Julia Annabi

Photo by Trish Vo

Child Life and Therapeutic Arts

The Child Life & Therapeutic Arts Program at Phoenix Children’s provides crucial support through music therapy and other creative arts, helping children cope with their challenges and emotions while growing developmentally.

For more information on how you can help children express themselves, manage difficult emotions and thrive regardless matter their circumstances, visit phoenixchildrens.org/patient-visitor-information/support-programs/child-life-and-therapeutic-arts-programs

Music has a unique ability to transcend barriers, communicate feelings, provide comfort and foster connections that words often fail to express. For children, especially those facing health challenges or lengthy hospitalizations, music therapy is a tool for coping, comfort, supporting developmental milestones and fostering emotional expression.

Unlike mostly anything else, whether inside a hospital room or at home, music remains unchanged. Music therapy addresses a child's developmental, psychosocial, physiological and emotional needs.

Developmental support: Music as a pathway for growth

Children go through important growth stages in their early years, including developing coordination, memory and language. Music therapy plays a significant role in helping with this growth by engaging various parts of the brain. In a hospital, kids are not in their normal environment, and therefore not socializing or engaging with other children and experiencing life “normally” as they would in a school setting, for example.

It is crucial to ensure that these children are immersed in developmentally appropriate experiences that focus on and work toward age-appropriate developmental milestones.

Pediatric music therapists are experts in child development and use evidence-based practice and intervention to tailor to each patient’s individual developmental needs and milestones. By using rhythm, melody, movement and sound, music therapy helps children with their motor skills, improve memory and develop communication.

For example, if a child is recovering from surgery or an illness, music can aid in the healing process in various ways. Activities like drumming, singing, playing an instrument or listening to live music at bedside target a variety of different goals depending on the specific intervention such as relaxation, pain management, fine and gross motor skills, respiratory strengthening, cognition, supporting developmental milestones and memory. Research shows that music increases neuroplasticity and creates new neural pathways and connections, supporting children’s development and encouraging positive behavior, even during stressful times in the hospital.

Psychosocial benefits: Encouraging connection and social interaction

The psychosocial well-being of a child is essential, particularly during challenging times in a hospital. Being hospitalized can lead to feelings of isolation, fear and confusion. Music therapy provides an outlet for children to express themselves in ways they may not be able to verbalize. This expressive outlet can reduce anxiety, lead to better overall coping, decrease feelings of depression and anxiety, and improve social interaction.

Emotional healing: Music as a source of comfort 

Emotionally, children are particularly vulnerable when facing health challenges. The trauma of chronic illness, long hospital stays or undergoing painful treatments or procedures can cause emotional distress that impacts a child’s overall quality of life. This could lead to other problems such as anxiety or depression.

Music therapy provides a critical emotional support system for many reasons. Therapeutic music experiences facilitated by a board-certified music therapist focus on expression, coping with what they are going through, relaxation and setting children up for success in expressing and handling their emotions and how they are feeling independently. Whether soothing anxiety before, during and after a procedure, songwriting or engaging in progressive muscle relaxation, music serves as a constant companion, helping children feel more at ease in the hospital environment and beyond.

 Music offers a sense of normalization and autonomy amidst the chaos of a hospital stay. It provides an emotional release, allowing children to feel heard and validated, even when they are unable to articulate their feelings verbally.

Music therapy’s lasting impact on children’s lives

Music therapy is a powerful way to support children's developmental, emotional, physiological and psychosocial needs. In hospitals like Phoenix Children’s, it serves as a beacon of comfort and growth, helping children and their families navigate tough times with healing and hope.

Editor’s note: Julia Annabi is a music therapist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.