Many people may be unaware of a unique and deeply therapeutic musical intervention, Therapeutic Harp Music. Imagine yourself lying on a massage table, being soothed and healed by the ancient and therapeutic sound and vibrations of the Celtic harp. Whether pain, stress, insomnia, depression or illness is your concern, or if you simply need a special musical sanctuary to soothe each molecule of your being with comfort and bliss, harp therapy has been shown to be the ultimate musical massage. Some practitioners combine relaxation therapy, guided imagery, and meditation along with the gift of healing harp music.
Studies show that harp therapy can equalize and slow down brain waves; affect respiration, heartbeat, and pulse; reduce muscle tension; and improve body movement. Premature babies who have received harp therapy are able to drink more of their mother’s milk and gain weight more rapidly, resulting in earlier departure times from the hospital. Harp therapy increases endorphin levels, regulates stress-related hormones, boosts the immune system, and stimulates digestion and the overall feeling of well-being.
Therapeutic musicians help to create a relaxed, healing environment through live music, which studies find to be even more effective than recorded music.
Professional journals now provide ample research regarding the many uses of harp therapy. In The Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, researchers Aragon, Farris and Byers found that harp music in vascular and thoracic surgical patients was highly effective. (2002). It can decrease salivary cortisol levels in convalescent premature infants, as noted in Pediatric Research by authors Block, Jennings and David. (2003). Even the pain from lupus has been eased by harp therapy, according to K.A. Bock in The Harp Therapy Journal. (1999). Surprisingly, harp therapists have worked in the operating rooms, and helped to ease blood pressure and maintain heart rate, according to research by L. Buchanana in The Harp Therapy Journal. (1996).
There is a cutting edge intervention used by the music thanatolgoists, which uses prescriptive harp music as palliative care for the dying patient. The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care documents this with research by Caserta, Freeman and Lund. (2005) Harp therapy can aid even the professionals who work with the dying, as noted by The Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. (2002) Researchers found that oncology nurses were greatly restored and nurtured by harp therapy after working intensely with their dying patients.
Children are also helped by harp therapy. Researcher Marie Sumner, writing in Pediatric Research in 2005 found that therapeutic harp can be very effective in easing the issues of neurologically challenged children. There are numerous other effective harp interventions with the pediatric population documented in The Harp Therapy Journal. (1998-1999.)
Remarkably, harp therapy can touch the patient’s entire universe: families, friends and staff reported increased relaxation and lower blood pressure and respiration rates in studies conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center, as reported in The Harp Therapy Journal, by Sarah McKee.
Harp therapy and meditation can be used with children, adolescents, and adults quite effectively. One client had ADHD, was highly anxious and his parents complained that he never rested and never slept. Unusually receptive to music, they asked if harp therapy might be helpful. We started to discuss special images like lying on the beach at his grandmother’s house in Florida, and petting Oscar, the Labrador retriever. I was able to tuck in some mildly hypnotic suggestions along with soothing images, accompanied by specifically designed harp melody and rhythm, and was able to induce complete relaxation and restfulness. He actually fell asleep the first time we did this. He came back for several sessions, and then I designed a special CD for him alone. He used the images and music before sleep and rehearsed them in his mind when he began to feel anxious and restless at school. His parents reported a dramatic change not only in his ability to sleep, but in his focus and ability to hold still and attend, both at home and at school. This is a child who was not responsive to medications and had a poor outcome with traditional psychotherapy. His parents became more positive and continued working with me on parenting issues, and the tension and despair in the home dramatically lessened.
Another client was a woman in her twenties with anxiety and eating disorders. A ballerina, she was driven to perfection by parents who were loving but anxious and demanding themselves. Both were highly successful in their own careers and held great expectations for their only child. But as the pressures of school and ballet studies mounted and decisions about college vs. ballet companies loomed ahead, her perfectionism and stress mounted. I worked with her around issues of self-image and expectations, and intervened with the parents, too. But her sessions were also coupled with intense relaxation and harp therapy, with music designed to bring deep comfort and healing.
Another client was a man in his thirties who decided to attend dental school. He had been a successful student in high school and undergraduate work, but the increased demands for performance and long hours of schooling and homework at the graduate level left him frantic. He found himself freezing before taking exams, his mind going blank. By the time he called me, he had repeated two years of dental school and was close to being dismissed from the program. We began by desensitizing him to test-taking with a wide range of creative visualizations, meditations, and relaxation therapy, interspersed with soothing, flowing harp therapy. He was highly responsive after the very first session and stated that he was able to take control back of his studies with this help.
Another recent client was a sixty-two year old woman whose husband was seriously ill with cancer and requiring considerable care at home. She had stopped doing the normal activities that usually calmed and nourished her, such as working out at the gym and having lunch with friends. She had lost weight and was having trouble sleeping. Her daughter bought her a session of harp therapy for Christmas, so that she might find a private space to relax and refuel. At the end of the session she commented, “Oh, I didn’t think I could relax like that ever again, I feel so blissful and soothed and comforted…I just didn’t want you to ever stop playing for me! I am coming back next week. This is too important.”
I was trained through the Music for Healing and Transition Program, where I learned to improvise on modes, scales and chord progressions, according to patient needs. I often extend or adapt musical pieces to differing rhythm, meter and tempo, depending upon the patient’s condition. Each patient presents the opportunity to create a musical collage completely spontaneously, making the work even more interesting. After being trained as a psychologist in a traditional program and practicing psychotherapy for thirty years, I was not yet totally convinced of its effectiveness. During my internship at a local hospital, I conducted research with hip replacement patients, immediately following surgery. Before playing my harp, patients reported stress and pain levels of 9 and 10, on a scale of 1 to 10. Following ten minutes of harp therapy, all patients reported stress and pain levels down to 0, 1 and 2. I knew then that I was on the right track.
Marcie Swift, M.Ed. NCSP CMP is a Board Certified Diplomate in Behavioral Health, through the American Association of Integrative Medicine. She has over 30 years experience as a certified school psychologist and therapist, specializing in stress reduction, pain relief, sleep issues, eating disorders, depression, and disabilities. Marcie was the consulting psychologist at Renbrook School for over twenty years and an adjunct professor at University of Hartford. Trained in the Music for Healing and Transition Program, she uses her Celtic harp, to promote healing vibrations in a specific way to address a wide range of concerns for children, adolescents, and adults. Marcie plays her portable therapy harp at cancer clinics, assisted living centers, hospitals, and in her own private office in W. Suffield, CT.
If you wish to arrange an appointment at Marcie’s lakeside office, you may contact her at 860-668-7472. For more information on Harp Therapy or if you would like to purchase Marcie’s CD Thread of Life, email her at marcieswift@msn.com.