They cry, scream, throw chairs, or sometimes attack each other. But when Dr. Nelson adds music to the therapy sessions, wild emotions are tamed. In the last five years when I've done groups involving music, I've not had any children really take a nose dive. To any parent who has ever sung a lullaby to a wailing baby, the power of song is evident. But scientific researchers are also exploring the topic.
Music works even in our very intensive treatment.
We can get to powerful issues without children becoming explosive. The children consider it an honor to sit beside Dr. Nelson as he plays guitar. The starting and stopping of singing and snarling may well relate to starting and stopping emotionally, he says. Dr. Nelson, whose wife is an opera singer and whose house usually is filled with music, also believes that song can help parents guide children's behavior at home. Some parents react with disgust when their children have accidents.