Music Therapy

Table of Contents

1. What is Music Therapy?
2. What Methods are used in Music Therapy?
3. What is the History of Music Therapy?
4. What Do Music Therapists Do?
5. Who Can Benefit from Music Therapy?
6. Who is Qualified to Practice Music Therapy?
7. How Can Music Therapy Benefit Healthy Individuals?
8. What is the Future of Music Therapy?
9. What Research Supports the Use of Music Therapy?

What is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is the use of specific music with specific frequencies to promote relaxation and metaphysical and psychological healing. The goals of music therapy are to stimulate the interest of the clients in music as a meaningful cultural activity and to direct the clients' energies into making music for enjoyment, satisfaction and growth toward health. Studies have found music therapy to be successful in treating autism, mentally or emotionally disturbed children and adults, elderly and physically challenged people, and patients with schizophrenia, nervous disorders and stress. Music therapy encourages positive thinking, social interaction and promotes positive mood shift. Music therapy allows persons with mental health needs to:

• explore personal feelings
• make positive changes in mood and emotional states
• have a sense of control over life through successful experiences
• practice problem solving
• resolve conflicts leading to stronger family and peer relationships

It has also found to promote more metaphysical balance in people who do not suffer from any of the above disorders by reducing stress, facilitating relaxation and enhancing ability to focus. In summary, music therapy is a flexible and creative way of using the appeal of music to help people of all ages and all abilities. For additional information, please visit the American Music Therapy Association.

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What Methods are used in Music Therapy?

Some of the methods used in Music Therapy include:

• Singing~helps people with speech impairments improve their rhythm, articulation and breath control. For example, in one study, senile incoherent patients seemed to enjoy most those folk songs with which they were acquainted when group singing has been used with patients. Due to the patients' short attention spans, music used occasionally and for only a short time was most effective. It was concluded that the activity was a pleasurable experience and resulted in increasing group cohesiveness.
• Playing instruments~improves gross and fine motor coordination in individuals with motor impairments. For example, playing the piano can improve a client's fine motor skills. It should be noted that the most commonly used instruments in music therapy are non-musician proof, meaning the instruments are designed to allow anyone, regardless of music talent or skill level, to play them to have positive music-making experiences.
• Rhythmic movement~reactivates enjoyment of bodily movement and provides remedial work for the skeletal and muscular problems so frequent in old age, and facilitates in the reconditioning of motor functions. It also provides an avenue of expression on the nonverbal level.
• Improvising~offers a creative, nonverbal means of expressing feelings, serves an assessment technique and aids the therapist in establishing a trust bond with client. The basic philosophy for improvising is that it elicits client's responses from every level. Types of improvising methods commonly used include Nordoff-Robbins, Clinical Orff Schulwerk, or other types of improvisational styles.
• Composing~facilitates the sharing of ideas, feelings and experiences while developing coorpative learning. For example, hospitalized children and people with a terminal illness compose songs as a means of examining feelings, expressing and understanding fears. Composing songs also allow the client to experience catharsis.
• Listening~to live or recorded music helps in the development of cognitive skills (i.e., memory, attention, etc.), facilitates the process of sharing of ideas, feelings and experiences. Listening to music evokes memories and associations and has been proven to induce a receptive and relaxed state, which stimulates images, feelings and thoughts that can be further examined during a therapeutic session. The most common form of music therapy that uses this method is known as Guided Imagery. For example, Slow music is used counteract apprehension or fear and to calm or sedate or often to induce sleep as well as lessen muscle tension for the purpose of relaxation.

For additional information, please visit The Use of Music in Therapy and American Music Therapy Association.

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What is the History of Music Therapy?

The idea of using music as a healing mechanism dates back to the beginnings of history and some of the earliest documentation of its use as a therapy can be found in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers. For example, in the 6th century BC, Pythagoras believed that music and certain types of food could cleanse the body and soul. Furthermore, music was used in the healing practices of primitive people throughout the world and by the European Christian Church in conjunction with medicine, prayer and chanting over the sick as a means of therapy. In the United States, music therapy was first implemented during World War I to help disabled soldiers in the Veterans Administration. Despite this, Music therapy in its modern form has existed in the United States since around 1944 when the first degree program in the world was founded at Michigan State University and the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), a merger between the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT, founded in 1950) and the American Association for Music Therapy (AAMT, founded in 1971), was founded in 1998. In 1985, an international organization, the World Federation of Music Therapy, Inc. (WFMT), was formed to promote music therapy worldwide. For additional information, please visit the History of Music Therapy.

