRIs appear normal. Since the work showed no noticeable disease, I spent years wondering what could then be causing this distortion. 

I thought it would be impossible to regain my sense of self, but my father reminded me that just because one sense wasn’t working as well, my eyesight, didn’t mean the others weren’t. In fact, he said I should rely on my other senses to guide me and bring me peace. 

Music For Relief

Sometimes the Visual Snow was so heavy I couldn’t open my eyes and other times the stress and despair would weigh down upon me like a suffocating blanket. That’s when I turned to music. During my half hour of Music Therapy, as my record spun and I listened to my favorite artist, it seemed that my vision was finally clear, the sky was clear—my path was clear.

I focused on the words and the story they weaved together. I focused on the raw emotion and power behind the singer’s voice that spoke of strength and resilience. For hours and hours a day, my only refuge would be losing myself in a song. 

Sometimes I listened to upbeat music, using it to reinvigorate my body and mind and inspire me to rise above my condition. At other times I found solace in listening to sad, melancholic music that spoke of pain and uncertainty, as the lyrics resonated with me.

Music became my therapy—no actual psychiatrist or ophthalmologist could have provided me with more relief than the soothing words of Billie Eilish, one of my favorite singers, or the soft, easy rhythm of an orchestral piece. 

Over time, I found my mood improving and hope blossoming. I felt the promise that maybe with the help of music and other positive forces like my family, I could redefine my life. Adjustments had to be made, my vision wasn’t capable of the same feats anymore. However, anytime I felt discouraged or alone, I turned to a song and found the feelings dissipate. 

Music Therapy has been proven to help manage associated symptoms for other vision-related ailments by providing a sense of peace, lowering a patient’s depressive symptoms and improving the quality of vision. 

A study conducted by the Imperial College London linked Music Therapy to a stroke patient’s restoration in vision. The brain’s areas critical in integrating vision, awareness, and action are disrupted during a stroke, resulting in visual neglect. The patient experiences an inability to focus on objects in the opposite side of space from their injury. Despite this insult, by listening to their favorite music, patient’s showed an improvement in visual awareness that doctors linked to the positive emotions experienced during the session. 

Even though there lacks a solution for me, what ties me into the Visual Snow community is an unwillingness to give up. Support groups such as the Visual Snow Initiative work hard to provide patients with a welcoming and encouraging platform that offers hope for solutions while decreasing people’s sense of loneliness. 

It has been two years since my diagnosis of Visual Snow and I have learned a lot about myself and Music Therapy. It’s easy to give up and let medical and external factors undermine you, but things like music can reintroduce confidence and the aspiration that by thinking more positively and relying on it’s transformative power, things will get better!

To support our CMF Kids who are also in need of the benefits of Music Therapy, donate here! 

The post Visual Snow Syndrome: Music as a Form of Relief appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

Children’s Music Fund and Creative Healing for Youth in Pain (chyp) co-sponsored a panel discussion focusing on Music Therapy as a complement to medical treatments and how it can provide children with coping mechanisms for their chronic pain and illness.

The panel represented experts in pain management, pediatrics medicine, neuropsychology, and Music Therapy. This blog is the first of a series that will provide a greater understanding of how Music Therapy works and its benefits when it comes to relieving chronic pain.

We’re all healing something. But there’s a difference between curing something and healing it. To heal, we need to embrace our challenges and embark on a journey that doesn’t just offer us a quick solution, but that changes our physical and emotional lives.

If music is a universal language, then maybe Music Therapy is a universal form of therapy. It can address physical therapy goals, occupational therapy goals, speech therapy goals and more because it’s not just about music, it’s about the relationship you’re having with a therapist. 

Our founder and president of Children’s Music Fund, Raffi Tachdjian, MD, spoke about just that. Our mission is to bring children peace and support in a non-medicinal form—Music Therapy. Having a music therapist remind a child that they are more than their illness and can find a sanctuary in the notes and rhythms of a song, can help many overcome the fear, pain and anxiety of a hospital visit or treatment. 

