Music Therapy Resources

Explore free and open-access music therapy research, article summaries, and educational resources curated by Revival Jam. Search the library below for topics spanning autism, depression, anxiety, quality of life, dementia, and more.

Critical Care, Hospital-Based Music Therapy, Medical Music Therapy, Patient Experience, Descriptive Qualitative Study Andrew Wolfson Critical Care, Hospital-Based Music Therapy, Medical Music Therapy, Patient Experience, Descriptive Qualitative Study Andrew Wolfson

Music Therapy in the ICU: Comfort, Connection, and the Human Side of Recovery

Music therapy in the ICU may support comfort, relaxation, emotional connection, and recovery for critically ill patients. This Revival Jam article explores a 2025 qualitative study on how music therapy may help humanize critical care, reduce stress, and support coping during hospitalization.

Article Overview

Music therapy is increasingly being explored in hospital and critical care settings as a supportive, patient-centered intervention. In this 2025 qualitative study, researchers examined how patients in a critical care unit experienced a 20-minute music therapy session led by a qualified music therapist. The study included 14 patients and focused on their perceptions of how music therapy influenced stress, illness, and recovery.

Three major themes emerged from the study: humanizing and accompanying the critical care experience, music therapy as a form of relaxation, and relief and recovery through music therapy. Patients described music therapy as comforting, emotionally connecting, and helpful in reducing stress, anxiety, pain, and feelings of isolation during ICU care.

Why This Matters

Critical care can be overwhelming, disorienting, and emotionally intense. This study matters because it shows that music therapy may support more than symptom relief. It may also help humanize care, create emotional connection, and offer patients a sense of comfort and identity in a highly medicalized environment.

For patients, families, nurses, and healthcare teams, this article highlights music therapy as a non-pharmacological approach that may support relaxation, coping, and emotional recovery in the ICU. The study also emphasizes the role of interdisciplinary care and suggests that personalized music therapy can become a meaningful part of critical care practice.

Saldaña-Ortiz, V., Recio-Rivas, A., Mansilla-Domínguez, J. M., & Martínez-Miguel, E. (2025). Impact of music therapy on patients in the critical care unit: A qualitative study. Nursing in Critical Care, 30, e70099. https://doi.org/10.1111/nicc.70099

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The Duet by James McNeill Whistler, public domain artwork featured in a Revival Jam article about music therapy in the ICU, comfort, emotional support, and recovery in critical care.

The Duet, James McNeill Whistler, 1894.

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