Music therapy: a program that improves the well-being of young patients

Music Therapy Month is the perfect opportunity to highlight music’s therapeutic potential as an unexpected way to heal. Because of donors like you, our patients can count on a dedicated team of licensed music therapists who use music to improve their well-being.

Tiana Malone, music therapist specializing in neonatology at the Montreal Children's Hospital, explains the benefits of this type of therapy:

“Music makes the language of the brain, emotions and motor function work. Music therapy also allows the patient to form positive relationships in their medical environment, which makes the hospital less frightening, especially for children. It can also be very useful in premature babies. The iso-principle is often used: it is a technique that regulates the newborn's heart rate or abnormal breathing by listening to sounds and vibrations. Music also helps relieve pain, since it releases "happiness hormones" like serotonin, and activates the brain regions associated with pleasure."

Music therapists help young patients to express their emotions. "For example, we can give musical instruments to a child to express their frustrations about hospitalization, non-verbally."

A program made possible thanks to our generous donors

We would like to thank Andy Collins for Kids, Sarah’s Fund for Cedars, the Simple Plan Foundation, Stelpro and you for allowing our young patients to benefit from this innovative program.

(Pictured: Stelpro's pledge of $ 50,000 to support music therapy and therapeutic clown programs at the Children's.)