Music is the Medicine of the Mind - John Logan

Jessie & the Healing Harp offers private therapeutic music sessions to those who are seeking holistic healing in conjunction with traditional Western medicine. Jessie is a graduate of the program Music for Healing and Transition (https://www.mhtp.org/) and maintains a certification as a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) through this training.

As a therapeutic musician the music Jessie offers in sessions is guided to respond to the patient’s immediate needs, whether those be pain relief, anxiety reduction, cognitive stimulation or assistance in active transition.

 It is important to note that therapeutic music is not music therapy and Certified Music Practitioners are not music therapists.

Jessie is trained to provide individualized bedside therapeutic sessions to those in hospital, palliative and private home settings. Some of the most common, immediate benefits to those who receive live music sessions are: lowered blood pressure, stabilized heart rhythms, deepened breathing, pain relief, overall relaxation and stress relief.

Contemporary scientific research has shown that music has measurable physiological effects.  For example, therapeutic music may stabilize heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rates.  Studies have shown such diverse results as the finding that therapeutic music can have a positive influence on protective cells of the immune system, can lead a patient into a state of deep relaxation, and can increase endorphin production which may decrease the need for pain medication.  Salivary immunoglobulin, which speeds healing, may be increased.  Music may reduce infection, affect heart rate, aid digestion, and reduce stress.  Music is also becoming a part of drug and alcohol detoxification therapy.  It is used with Alzheimer's and comatose https://www.mhtp.org/patients and as an aid for those with learning disabilities, as well as in many other situations.  Numerous additional research publications and related work are given in our bibliography (PDF). *

RESEARCH LINKS

  1. This article refers to playing pre-recorded music but a huge benefit of having live music, is that it can be responsive to the patient's reaction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23740695/

  2. 2018: Meta-analysis evaluating music interventions for anxiety and pain in surgery https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175460/

  3.  Mini-research findings on having live vs. recorded music in a pre-surgical environment.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32088668/

  4. 2010: The impact of live therapeutic music on patient’s experience of pain, anxiety and muscle tension.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20023519

*information from MHTP’s website: https://www.mhtp.org/what-is-therapeutic-music