Music Therapy and Pain Management in Burn Patients.

The music therapy sessions are based on MAR (Music-Assisted Relaxation), a music therapy technique that includes listening to live music, combined with deep diaphragmatic breathing and/or guided imagery relaxation. In a first step, the procedure will explained to the patient and he/she will be asked to close his/her eyes or focus on a fixed point on the ceiling or wall. Subsequently, a verbal introduction will be provided for fostering body and respiratory awareness. Then a mental image will be introduced (e.g., sitting on a beach watching the waves of the sea; being on top of a mountain looking at the horizon; imagining a safe and comfortable personalized place) and live music will be provided based on the principles of entrainment. The patient is asked to let himself/herself guide by the music and breath with the music while concentrating on the imagery. Once the music is over, the patient is again asked to become aware and the experience during the session will verbally discussed.