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What Do Music Therapists Do?

A qualified music therapist assists and encourages the client towards specific, non-musical goals, which the clinician and client had previously agreed upon in therapy. In other words, a music therapist uses his or her training as a clinician, musician and researcher to effect changes in the cognitive, physical and psychosocial areas of an individual. It should be noted that music therapists work in a variety of settings including educational, medical and psychiatric facilities. A music therapist creates goals and objectives intended to answer the needs of clients through the use of carefully constructed treatment plans. In order to maximize therapeutic benefits, Music therapists design sessions and select music specifically suited to an individual client's treatment plan. During a therapeutic session, music therapists play and use their own instrument of choice and study (i.e., flute, guitar, piano, violin, voice, etc.). After initially assessing the client and briefly discussing musical preference, intervention begins. For additional information, please visit Australian Music Therapy Association and American Music Therapy Association.

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Who Can Benefit from Music Therapy?

People who can benefit from music therapy include the following: the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, those who have been abused, the elderly including those suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia, the terminally ill, the mentally retarded and the developmentally delayed, the traumatically brain injured, those with learning disabilities, and individuals who suffer from anxiety disorders. Individuals who do not suffer from a clinical psychiatric disorder can also benefit from music therapy. For example, music therapy has been used in general hospitals to alleviate pain in conjunction with anesthesia or pain medication, to elevate patients' mood and counteract depression, and to promote movement for physical rehabilitation. Music therapeutic techniques are useful to individuals in everyday life. For additional information, please visit Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre.

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Who is Qualified to Practice Music Therapy?

Individuals with proper credentials and training are the only ones qualified to provide music therapeutic services. A music therapist's education and training is extensive. For example, a music therapist has to have strong musical skills and must also be trained in how music is used in therapy. To practice music therapy, you need to have the following:

• Complete an undergraduate degree or equivalency in music therapy from one of the 70 colleges or universities approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)


AMTA guidelines include:

• general education and electives
• biological and behavioral sciences (i.e., anatomy, abnormal psychology, sociology, exceptional children, etc.)
• music courses (i.e., conducting, history, theory performance, ensembles, instrumental technique, etc.)
• music therapy courses (i.e., principles, psychology of music, etc.)
• Complete a supervised internship (several months, usually full-time) approved by AMTA at a clinical site

• Pass a national board certification exam (MT-BC) and then maintained certification through eithe re-taking the exam or completion of continuing education (see the American Music Therapy Association for more information ).
• It is also recommended to acquire other professional designations such as Registered Music Therapist (RMT), Certified Music Therapist (CMT), and Advanced Certified Music Therapist (ACMT).

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How Can Music Therapy Benefit Healthy Individuals?

Music therapy has found to promote more metaphysical balance in people who do not suffer from any of the above disorders by reducing stress, facilitating relaxation and enhancing ability to focus. Music therapy can benefit healthy individuals in the following ways:

• Labor and childbirth assistance
• Maintenance of vital physical exercise
• Socialization and just plain fun
• Stress reduction through active music making (i.e., drumming, etc.)
• Stress reduction through passive listening

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What is the Future of Music Therapy?

The future of music therapy is quite promising because music therapy research in physical rehabilitation, Alzheimer's disease and psycho-neuroimmunology is documenting the effectiveness of music therapy in terms that are important in the context of a biological medical model. In other words, there is more and more documented research indicating that music therapy works and that benefits from it are long lasting. With proof that this therapy works there is no confusion in whether it will be around in future hospitals and its use will increase as more people learn about its benefits. For additional information, please visit Music Therapy Research Database and Music Therapy E-Magazine.

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What Research Supports the Use of Music Therapy?

There is a plethora of research that supports the use of music therapy. Among the scientific journals that publish research studies about music therapy are: Music Therapy, Journal of Music Therapy, the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, Arts in Psychotherapy, and Music Therapy Perspectives. Research has demonstrated everything from the relationship between music and emotion to musical hot spots in the brain, the music of communication between mother and baby, and biochemical markers of music-making effects. For additional information, please visit Music Therapy Research Database, Music Therapy E-Magazine, and Music Therapy Research with Autistic Children.

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