MUSIC MEDICINE
by Composer Frederic Delarue
Music Tested at Oasis Rehabilitation Center, Indio, California
by Music Therapist & Director, Sako K.
  
"The study of the effects of listening to music on human's thought, emotion, and behavior has been a curious topic for people a long time.
The relationship between music and the mental health has been researched. Some researches indicated that there are positive effects of listening to music on the brain of human being.
I am a music therapist - board certified, currently working at the acute psychiatric hospital.
For treating people with mental illness, I organize and facilitate therapeutic music-related groups in which I use Mr. Delarue's music frequently, especially (1) Dolphin, A Message of Love, (2) Soaring with the Angels, and (3) Reflection, Dream Your Life, Live Your Dreams.
Through my experiences, I have noticed that
his music have the strongest healing powers.
I would like to share some of my experiences:
'Dolphins... A Message of Love' has been found to have the strongest powers for purifying, balancing and toning.
There was one patient who has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. The patient has no insight at all, demanding to be discharged from the hospital. Affect was very labile, changed from crying to screaming and yelling to peers and staff.
I put the Dolphins CD as a background music,
and within 10 minutes,
the patient became calm and went back to the room.
This kind of behavior is very rare for this patient. Obviously, 'Dolphins... A Message of Love' helped the patient to alleviate anxious mood.
The another example for the effects of listening to that CD is to affect the body awareness:
One patient reported chronic fatigue, due to lack of sleep induced by anxious feeling.
I gave the patient assignments to listen to (track #10: 'From my Heart'), (track #11: 'Angels of the Sea'), and (#12: 'Reverence') from 'Dolphins... A Message of Love' , and to draw a pictures with a color pen and pencils after listening to these three music pieces.
This patient draw the mountains and river, and stated "This place makes me calm."
After the session, the patient stated that he felt very calm and smiled. Also, the patient reported that the fatigue level has dropped.
'Soaring with the Angels' and 'Reflection' seem to have similar effects, which include soothing, calming, and inducing sleep.
One day, a patient reported somatic pain and asked extra medications many times but was refused to receive due to exceeding the daily dose limit.
This patient cried and screamed.
I put the 'Soaring with the Angels' as a background music, and in a few minutes, this patient came near the music boom box from which this CD was being played.
The patient listened to the music for a while, eventually lied down and took a nap without taking extra medication.
Obviously, 'Soaring with the Angels' played a vital role in calming the patient's nerves, and soothing the patient's mind as well as inducing sleep.
I used 'Reflection, Dream Your Life, Live Your Dreams' during a relaxation group, and I received many comments from the patient. "This makes me calm," "more relaxed," and "stress free."
Combined with deep breathing method brought positive results and the patient loved the activities. Also, I have noticed that the 'Reflection' CD helps the patients to surround themselves with positive music and thoughts.
After listening to the music, the client showed more positve attitude and had positive comments.
I have known and used Mr. Delarue's music for only a month, and I have already observed many unbelievable and good effects of his music on the patients ' emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
It is really important to choose the music carefully for the patients.
When I prescribe the right music
from Mr. Delarue's CDs collection
to meet the patient's needs,
the result is a miracle.
Written by Sako Kamahara (August 8, 2010)
© 2021 Frederic Delarue Productions - All Rights Reserved.
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