(NASHVILLE)  State Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, recognized the efforts of music therapists statewide during Tennessee Music Therapy Week.

House Joint Resolution 96, sponsored by Sparks, designated the week of Feb. 27 as Tennessee Music Therapy Week. There are currently 130 board-certified music therapists working in various settings statewide.

“I’ve seen firsthand the healing power of music therapy,” Sparks said. “My Scotch-Irish mother passed away in December, and during her final hours in hospice care I played her a recording of ‘Amazing Grace’ with the bagpipes. I watched her breathing calm down and her discomfort subside. There’s also my sister Vickie who is in a nursing home after suffering a brain injury. One day, she was at the nursing exit trying to leave while singing ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ by John Denver. I was amazed that she knew most of the words, but sadly didn’t remember my name. I knew then that there’s healing power in music!”

Music therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of individuals, according to the American Music Therapy Association. Research supports its effectiveness in multiple areas like overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing a person’s motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings.

“I want to encourage singers, songwriters and music therapists to help heal others in this time we are in,” Sparks said. “There is no doubt that mental health issues and depression are at an all-time high. I applaud the meaningful work that music therapists do every day to improve the lives of Tennesseans in nursing homes and other locations across our great state.”

Additional information about the Tennessee Association for Music Therapy can found online at www.tnmusictherapy.org.