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Music Therapy Helps Troubled, Withdrawn Patients Reach Out, Connect; Vets Find Songs in the; Key of Life

Posted on: Monday, 8 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Poet William Congreve wrote that music hath charms to soothe a savage breast. To music therapist Shep Crumrine, music also hath charms to heal a troubled mind.

For Crumrine, one of about 4,000 music therapists in the country, music is a significant component in the treatment of his patients at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center. During therapy sessions, he encourages patients to sing and play music together, or to just listen quietly to pre-recorded music.

Most of Crumrine's patients receive treatment for acute psychiatric disorders or for drug or alcohol abuse. He said music can be remarkably effective at encouraging withdrawn patients to reach out and open up, and for doctors and patients to communicate on a non-verbal level.

"Music brings (patients) together and makes them a group. When they're making a rhythm together, they feel a sense of accomplishment, a connectedness to other people," Crumrine said. "They don't say it in so many words, but you can see it, you can feel it happening."

While the field of music therapy has been around since World War II, the Zablocki VA staff takes music one step further by organizing what they call Coffee House events every six weeks or so. At these events, patients perform on stage for their family, VA staff and fellow patients.

"The performance aspect is a small part of what they've been doing through their music," Crumrine said. "It's an opportunity for veterans to be more public with their creativity, to share what they've been doing through music."

At a Coffee House on Aug. 1, about 25 patients and doctors performed for an appreciative audience of about 50. The performances ranged from karaoke renditions of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" to dramatic poetry readings and inspirational speeches.

One lively performer was Earle Miller, 49, of Milwaukee, a Navy veteran from the Vietnam era. Miller first came to the VA Medical Center for alcoholism treatment, and he discovered Crumrine's music therapy and the Coffee House performances. At the time he was quiet and reserved, rarely speaking above a whisper. He kept to himself and was frequently unkempt. But music had always been a release for him, so last year he participated in his first Coffee House.

The experience changed him so much that his own doctor had trouble recognizing him that night.

"When he first came in here for treatment, Earle was rundown physically and mentally," said VA Medical Center psychologist Bertrand Berger. "He had no self-esteem, no confidence to sing or do anything. But that night he became a whole new person. He was animated; he couldn't stop smiling. He showed people he was more than an alcoholic."

Such is the power of music therapy, agreed Al Bumanis, director of communications for the American Music Therapy Association.

"You don't have to be a musician to benefit from music," Bumanis said. "Sometimes it's something as simple as creating rhythm together using drums, tambourines, maracas."

Music therapy can be applied to individuals or a group, and can involve listening to or playing music. Bumanis said typically a session involves a group actively creating music.

Crumrine, the music therapist, has a list of about 200 songs from which his patients choose a selection to play. Those who can play instruments are encouraged to do so, while those who can't clap along. The songs run the gamut of musical tastes, from blues to rock 'n' roll, from jazz to golden oldies. He avoids lyrically explicit rap and limits religious songs unless he knows the group shares the same religious beliefs. Then they discuss feelings the music prompted.

"The songs help them loosen up their thoughts. A lot of popular songs have to do with people's personal problems, so patients gravitate to those songs," Crumrine said. "Then that becomes the start of more in-depth psychotherapy sessions."

Miller, the former introvert, sang Bobby Darin's "More" and Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Something Stupid" at the Aug. 1 Coffee House. He said the experience, as always, left him exhilarated.

"This gives me a chance to see myself in a good light, and it gives me a reason to stay sober," he said. "When you're up on stage, you almost feel like you own the world."

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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