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Musicotherapy

A brilliant oceanic civilisation​

Musicotherapy

Musicotherapy is a discipline on the edge of musical art, medicine and psychology. It uses music, and more widely sounds, noises and frequencies, to bring a person to a better-being. It is a non-verbal therapy ("Music begins where the power of words stops" Richard Wagner).

 

Music has beneficial effects on the brain and the body. It alters reactions, both increases or inhibits communication, favours creativity and expression, stimulates the memory, allows introspection and modifies our body chemistry.

Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy

History of music therapy


The term "musicotherapy" is relatively recent (between the 1940s and the 1950s), but it must be remembered that in Greece, musicians used their talents to influence the mood of their audience, as well as their own. 


During the Second World War, music was used to alleviate psychological traumatic disorders as well as the physical pain of soldiers, where traditional medicine struggled to find solutions. In France, the first noted person to have the intimate conviction of music's therapeutic interest is Jacques Jost, a sound engineer, who declares music as a factor of patient care (1954).

 

Dr. Rolando Benenzon, a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and argentinian music composer, founded a musicotherapy course at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (1966). He was also co-founder and first president of the World Federation of MusicoTherapy (WFMT). Edith Lecourt, musicotherapist, musician and professor at the university Paris V (René Descartes), co-founder of the AFM (French Association of MusicoTherapy) and author gives a complete overview of this modern therapy in her book : "Musicotherapy" (Eyrolles 2014 edition).
 

Music therapy, a practice in addition to traditional medicine

Music and sounds are absolutely ubiquitous around us. The brain perceives visual information that is immediately interpretable, but the sounds around us affect our subconscious and our physiology.  A musicotherapist can welcome patients in their own personal studio, and can also practice in specialised structures such as hospitals (neo-natal sector, end of life, palliative care), specialist homes, retirement homes (EHPAD) and medical care facilities.

 

Considered a "complementary" therapy, musicotherapy applies to any field requiring psychiatric, psychological, and physical care. It is based mainly on the distinctive sound identity of each individual (defined by R. Benenzon), which begins to be built during intra-uterine life.

Cetody Sound Healing - Musicotherapy
Cetody Sound Healing - Pierre Robert de Latour - Musicotherapy
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