Everybody likes some type of music. For someone dealing with a chronic illness, bursting out in song might not be the first impulse. But music has healing qualities that can alleviate stress, anxiety, and even pain. Music therapy is a health care discipline used worldwide as a treatment for all sorts of illnesses, and its benefits can be seen in those living with multiple sclerosis.

   The broad definition of music therapy is using music to address a nonmusical goal. This can include physical and emotional health goals, and even academic or educational goals. In a clinical or hospital setting, music therapists tend to focus on three things: reducing anxiety, depression, and the perception of pain. According to the American Musical Therapy Association, “research results and clinical experiences attest to the viability of music therapy even in those patients resistant to other treatment approaches.”

   Libby Stephens, Music Therapist–Board Certified, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, conducts music therapy sessions in acute care, palliative care, and intensive care settings. “We see that it helps the patients relax, and it helps them cope and express their feelings about what they’re going through,” Stephens says.

"I certainly think that every
institution should have its music
therapy and its music therapists."

—Oliver Sacks, MD, neurologist

   “Sometimes we refer to the music almost as a third party—it’s often easier for someone to say, ‘That song reminds me of when this happened in my life,’ or, ‘This song makes me think about what I’m going through,” when they’re listening to or playing music.”