(ECNS) -- A hospital in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has opened a music therapy room for patients, providing more than 200 musical instruments like pianos, guitars, electronic keyboards and drums.
Therapists help patients treat insomnia, depression and other diseases by letting them participate in singing and musical percussion sessions. Music therapy was introduced in China in the early 1980s and developed over more than 40 years.
However, due to the limitation of the economy and professional cognition, the early stage of its development was slow, which mainly focused on simple introduction.
During the past decade, with the development of the domestic economy, improvement of the medical environment and support of medical insurance policies, music therapy has been well promoted and applied across China. Instruments like ocean drums, thunder drums and rain sticks are used to simulate the sounds of nature, creating an immersed sense for patients and improving their mood.
This kind of musical instrument is mainly used in psychotherapy and is particularly effective for patients with depression and anxiety disorder.
A woman said her child, who has Down syndrome, has been receiving music therapy for more than six months. Now, her child's personality and language learning ability has improved significantly. There are one-to-one or group music therapy sessions, which are targeted differently, said Li.
But it is worth noting that music therapy is only an auxiliary means of treatment, not a special method nor the only means of treatment.
It can be combined with other treatments to achieve better results.
