Can Music Improve Your Health? The Science Behind Music Therapy

Can music improve your health? Decades of research suggests the answer is ‘Yes’. Explore the growing field of music therapy and the remarkable ways music is being used as a clinical tool to support healing, reduce anxiety, manage pain and improve quality of life. Board-certified music therapists Maggie Connors, MT-BC, and Danica Cunningham, MT-BC, of Golisano Children’s Hospital at UVM Health explain how evidence-based music interventions are helping pediatric patients navigate medical procedures, cope with hospitalization, regulate emotions and reconnect with a sense of normalcy during some of life’s most challenging moments. You’ll learn how music therapy supports children and families before, during and after medical procedures, why personalized music matters, and how research has linked music interventions to improvements in anxiety, pain, emotional wellbeing, and even outcomes for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and cancer. Whether you’re a parent, health care professional, caregiver, or simply someone who loves music, this conversation reveals how sound, connection and clinical expertise can come together to support healing in powerful ways.