Music is a versatile and powerful tool that can offer pockets of peace and relief among patients and individuals with chronic pain, and it more importantly inspires the hope they had otherwise lost. A crucial step in the healing process involves allowing children to have a creative outlet in order to regain their sense of control and to explain how they feel.

Many children have kept their emotions bottled up inside for a long time, unable to share their stories and struggles. When they can finally express their pain emotionally, their physical response may be out of proportion to that pain. 

Music not only provides an emotional benefit to patients, but a physical one as well. Each of us have a parasympathetic system and a sympathetic (fight or flight) system, and music has a way of recalibrating this nervous system so our body’s innate healing mechanisms can kick in. 

Music also activates the dopaminergic areas on the brain that inspire happiness and reward in the child. Additionally, oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and memory, is released and creates an even stronger sense of kinship between the child and their music therapist. 

This is why we resonate with a specific song in the Music Therapy session and later remember all the emotions and memories associated with it. With this positive connection between song and mind, lots of children can redefine their experiences in hospitals and use their favorite music to lighten their mood. 

Dr. Lonnie Zeltzer, a research professor of pediatrics, anesthesiology, psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, founded the Creative Healing for Youth in Pain in her mission to aid chronically ill children in their healing journeys. She thinks Music Therapy is one of the most profound forms of treatment because rather than provide temporary relief, like medication does, it changes the architecture and pathways in the brain.

 “Think of the development of pain as a new neural connection that spins on and on. Music Therapy is a way to guide that energy and rushing pain stream to other pathways. When you have less electrical activity and you begin to focus all your energy on music, the pain lessens. In return, the creative parts of the brain get stronger.”

Particularly in these difficult times, we should all rely on one another for strength and hope. By being a part of well-knitted communities like Children’s Music Fund and chyp, families and children can find a kernel of comfort and ease. Thank you to all the speakers: Jon Samson, Raffi Tachdjian, Talin Babikian, Lonnie Zeltzer, Georgia Weston, and Jenna Bollard. We appreciate your time and sharing your expertise.

The non-profit chyp works to help kids and their parents deal with chronic pain. There are a plethora of common healthcare barriers that individuals face on a daily basis, and chyp works to eliminate those by offering online resources that inspire strength, health and hope in the lives of today’s youth. 

The non-profit Children’s Music Fund focuses on overcoming pain, fear and anxiety that children experience during hospitalization or treatment by allowing the power of Music Therapy to heal their mind, soul and body.

Watch our webinar to learn more about pain management and the benefits of Music Therapy for our youth!

Learn about all the happenings at Children’s Music Fund by joining our mailing list, click here.

The post Creative Healing: Music As Therapy appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

They may not wear capes or have super strength, but parents are the greatest heroes we have. Everyday they fulfill their mission to keep their children happy, healthy and safe, despite all the obstacles in the world. That’s why we honor the important role parents have in their childrens’ lives.

Family is at the heart of the Children’s Music Fund’s purpose, and we admire the parents and guardians of our CMF Kids, who remain strong, supportive and united throughout the difficult journeys their children face. Dr. Raffi Tachdjian, founder and president of Children’s Music Fund, says our parents, music therapists and children are all a family and belong indefinitely to the CMF community. 

“We’re a family because we’re all in this together and when a child gets sick, the entire household is affected. That’s why it’s important to involve every member, including the parents in Music Therapy sessions.”

Dr. Tachdjian credits his own parents for playing a tremendous role in inspiring him to pursue Music Therapy and leave an impact on those around him. For as long as he can remember, blanketed in his mother’s love and tenderness, there was one consistent theme and message being spread – stand up for something bigger than yourself.

“My mom always believed in social justice, to stand up for others and to leave society better than how I found it.” It was this fundamental philosophy that guided Dr. Tachdjian to start an organization that made a difference not only in the lives of sick children, but in their families and communities as well.   

