ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Whether it’s a coping tool, emotional expression or pain management -- music therapy has proven to be a valuable resource for many patients.
Beaumont Health’s only music therapy program is in Royal Oak at Beaumont Children’s. The program has only been around for about six years, funded by the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Troy Poldo-Parker, an 18-year-old cancer survivor, enjoys playing his saxophone at home but it wasn’t too long ago he was playing it from his hospital bed as part of his musical therapy.
“They really helped me when I was in the hospital. I was really going through the hardest part of my life and they made it much better,” said Poldo-Parker.
He was diagnosed with AML, acute myeloid leukemia, right before his senior prom in June 2021. Poldo-Parker had to miss band auditions for Jackson State University because he was in the hospital.
He said, “Times were rough in the hospital. I was really distraught when I found out but Holly came in and played a couple of songs. We really bonded over music.”
Holly Gibbs is a board certified music therapist. Her job is to show patients the healing power of music; for example, someone dealing with pain.
“I can go in there with a guitar and I can play their favorite song and I can make it into more of a relaxing lullaby type style of playing. And without the patient even really knowing, I will sink my guitar playing to their breathing, and then slow down my guitar playing. In turn, you can see them taking deeper breaths having like a decrease in muscle tension and you can watch it on the monitors; their blood saturations go up and their heart rate goes down,” said Gibbs.
Poldo-Parker was one of her many patients. In fact, before he beat cancer and finished treatment they surprised him with a saxophone.
“I think that it helped him really find himself again in the hospital environment. I know it can be really scary and when you are diagnosed at such a pinnacle moment in your life,” Gibbs said.
Since the pandemic, she’s helping a lot more mental health patients. For those at home that may be struggling with their mental health or need a simple reset Gibbs suggested make a special playlist.
“You have this whole song to focus on your breathing or a song with a slow beat so you can really slow down and pay attention to the lyrics. If there’s a song that makes you happy throw it on there.”
The key is to remember music as more than just the notes you hear.
“Music can speak to the soul, it can speak to the mind, it can speak to the body,” said Poldo-Parker.
His experience with the program inspired him to study psychology along with computer science at Jackson State University.