by Linda Whiting

Created on: November 28, 2009   Last Updated: November 30, 2009

Children suffering from trauma and crises can be helped with music and art. Children - like adults - can react to trauma and crises in different ways. They may be withdrawn or act out.

Music has been used in history as a way to excite or calm a person. Teachers use music in different ways to get students to pick up toys, to transition from one activity to another, to line up and many other things.

When a child is having a crisis or is suffering trauma, music can help them to express themselves. It can help to reach those who are unreachable. It frees the heart and soul from the woes of the world.

Music can help to alleviate stress and pain. Depending on the stress and personal preference, music can calm someone down. A teacher can put on light music in the background, helping students to deal with stress. Music can help with pain by taking a person's mind off the pain. Having music play while a person is being massaged can help to calm a person down. Music can elevate a person's mood and help with depression.

As a special education teacher, I used music to help calm my students when the day was starting on the wrong foot. If it was a lazy day, music was put on to help get us in a working mood; playing music to help us get moving. If it was a day that needed some relaxation, I put on relaxing music.

When a child is in a crises or is suffering from trauma a child can express himself by playing music. Music can let a child express the anger or whatever feeling they may need to let go. Music and art can reach those who are unreachable. It frees the mind and soul from the woes of the world. Child expresses them by creating their own freedom by alleviating stress and pain. It can relate mood and counter act depression, apprehension or fear. Vocal and instrument improvisation created by the child can help a child find themselves.

Art therapy is a great way to get a child to talk about things that was bothering them. A child may have things so deeply buried that it is hard for them to talk about it. Children can express how they are feeling with drawing. One child I worked with only used black to color or draw. He refused to use any other color as the class progressed. He began to talk about how he felt and all that black. After much work, he started to use other colors.

Art and music can help fine motor and gross motor skills. Self-awareness and self-confidence are all part of music therapy. It can increase emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities and cognition.

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