While Dr. Tachdjian’s mission was unstoppable, he needed the support and help of those with a similar goal. That’s why we honor our CMF parents who were relentless in their effort to create a safe haven for their kids at our organization. Despite all odds, they found a way to inspire a new beauty and hope in the hearts of their children. This fervent dedication and willingness to stop at nothing until they find a solution, is proof of a parent’s power, love and purpose – to make their child smile again. 

 Often, after years of different treatment options and no results, hearing about a program like Children’s Music Fund, that offers a safe and alternative form of healing, is truly like music to parents’ ears. Both Jen and Scotty Coats, parents to CMF Kid, Nolan, who was diagnosed with autism at age 2. They said that there was nothing difficult or scary about walking into these Music Therapy sessions, that instead, they were granted a chance for change. 

“Nolan was nonverbal for the first three and a half years of his life, but after his Music Therapy sessions, he was able to express himself. Hearing my son say, ‘Dadda’ and ‘Momma,’ for the first time meant everything to me,” his father, Scotty, said. 

As parents, it was painful to watch their son, whose cognitive motors were functioning, remain unable to speak. But they said, through the beats and taps of music, Nolan was able to find a rhythmic cadence that translated into words.

“Music is truly a universal language, it gave my son the words he needed and we’re forever grateful to Children’s Music Fund for helping Nolan,” Scotty explained. 

Jen Coats said that the music therapy wasn’t just healing for her son, but was a gift to her as well. “His energy would shift, he would respond, pay attention and remain engaged during the sessions. It gave us peace and relief to know that he will be able to communicate with us.”

Their music therapist, Stacie, soon became a part of the family, forming a deep and powerful connection with Nolan. “She’s more than just a music therapist for us. And even after the session expired, she kept coming to our house on her time, every week, in order to play her music with Nolan.”

“If everyone was a Stacie, and had her kind heart, the world would be a better place,” Scotty remarked, crediting her for the beautiful musical transformation their family experienced. 

The Coats had always been a musical family, but Nolan’s Music Therapy sessions forever redefined the word.  Before they’d used forms of communication like sign language or the Picture Exchange Communication System, a form of augmentative and alternative communication for kids on the autism spectrum. But after Music Therapy, Jen said,

“They played lots of music to get him to respond and slowly the musical notes turned into sounds and sounds turned into words and then words became full sentences.”

Especially during this current pandemic ravaging our world, it’s difficult to balance work, being a parent and staying healthy and safe. But through CMF’s telehealth services and constant advocacy of the power of Music Therapy, families are able to remain united and strong. Dr. Tachdjian said to never forget that, “there is an entire team of people behind Children’s Music Fund to make one Music Therapy session happen and everyone one of us is there for your child.”

Now, Nolan is doing better than ever.

“He has an IEP (Individualized Education Program) and was in SDC (special day class) until 1st grade where he transitioned full time to mainstream. He’s now going into 5th grade and graduated from speech in 3rd grade. He still is a part of RSP (Resource Specialist Program) and receives occupational therapy, but he also has a lot of hobbies he loves, like swimming, karate, riding his bike, and drawing comics,” Jen said.

And with the help of Music Therapy, his imagination has blossomed and he’s found a passion for storytelling and sharing his ideas and words. 

Despite years of waiting and hopelessness, the Coats found Children’s Music Fund and a solution that brightened their entire family. They urge any family that is interested in music therapy to connect with Children’s Music Fund.

“Don’t wait, if your child gravitates towards music, sign them up with Children’s Music Fund. We listened to our son, we knew how to communicate with him. We saw the world through his eyes and knew this was the best path for him.”

And more importantly, Jen said, “You not only learn a lot about your child through music therapy and its healing powers, but you may find that special therapist that becomes family and forever remains your support system.” 

