Hamad Medical Corporation to Promote Music Therapy in Qatar

Doha, October 10 (QNA) - Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is set to harness the power of music into its healthcare services soon with the Rehabilitation Department set to introduce special Music Therapy programmes for its patients.
HMC and Qatar Music Academy (QMA) are organizing a week-long specialist training workshop to promote the concept of "Music Therapy" in Qatar, Qatari daily (The Peninsula) reported.
"We are looking to provide professional music therapy in the near future, as part of a comprehensive set of allied health services for the benefit of our patients. It will benefit at least three fourth of our patients in rehabilitation and can be provided as both inpatient and outpatient programmes. Hence we have organized the orientation workshop," said Dr Wafa Al Yazeedi, Acting Chairperson of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at HMC.
Music Therapy is an established form of therapy where music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals.
"Music a language that can reach anybody in any physical or psychological state and this is the level we work at in music therapy. We establish contact or communication without words basically through music. Thus a therapist can reach very deep areas of the being even if one is ill. It is about how you get involved with each other and react. Thus a therapist can help create a connection between the patient and the world, helping in the healing process," said Barbara Aeberhard, a Switzerland-based music therapist.
Studies are finding that music can have a variety of therapeutic effects. In 1995, researchers found that listening to Mozart before an IQ test boosts scores by roughly nine points. In another research, stroke victims and patients with Parkinson s disease exposed to 30 minutes of rhythmic stimulation daily showed significant improvements in their ability to walk. A daily dose of Mozart given to chronically ill and depressed patients made them more cheerful, stable, and sociable. It has also been shown to boost the immune function in children. Premature babies exposed to lullabies in the hospital also went home earlier.
A weeklong training workshop for 20 rehabilitation and allied health service professionals and therapists from HMC, Al Noor Institute, Shafallah Centre and MADA (Qatar Assistive Technology Centre) has been organized with the aim of introducing these professionals to music therapy. (QNA)