Smith receives prestigious AMTA award for music therapy research

January 6, 2015

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Amy Smith, a board certified music therapist at Texas Children’s, received the prestigious 2014 Arthur Flagler Fultz Research Grant from the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA).

The grant will support Smith’s study, “The Effects of Live Contingent Singing on Preterm Neonates with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia,” which will examine the impact of a live music therapy intervention on the physiologic and behavioral responses of preterm infants with a chronic lung condition.

The study is slated to begin in early 2015 and run through mid-2016. The research team includes physicians, nurse practitioners and researchers from Texas Children’s Hospital. The results from the study will provide important information on the potential impact of music therapy on the overall well-being of infants with chronic and long term hospitalization needs.

The AMTA Arthur Flagler Fultz Research Award is the largest and most prestigious grant awarded to one individual each year from a highly competitive field of applications.

“I am honored to receive this research grant award,” said Smith. “This generous funding will help us advance music therapy research and identify innovative music therapy treatments for Texas Children’s patients.”

Since the hospital launched the program in 2013, Smith has provided music therapy to patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.

The Music Therapy program is part of the Creative Arts Therapy program in the Child Life Department which provides developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions for children undergoing medical treatment.

“Music therapy is about providing families with the tools to interact and bond with their babies,” said Smith. “When a parent has a very small and very sick baby, they may be unable to hold or touch their newborn and music therapy can encourage bonding through songs and lullabies.”

Click here to watch a video about Texas Children’s Music Therapy program. For more information about music therapy, click here to visit our website.