Music therapy in the rehabilitation of traumatically brain-injured persons: proposal for the application of an ecological model for therapeutic intervention

Abstract: Each year, 400.000 to 700.000 persons nationally suffer head injuries as a result of accident or abuse. Rehabilitation of these persons is acquiring greater recognition as knowledge of the brain and its capacity for adaptation is better understood. An overview of the literature pertaining to music therapy with brain-injured persons, neurological aspects of right-hemisphere dominance for musical/nonverbal tasks, and issues in families with handicapped members is provided. An ecological model for intervention is proposed which demonstrates an integration of these three areas. There has not been a large amount of documented clinical work in music therapy with this population. Since no injured person is an isolate, s/he needs to be viewed in terms of the various systems with which s/he must interface, e.g., family, health care personnel, community service agencies. The ecological framework offers a tool to facilitate inclusion of the multiplicity of factors affecting the rehabilitation of the patient. Use of this model may assist the music therapist in developing methods of therapeutic intervention with head-injured patients. Implications for policy and practice are presented.

Keyword(s): Rehabilitation, traumatic-brain-injury, ecological-model.

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