Watch the Astonishing Healing Benefits of Music Therapy
About the Video
This video was made at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, and highlights the works of our two amazing music therapists: Matt Logan and Brianna Negrete. Our music therapy program at UCSF Benioff San Francisco was started in October of 2013 by Oliver Jacobson, who is now our director of development for the foundation. Our two music therapists facilitate on average 121 music therapy sessions for 61 unique patients per month. They cover all units of the children’s hospital from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to Hematology and Oncology and the Bone Marrow Transplant unit.
Keep reading to find out how you can support this important work and visit our Contributions page to donate today!
Music Therapy for Children
Matt Logan gets to the core of music therapy: “In the actual creation of the music, it’s in that relationship between the therapist and patient, it is drawing out that masterpiece that exists within the child actually in the act of making music.”
In the above video, we see a snapshot of the weekly music therapy group in the Creative Arts Studio, which provides a safe place for kids to be kids! Music is the tool for these children to develop peer relationships, work as a team and reduce stress during their hospital stay.
Music therapy in the children’s hospital is about empowerment. It is about bringing out a child’s abilities and talents, to bolster self-esteem, and provide opportunities for self-expression, meaning making and normalcy.
Music Therapy is proven to:
- Promote Wellness
- Improve Communication
- Promote Physical Rehabilitation
- Express Feelings
- Enhance Memory
- Manage Stress
- Alleviate Pain
Music Therapy for Babies
Following Matt, we then see Brianna Negrete facilitate NICU music therapy in the Infant Intensive Care. She sings lullabies to babies born pre-mature, and speaks to how cautious and informed NICU music therapy can reduce stress for both baby and family while promoting healthy development for premature infants.
Music therapy interventions in the NICU have been seen to reduce heart rate and blood pressure in infants, increase blood oxygen saturation levels, promote sleep and relaxation, help babies develop the non-nutritive sucking response, and even reduce the length of hospital stay.
Our Music Therapists
Our music therapists work as part of the Child Life Services Team at UCSF Benioff Children’s SF, but also work closely with the integrated pain and palliative care team, social work services, psycho-social rounding teams, and adolescent medicine. Music therapy is now an integrated component to medical care at UCSF Benioff. Our music therapists receive referrals from doctors, social workers, and child life specialists to target specific medical goals with music based interventions to promote positive health outcomes.
Support Music Therapy Today!
The Peterson Family Foundation supports the entire salary of these music therapists along with cutting edge recording and production tools in the studio, and high quality music instruments for the program. Please help us sustain this program and bring music therapy to more children’s hospitals around the country and the world by joining our foundation in this work!
Visit our Contributions page today!
Thank you!