Music Therapy Inspires Healing at University Hospitals

Music therapy at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health offers patients a way to use music to communicate and to improve their physical and emotional well-being. Music therapy plans are tailored to each patient’s needs, helping them get the most out of each session.

“Our most widely used integrative approach has been the use of music therapy to assist with pain management and quality of life,” says Samuel Rodgers-Melnick, a music therapist and clinical researcher with UH Connor Whole Health.

Finding Respite in Music Therapy

A variety of individuals utilize music therapy at University Hospitals, including patients with cancer, those in physical or speech therapy and pediatric patients.

Cleveland resident Tasha Taylor uses music therapy to aid with sickle cell disease. When she’s in a crisis, she describes her pain level as a 10/10 or worse. She stops whatever she’s doing and lies down alone. The condition makes her feel isolated, anxious and depressed. The episodes can last for days, weeks or sometimes months and often send Taylor to the hospital. During an inpatient stay at University Hospitals when Taylor was a teenager, she discovered music therapy.

“When I met Sam, he would come in and my pain would be a 10. When we were done with our lessons, I was at a four or a five. Music eases my pain, it eases my body, it eases everything. It calms me. It calms my anxiety and depression,” Taylor says.

UH Connor Whole Health

“Integrative health affirms the importance of the relationship between the patient and care provider and focuses on the whole person,” says Francoise Adan, MD, UH Chief Whole Health & Well-being Officer; Director, UH Connor Whole Health; Christopher M. and Sara H. Connor Chair in Integrative Health. “Our goal at UH Connor is to build on the extremely successful evidence-based programs we’ve already deployed to ensure continuous improvement in care delivery, patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes.”

Taylor continues to rely on music therapy for pain management as her pain crises worsen with age. She uses links to music therapy exercises and meditation guides to manage her pain. She listens on her phone and relies on the lessons nearly every day.

“Music therapy has had a big effect on my life," she says. "It taught me to control my emotions when I’m angry, sad. I know how to elevate to music to calm myself down or ease my mind, relax, clear my head and then start back over.”