Pain Relief with
Music Therapy
Music Therapy in Minnesota
What is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is a clinical practice that uses music as part of a personalized care plan through listening, singing, playing instruments, or creating music.
A board-certified music therapist works with each person to customize sessions to their unique needs, with the goal of supporting physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and social well-being.
In Minnesota, music therapy may be used in hospitals, clinics, palliative care, cancer centers, and community settings.
Music therapy may provide avenues for communication that can be helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words. It can involve both active participation, such as making or writing music, and receptive experiences, such as guided listening.
For those living with pain, music therapy may help reduce stress, strengthen coping skills, and help with the emotional experience of pain.
How Music Therapy
May Help with Pain
Pain involves more than physical sensation—it also affects emotions, thinking, and daily life. Music therapy works by addressing these multiple layers of the pain experience. In Minnesota, many people use music therapy alongside medical care to help manage pain.
Research suggests music therapy may support:
- Lowering heart rate and blood pressure
- Managing stress, anxiety, and depression
- Alleviating pain and cancer-related symptoms
- Promoting emotional expression and mood
- Supporting physical rehabilitation
- Reducing pain-related stress
- Encouraging positive coping with illness
- Enhancing sense of control
- Lessening pain interference in daily life
Music therapy is available in hospitals, clinics, and community settings throughout Minnesota—from Mankato and Brainerd to Grand Marais, Winona, and towns across the state.
Learn More About Music
Therapy in Minnesota
Find a Music Therapist in Minnesota
In 350 BCE, Aristotle wrote that music holds the power to bring about realization and affect the soul. Today, research suggests music may help ease the experience of pain. In Minnesota, more than 80 board-certified music therapists offer services—find one through the NOPAINMN map.
