Indiana music therapy specialists talk about the practice

Indiana music therapy specialists talk about the practice 
BallStateDailyNews.com; by Hannah Amos; originally posted 9/3/24, distributed 9/12/24 
The strum of a guitar, the hum of a voice and the steady beat of a drum makes more than just music. It provides a way for people to work through their emotions.  Kirby Gilliam, owner and founder of Plainsong Music Services in Anderson, Indiana, said she noticed music creates a safe space.  ... [She] uses different techniques: expressive, receptive, recreated and the ISO principle. Expressive music therapy is when the patient makes music. The receptive technique is when the therapist makes music and the patient listens. Recreated is when patients sing songs made by other artists. Finally, the ISO principle is when the music matches the patient’s mood, and through music, they shift the mood in a positive direction, Gilliam said.  “Music therapy is an evidence-based field, based and rooted in science and research,” Gilliam said. “If it didn't have the evidence base, it would be more like hippie-dippy and anecdotal … The why is [that] music opens up your entire brain — all of the pathways.” ... Another worker at Plainsong is Hospice Coordinator Kinsey Lavy, who primarily works with geriatrics and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  
Editor's note: For a book specific to music therapy and music for hospice and grief care, with practical uses by mental health practitioners, I invite you to examine my book, Music of the Soul - Composing Life Out of Loss, published in Routledge's Series in Death, Dying and Bereavement, edited by Robert A. Neimeyer.