Life is no storybook with easy answers and perfect solutions for everyone, but life is full of beautiful and enriching ideas that transcend all boundaries and inequalities. Music is a universal language and will always be one, and with the support of parents, doctors and music therapists, Children’s Music Fund, promises to use its transformative power to bring a smile to a child’s face. Dr. Tachdjian says,

“To the parents of CMF Kids – I hope that we continue to make you proud, but more importantly, that we continue to improve the health, mindset and skill-set of your child and everyone important to them as well.”

Thank you to all our CMF parents for believing in the power of Music Therapy. We honor the unconditional love and support you show for your and our CMF Kids! 

To help other families find peace and hope in their journeys, donate here!
Read about more stories like Nolan’s, here.
Learn about all the happenings at Children’s Music Fund by joining our mailing list, here.

The post Celebrating Our Everyday Heroes: CMF Parents appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

Dear CMF Family,

Despite the current circumstances, I hope your summer is off to a good start. There are many activities that you and your loved ones can participate in, including our upcoming Creative Healing: Music As Therapy Webinar on August 7, at 12 pm Pacific, it includes a Music Therapy demo session with our community partners at Creative Healing for Youth in Pain (chyp). Please join us to witness how a Music Therapy session is conducted. This is a family-friendly educational piece, and it may just make you more relaxed and smiling by the end! Register today.

We are honored to work with sick children to help overcome their pain, fear and anxiety during their illness. What makes Children’s Music Fund unique is our innovative research and our commitment to healing through evidence-based Music Therapy.

With your help, we are transforming this underutilized and natural form of healing into a mainstream mode of pain control to help a child smile. Our latest CMF Ambassador, Serj Tankian, vividly shared his personal journey with Music Therapy in his Spread the Love video message.

I hope you appreciate his story as much as I did; and I encourage you to share it with your circle of friends. I’m also proud to share our talented line up of other CMF Ambassadors. See their messages of comfort and hope for sick children here.

Lastly, a quick update on little Emma, our champion cancer patient and first recipient of Telehealth Music Therapy; she is thriving and continues to improve with her communication and coping skills to overcome her illness.

Thank you for your continued support. Here’s another way to get involved. Consider joining our new One Heart Fan Club. Together, we can make more children smile.

Kindly,
Raffi Tachdjian, MD, MPH
Founder & President

The post Making Sick Children Smile appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

Jenna Bollard is the Music Therapy program coordinator at Children’s Music Fund. Her passion for Music Therapy blossomed when she was just a sophomore in high school, and now her life’s mission is to provide Music Therapy to sick children as a coping mechanism for their difficult journeys.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree for Music Therapy from Berklee College of Music and her master’s from New York University, Bollard began working with nonprofits like Children’s Music Fund so she could spread awareness of Music Therapy’s benefits and share her personal healing strategies.

Bollard has been a performer all her life, surrounding herself with music at any chance she gets. But it took a painful and eye-opening tragedy in her life to spark her curiosity and fervor for Music Therapy. 

“My grandpa had Alzheimer’s disease and when he was in the end stages of this condition, music continued to reach him, bring back his memories and connect him to the world.” 

Growing up, Bollard’s grandfather would play the harmonica with her, serenading his grandchild with what she called his “beautiful Frank Sinatra type voice,” and telling her stories about his life through the melody and lyricism of music. 

She says that while “at the very end of his life he was unable to speak with us, a song came on the radio in the hospital room and he started to copy the melody of the song. Otherwise, he was totally unresponsive.”

This miraculous window into the mind made Bollard focus on Music Therapy research in order to understand our brain’s connection with music and how it can heal the chronically ill.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Bollard emphasizes the importance of incorporating music into our everyday lives and using Telehealth Music Therapy sessions to our advantage. 

“Music can help shift your mood, so when listening, tune into how your mind and body respond to different songs by focusing on how your breathing changes and how it makes you feel,” she says. 

Science has proven that music can alter our emotions and Bollard says, “It has to do with our serotonin levels. Our serotonin level increases, cortisol level decreases and endorphins, feel-good chemicals, release and make you happier!”

Being in sync with music is very important, and for music therapists like Bollard, understanding where a patient is emotionally helps them find the best way to bring peace to the child. 

