The melodic sound of a guitar being strummed might seem incongruous in the sterile atmosphere of Duke Hospital. But thanks to music therapist Cheryl Benze, patients in the hospital's Heart Center can improve their mental, emotional and even physical health by listening to and playing music.
Benze, who has been a music therapist for 18 years and came to Duke in 1994, provides music and friendship to more than 1,000 patients annually. For instance, Benze meets weekly with Jonathan Patton, a 24-year-old patient whose heart transplant last year marked his ninth open-heart surgery, and teaches him to play the guitar.
Patton, who has been in the hospital for more than 13 months, said the music therapy is very meaningful for him. "[When I started music therapy], I felt like I was revived again," he said. "It was just like I woke up again."
A country music fan, Patton is dedicated to improving his guitar skills; his goal is to tour with Randy Travis. "My ambition is to play guitar," he said. "And I intend to learn how to do it."
With patients who stay at the hospital for shorter periods, Benze might simply visit with them for half an hour, to sing or play the keyboard, harp or any of the dozens of instruments with which she has expertise.
Music therapy is a growing field; three colleges in North Carolina currently offer programs in the area. According to one ranking, Benze said, "It's listed as one of the top 100 fields for the 21st century."
Benze said music therapy primarily helps patients by reducing stress and pain. According to several studies, listening to music triggers the production of serotonin, which causes pleasure, and melatonin, which affects sleep.
Listening to or making music also helps relieve boredom, Benze said. "It fills [patients'] time," she said. "Because sitting in a hospital doing nothing... can lead to depression."
Benze said learning to play an instrument can eliminate another cause of depression in patients-the feeling that they cannot give anything to others in return for the medical help they receive. "[By playing an instrument], they are participating in a creative process..., which is good for their self-esteem," Benze said. "The nursing staff just loves it."
Benze gave yet another reason for the success of music therapy. "Frequently, when patients are hospitalized, [they think] they don't have any control," she said. "People recover better when they feel they have ownership in the situation."
Finally, said Benze, giving music therapy can be a way of giving much-needed love to patients. "They just need a friend," said Benze. "Music gives me a reason to go in there.... It just makes them feel like somebody cares."
Music therapy can have powerful results. Benze recalled one patient, a professional drummer who had suffered a stroke that affected one side of his body. "We worked on drumming... to make him feel worthwhile again..., because that was his identity," she said. "It was like coming home."
Benze said another patient, a diabetic who fell into a coma and suffered brain damage, had been a skilled clarinet player. "Once he realized the extent of his deficits, he really became extremely depressed," said Benze. "Knowing how to play the clarinet again kept this guy from killing himself."
Benze said part of what makes music so powerful is its flexibility. "Music is so broad," she said. "Everybody responds to music somehow." Benze uses a range of music, from classical to rap, depending on what her patients prefer.
She added that music therapy affects not only the mind, but also the body. "For a long time it was considered a psychological or an emotional thing," she said. "Music does have physiological effects."
Benze's coworkers agree. "It's amazing how much the mental stability [of a patient] affects the physical outcome," said clinical nurse Cynthia Bryan, who works with Benze in the Heart Center. "It's not something you can measure... [but] it's huge."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.