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The First Signs Of Music Therapy Essay

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The use of music for therapy has been seen to exist for almost as long as the start of therapy itself. At around 400 B.C., Hippocrates, a Greek physician known for his tremendous contributions to modern medicine, was shown to be the first human to use music as a way to therapeutically treat mental patients. Since then, records of other civilizations such as the Egyptians, Arabians, and even the Native Americans show signs of the use of music in medicine. This form of therapy was said to help align the soul and the body together. However, it was not until the 18th century that researchers have studied how music affects the nerves themselves (Gouk, 2004). The first signs of music therapy used in the modern world were predominantly in the United Kingdom after World War I (Degmecic, 2005). Musicians played to war veterans suffering from both mental and physical trauma to help alleviate their pain. As these veterans were seen having positive responses to the music played, doctors hired more musicians to help play at veteran hospitals. Seeing the positive feedback and recovery of the veterans prompted the use of music therapy to become an actual academic curriculum taught in college courses. Currently, the leading organization that focuses primarily on music therapy is the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) which was formed in 1998. Their team of music therapists has helped countless of patients improve both their physical and emotional help with the use of music. Music

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