“It’s called the Iso principle – we meet them, if they are in a sad mood, we alter our body language or how we are talking to them and gradually we shift them to a new place by changing the music.”

Bollard, as a board-certified Music Therapist, has conducted research on the ways Music Therapy can help a patient during many aspects of hospitalization, specifically during painful and anxiety-provoking procedures. 

During a medical procedure, Music Therapy provides an opportunity for refocusing. “When you are being surrounded by music and you have that to focus on, you worry less about what’s going on during the procedure.

There is a beautiful video of a little girl getting an EEG who was having the electrodes placed, which can be super uncomfortable, especially for those with sensory sensitivities but she began singing, pouring her heart into every word and every melody, and it got her through the entire procedure when otherwise it would have been really challenging.” 

Just as important to Bollard is Music Therapy’s ability to alter a patient’s pain levels. In 2017, a meta-analysis was published combining 758 different studies that mentioned Music Therapy as a way of managing chronic pain. In it, all of the studies demonstrated a decrease in self-reported pain and an improvement in the patient’s quality of life.

As a Music Therapist, Bollard understands how difficult pain can be to manage and how specific and subjective it is to each individual patient.

She says, “we measure pain with the self-reporting method with the medical pain scale, a 0-10 scale where the child points to what most connects to what they are feeling. We do it at the beginning and end of a Music Therapy session and we find a reduction of pain because there is emotional pain and anxiety pain and they all connect to our bodily pain.”

For Jenna, this proves that the true depth and power in Music Therapy comes from the fact that, “it captures the whole person, music touches the entire person – the brain, the thought processes, the chemical reactions. It soothes the emotional components and reaches any of those strains as well. On a psychological level helping us regulate our heart rate and respiratory level and chemically, it releases natural painkillers too.”

This connection between mind, body, and soul is often overlooked, but proves to be one of the greatest factors in easing pain with Music Therapy. Bollard speaks of a popular area of research in the medical community known as psycho-immunology.

“This is research that quantifies how the mind is directly connected to the body. If we manage our stress and anxiety, we are taking care of our bodies.

“We can be feeding the disease or fighting the disease based on how we take care of our mental and emotional health.”

“Music in its nature has the ability to engage the whole person, so we can really see the ways that music can weave in and out of the different physical and emotional obstacles people may have clinically, and how music helps connect the two of them together.” 

Having a treatment modality that addresses all these parts simultaneously is what makes it truly impactful and important in utilizing for our CMF Kids.

Previously a music therapist and now the Music Therapy program coordinator for Children’s Music Fund, Bollard was drawn to the organization because she believed in working with those who shared her same powerful mission.

“I really believe in the Children’s Music Fund’s mission to provide children with healing supportive services and also to help in the research efforts as well as creating job opportunities for Music Therapists.”

Her special message to all the CMF Kids out there, “Listen to yourself, listen to your own energy levels, and know how you’re feeling will change, but music will always be there for you, no matter where you are!” 

To allow more CMF Kids to experience the magic of music and it’s healing powers, donate here!

~ Thank you to Jenna Bollard, Children’s Music Fund’s Music Therapy program coordinator, for taking the time to be interviewed and share her story.~

The post The Healing Benefits of Music Therapy: Jenna Bollard appeared first on Children's Music Fund.

“The first day, I was definitely scared. I didn’t like the thought of being stuck to an IV for 10 hours,” Ellee Kennedy, Miss Naples 2020 and recently named CMF Kids Ambassador for Children’s Music Fund, said regarding her first infusion in the sixth grade.

Having been diagnosed with a rare blood condition known as Hypogammaglobulinemia, she had traveled to DC from her home in Ohio for treatment, young and afraid of the needles and pain. But with the help of the affectionate doctors and a special painted ceiling tile, her anxiety began to dissipate. Kennedy said, 

For me the ceiling tile represented my hope and the kindness of the doctors and therapists to create something. It was a symbol of the hospital’s support and acknowledgement of how far art and Music Therapy can go in a children’s day and treatment plan.

