Page 92 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 4 | April - May 2024

hat do you picture when you think of
therapy? Many of us are familiar with the
term in the traditional sense. Cognitive
behavioural therapy, for example, involves going to see
a psychiatrist and re-evaluating our belief systems to
understand the past, alter our present, and improve our
future. Meanwhile, physical therapy involves carefully
adjusting and activating muscles and joints in our body
to reduce inflammation and better our health. But what
if I told you that music, played in the right way by the
right individual, could not only improve your mental
health, but your physical and emotional health too?

Music therapy has a history that goes back all the way
to the Greek myths. It is no coincidence that Apollo
was both the god of medicine and music. In fact, both
Aristotle and Plato emphasised that healing sounds
could better the mind and the body. Since the 1940s,
with the formation of the American Music Therapy
Association, the benefits that music therapy can have
on individuals have been thoroughly explored and How music therapy heals the body,
recorded. Not only can it reduce stress, improve working mind, and soul.
memory, lower blood pressure, and reduce anxiety,
it can also help manage pain. Music therapy is best B Y AYU SH MADAN
suited for those individuals who have trouble with
verbal communication. Since these individuals would
not be able to accurately describe their problems to
a psychiatrist, music becomes the medium through
which they are able to have the most relief. Presently,
the Department of Medical Services is planning to
conduct a study with the Mahidol College of Music To gain further insight, Masala spoke to an exchange music therapy
to boost the efficiency of Thai traditional music in student in Mahidol University about the state of music therapy in
therapy. Doctors and psychiatrists will work together Thailand and across the world.
with musicians and researchers to make this form of
therapy more effective.

92 | MASALA MAGAZINE APR-MAY 2024