The central tenet of this innovative collection is that identity can be regarded as a performance, achieved through and in dialogue with others. The authors show that where neuro-degenerative disease restricts movement, communication and thought processes and impairs the sense of self, music therapy is an effective intervention in neurological rehabilitation, successfully restoring the performance of identity within which clients can recognise themselves. It can also aid rehabilitation of clients affected by dementia, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis, among other...

This international collection examines the opportunities for using music-induced states of altered consciousness to promote physical and mental healing, treat substance dependence, and in spiritual and palliative care. The contributors describe the successful use of altered states and their therapeutic potential, providing examples from different cultures and clinical, therapeutic and spiritual settings. Their observations cover a wide range of music types capable of inducing altered states, including polyrhythmic music, monotonous drumming, Western pop, and Arab musical schemata,...

In this interdisciplinary and wide-ranging volume, David Aldridge explores the power of music as a healing treatment for a broad spectrum of physical and mental conditions including AIDS, cancer, coma, senile dementia and autism. This eye-opening book is valuable reading not only for music therapists but also creative arts therapists, occupational therapists, healthcare professionals, hospice workers and any other professional or student who works with chronically ill patients or the dying. Interweaving theory and practice, Aldridge demonstrates the many ways in which a culture of research...

Since the early 1960s there has been an enormous increase in the numbers of cases of suicide, self-mutilation and depression, adolescents and the elderly being high-risk groups. Suicidal behaviour has become a major health-care issue. David Aldridge argues that although western culture has traditionally understood suicide to be the choice of the individual, this is a misleading perception. While the patient may feel as though he or she is acting in isolation, the reasons for suicide and self-mutilation are essentially social. Attention should therefore be focused to a far greater extent on...

Within the last decade music therapists have developed their work with people who have life-threatening illnesses and with those who are dying. This book presents some of that work from music therapists working in different approaches, in different countries, showing how valuable the inclusion of music therapy in palliative care has already proved to be. It is important for the dying, or those with terminal illness, that approaches are used which integrate the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of their being. The contributors to this book emphasize the importance of...

Within the last decade music therapists have developed their work with the elderly and with people with dementia. Drawing on the diverse research and considerable personal experience of contributors from around the world, Music Therapy in Dementia Care takes a comprehensive look at music therapy as a means of improving memory, health and identity in those suffering from dementia - particularly the Alzheimer's type. It explores the issues which may arise in working with this group, such as coping with wartime memories, and shows how music therapy facilitates and enables communication through...

The spiritual factors associated with healing are increasingly being acknowledged by modern medicine. Our definition of what constitutes health has expanded beyond the purely medical, yet the delivery of modern medicine to the patient often fails to take this into account. Doctors, anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists have all written on the subject, but thus far the literature has been fragmented between the disciplines. David Aldridge presents the first unified approach to the subject. In Spirituality, Healing and Medicine he evaluates the existing literature from across the...

Musical improvisation is an increasingly recognised rehabilitative therapy for people who have experienced traumatic brain injury initially thought to be 'unreachable' or 'non-responsive'. Music Therapy and Traumatic Brain Injury demonstrates how music therapy can be used to attend to the holistic, rather than purely functional, needs of people affected by severe head trauma. Divided into three parts, the first section provides an introduction to the effects brain injury has on a person's livelihood. The second is a comprehensive review of available literature on the use of music therapy in...

Recent studies show that music can reach the parts of the human brain that are linked to addiction, and can function as an integral part of recovery. This research-based, practical book demonstrates how music and music therapy can be applied in a variety of treatment settings to bring about therapeutic change. Addictions such as alcohol, gambling and drugs are all covered in this interdisciplinary text, and chapters explore everything from the meaning of music in the lives of addicts to devising music therapy programs, enhancing coping strategies and preventing relapse. Lifestyle issues are...