For Kennedy and other young children who undergo medical treatments and endure the fear and anxiety associated with their conditions, something as simple as getting to paint a ceiling tile or sing during the many sedentary hours of the treatment, changes their lives. 

Even after leaving DC, during every infusion, Kennedy would find solace in being able to paint, create and sing. She’d always been musically inclined, having sung opera from age five, but her encounter with Music Therapy not only increased her appreciation of music, but also her adamance to bring Music Therapy to the lives of others as well.

She earned her undergraduate degree in music business and classic opera singing and is working towards her graduate degree from the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, for live entertainment management and classical singing, in an effort to tell her story. 

Music is an emotional connection, if I’m ever having a bad day I’ll sing a song that lyrically is compatible to what I’m feeling and it calms me. That’s something I developed throughout my [medical] treatments and still use.

The power of music was on full display during the coronavirus pandemic, when neighbors would bridge the distance between each other by singing together from their respective homes. Kennedy not only recognized this beauty, but said that it was one of her favorite things about music.

You can perform music anywhere, anytime. You always have it with you in your soul. That’s what Music Therapy does. It’s not limited to language or gender or any restrictions, it’s a universal language anyone can benefit from.

Kennedy has spent her life advocating for musical and creative resources for kids in hospitals all around the globe. After being announced as Miss Naples, she knew her mission would be about incorporating music into children’s lives through her own programs and through her position as the CMF Kids Ambassador for Children’s Music Fund.

I really, really wanted to be involved and focus on connecting with the kids currently receiving medical treatments. My experience and background could resonate with them and I wanted to share my story and listen to theirs, and relate to music to help them feel more comfortable.

Kennedy understands the loneliness many young patients feel and having someone listen to you and help you through the process is inspiring and gratifying. She also wants children to know that their illness does not define them and that there are, “so many layers to their personality and their illness is just one component of what makes them an incredible person.” 

Kennedy also founded a program known as “Putting the A in S.T.E.M Through Music Therapy.” Not only does it function to emphasize the importance of Music Therapy, but it focuses on implementing arts in lower academic levels, as a foundation to help students develop a love for music and maybe even become music therapists.

“It’s really important to continue to advocate and educate about Music Therapy to preserve and expand this field as a profession. The best way to do this is to incorporate arts into S.T.E.M, using music therapy as the conjunction,”

Kennedy explained, proving that music is just as important as other subjects because it is clinically proven to help patients and provide risk-free form of medication.

Expressing yourself through music is so much more powerful than we allow it to be. It’s not just entertainment, it’s medication and self-care. It helps your mind and body.

During Kenendy’s treatments, she was unable to enjoy the fervorous and energetic activities most sixth graders love, much like many of our CMF Kids that are unable to leave their hospital beds. “One of the only things I could do was sing and listen to music. It gave me another resource to cultivate my love for singing and it all had a positive effect on increasing dopamine and my mood.”

With the Music Therapy resources being offered to CMF Kids, they also get to experience the beauty and healing benefits of music firsthand, and find a sliver of hope in what seems to be an impossible and frightening situation. Kennedy even encourages taking advantage of the digital resources being offered from the Telehealth Music Therapy sessions to reading up about the benefits of music or singing your favorite song!

The mental and physical benefits of Music Therapy are unmatched and Ellee Kennedy will always continue to support the education and advocacy of these services in order to help children all around the world.

“I would like to thank the entire Children’s Music Fund community and I think that your mission is incredible, I’m so happy to be a part of it and I can’t wait to get to know everyone on the team and every child, parent and member of the CMF Kids community.” 

To help more children experience the firsthand benefits of Music Therapy, donate here! 

~ Thank you to Ellee Kennedy, Miss Naples, CMF Kids Ambassador, for taking the time to be interviewed and share her story.~

The post Music-Morphosis: The Transformative Power of Music Therapy appeared first on Children's Music Fund.