Music and Music Therapy

The purpose of this study was to better understand how local veterans use music in their daily lives and attempt to comprehend their interests in music therapy services. Data was analyzed for 45 participants, 36 non-student veterans and 9 student veterans. The participant age range was 27-78 and the mean age of all the participants was 56.8. Results determined that all of the participants encountered music in their daily lives and the mean level of enjoyment in music was 8.91. Sixty-five percent of the participants had used music to help any positive or negative experiences related to his/her military service. The most commonly used CAM therapies were the following: massage therapy, meditation, chiropractic and osteopathic medicine, and nutrition/diet. Most of the participants had low levels of knowledge about board certified music therapy services, but reported the highest level of interest in learning about or trying a music therapy session to increase relaxation (6.89), compared to coping skills (5.82) and socialization (5.80). Non-student veterans had the highest level of interest in learning about or trying a music therapy session to increase relaxation (7.09) and student veterans had the highest level of interests in learning about or trying a music therapy session to increase relaxation (6.11) and coping skills (6.11). Finally, participants were more likely to participate in music therapy sessions if they were organized at their local veteran groups or organizations (5.96) compared to creative arts or recreation therapy sessions, including music therapy, at their local VA facilities (4.96).