Music Therapy in Procedural Care: From Prep to Recovery
The Role of Music Therapy in Medical Procedures
Medical procedures—whether diagnostic or therapeutic—are almost universally associated with anxiety. Patients and their caregivers face a combination of physical and psychological challenges that extend across the entire process: before, during, and after the procedure.
Why Music Therapy Matters in This Setting
Understanding the full spectrum of distress surrounding medical procedures is important before exploring how music therapy can help. The types of procedures encountered by music therapists in clinical practice range widely, but diagnostic and treatment procedures are the most frequent contexts.
Diagnostic procedures often generate heightened anxiety for both patients and caregivers, particularly when the result may be a life-threatening diagnosis. In treatment situations, the intense hope for a successful outcome can be equally stressful.
Modern medical procedures have become increasingly accurate and efficient compared to just a decade ago. Yet this progress has a financial cost. The more advanced the procedure, the greater the economic burden on patients and families, compounding the emotional strain they already endure.
Physical fatigue in caregivers is an often overlooked problem. While the patient receives professional attention from physicians and nursing staff, the caregiver’s role is limited to waiting—from the start of preparation (pre-op) through to recovery (post-op). Well-meaning suggestions to rest rarely help when a loved one is under the knife, leading to deep physical and psychological exhaustion.
Once a procedure is finished, patients experience a range of post-operative issues, most commonly pain. After anaesthesia subsides, pain perception rises. Meanwhile, the unfamiliar environment of a hospital ward brings psychological distress that further amplifies symptoms.
Procedures can be alarming, especially for those who remain conscious or partially conscious during the event (such as dental patients under local anaesthetic). Cooperation, essential in these scenarios, may suffer. Children and infants also struggle, with something as routine as an injection causing major physical and emotional upset, which in turn adds to parental stress.
The list above touches only a few of the challenges encountered in procedural care.
The Music Therapy Approach
Music therapy is a professional discipline that leverages music and its core elements to support health and wellbeing. It offers a cost-effective, positive alternative for managing distress and can be employed flexibly in procedural settings. Trained therapists select among various techniques based on the client’s functional level, needs, and the specific context.
A diagrammatic representation I created while teaching a class on “Music Therapy in Procedural Support” at the School of Music Therapy, ISCM.
What Music Therapists Do in Procedural Care
A key consideration in procedural settings—particularly when therapy is delivered during the procedure itself—is maintaining a sterile environment. If live music is not feasible, recorded music may be used instead.
The receptive method, which involves listening to and reflecting on music, is the technique most commonly employed during procedures. For pre- and post-procedural support, all four methods of music therapy can be introduced.
Practical examples help clarify how these methods work.
A patient about to undergo an endoscopy is likely to have significant pre-procedural anxiety, given the invasive nature of the procedure. A music therapist might meet with the patient beforehand, offering a recreative experience where the patient and therapist sing one or two preferred songs. Spiritual or religious music is a common choice in this setting.
Root canal treatment takes place without general anaesthesia; the patient remains conscious and must follow the dentist’s instructions while lying still with instruments inside the mouth. Many find this extremely uncomfortable. A music therapist may stay throughout the procedure, playing a live instrument to help distract from emotional distress.
For open-heart surgery, intense fear and anxiety overwhelm the patient, even though actual music therapy cannot take place during surgery (due to general anaesthesia). A few days before the procedure, then, a therapist might work together with the patient on songwriting—creating a song around a theme of hope, strength, or motivation. This creative process allows the patient to express deeply personal thoughts and prepares them emotionally for the experience ahead.
Recovering from orthopaedic surgery, patients frequently perceive high levels of pain at the surgical site. Through guided imagery combined with music, a therapist can help redirect attention and reduce pain perception.
Babies receiving immunisations often develop a fear of needles, crying so intensely that it hinders the procedure. A music therapist can intervene with small instruments like rattles and shakers, along with finger puppets, to create a positive distraction. This soothes the child, and by extension the parents and medical team.
Caring for Healthcare Providers
The physical and psychological strain on the healthcare team—those who actually conduct procedures—deserves more attention. Music therapy offers ways to help them, too, both during and between procedures.
Surgeons, nurses, and allied professionals work long hours, giving full mental focus and physical effort to each case. In emergencies, breaks are impossible. Ongoing music therapy sessions, along with lifestyle modifications that incorporate music, can address professional fatigue and pain.
Music Therapy Versus Music Medicine
It is unrealistic to expect a music therapist at every procedure. In India, where qualified medical music therapists are scarce, wide deployment is simply not feasible. Healthcare professionals who want patients to benefit from music but lack access to a therapist can fall back on the music medicine approach. Music medicine refers to the administration of recorded music listening by a healthcare provider.