Music has a powerful effect on the listener. It is linked to better mental health, and it has been shown to alleviate loneliness, pain, anxiety, and depression.
For this reason, it is increasingly being prescribed by doctors as a form of medicine. This practice—where patients are referred to various activities such as running groups, art classes, and choirs—is known as social prescribing.
Music-based activities may be prescribed to help support patients’ mental health, combat isolation, encourage physical activity, and keep an active brain.
While social prescribing is a relatively new practice, the use of music as a therapeutic tool is not. The first widespread use of music as a therapeutic tool can be traced back to the 19th century, where it was used in Victorian asylums to support patients’ treatment….