Click on any question to jump to the corresponding answer.

What is music therapy?
What do music therapists do?
How are music therapists qualified?
Upon what can music therapy affect positive change?
What can music therapy achieve?
How may healthy individuals benefit from music therapy?
Who else can benefit from music therapy?
Where do music therapists provide services?
Why is music therapy effective?
What research supports music therapy?
What takes place in a typical music therapy session?
What kinds of music instruments does a music therapist use?
Who supplies musical instruments used in music therapy sessions?
Must a music therapy patient be able to read music, sing, or play an instrument?
How quickly does music therapy produce results?
Is music therapy covered by medical insurance?
What common music therapy misconceptions exist?
What is the history of the music therapy health care profession?
What is the future of music therapy?

Music Therapy Topics

1 | Music Therapy Defined >
2 | Music Therapy History >
3 | Music Therapist Training >
4 | Patient Populations Served >
5 | Music Therapy Settings >
6 | Music Therapy Methods >
7 | Music Therapy Mandalas >
8 | Music Therapy Sessions >
9 | Music Therapy Instruments >
10 | Patient Therapy Successes >
11 | Expert Endorsement >
12 | Music Therapy Research >
13 | Music Therapy F A Q s >
14 | Site Map >

 

What is music therapy?
Music therapy, applied by a qualified person, is the prescribed clinical use of music as a therapeutic intervention in order to affect positive health or educational changes in a person's cognitive, physical, psychological or social functioning.

Music therapy is both an art and a science. It is a creative, flexible and often spontaneous means of using the appeal of music to help people of all ages and all abilities.

What do music therapists do?
Assess cognitive skills, communication abilities, emotional well being, physical health and social functioning through musical responses
Design music sessions for both individuals and groups based on their needs
Use music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery, music performance, and learning through music
Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning, ongoing evaluation, and follow up

How are music therapists qualified?
A baccalaureate degree in music therapy requires coursework in acoustics, anatomy, behavioral sciences, biological sciences, disabilities, general studies, music, music therapy, physiology, psychology, research analysis, social sciences, and special education.
Master's and doctorate postgraduate music therapy degrees also exist.

Successful graduation from one of 70 approved college music therapy programs as well as completion of a subsequent six-month clinical training internship allows a music therapist to qualify for attempting a national board certification exam, offered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists. Upon passing the exam, a music therapist earns the credential MT–BC (Music Therapist–Board Certified). The MT–BC credential requires either exam re-certification every five years or successful completion and documentation of 100 Continuing Music Therapy Education Units.

MusicWorx is an AMTA-approved clinical training internship site, accepting eight domestically or internationally trained music therapy graduates each year.

Click to explore the MusicWorx clinical training Internship program.

Upon what can music therapy affect positive change?
Acceptance and coping
Attending skills
Auditory abilities
Communication
Conflict resolution
Control reclamation
Creative personal expression
Decision-making
Diversion and meaningful use of time
Emotional release
Kinesthetic and tactile abilities
Language development
Learning and progress toward formative educational milestones
Maintenance and strengthening of family bonds
Memory recall
Mood and feelings
Motivation to change
Muscle control and coordination
Pain management
Relaxation
Self-awareness and self-esteem
Sensory systems
Social skills
Spiritual exploration
Validation of personal life experiences
Visual abilities

What can music therapy achieve?
Music therapy does not claim to cure or to prolong life in the medical sense. Instead, music therapy develops potential and restores functions to improve intrapersonal or interpersonal integration and, consequently, secure for a patient a better quality of life. Music therapy addresses a patient's emotional, physical and spiritual needs.

What research supports music therapy?
A substantial body of literature supports the effectiveness of music therapy. AMTA has promoted a vast amount of research to explore and document the benefits of music as therapy through publication of the Journal of Music Therapy  and Music Therapy Perspectives among others. Click to visit AMTA research resources.

In addition, Dr. Reuer offers a thorough bibliography to anyone wishing more in-depth music therapy exploration. Click to access Dr. Reuer's own music therapy research Bibliography.

What takes place in a typical music therapy session?
Music therapists serve a wide variety of populations having diverse needs. Music therapists draw from an extensive array of music exercises, strategies and interventions in order to design sessions and select music based upon the individual patient's treatment plan. A single typical session is not realistic.

Common music therapy activities include the following:

creating (improvising or writing lyrics for original pieces of music)
guided imagery / relaxation exercises
listening (both live and recorded)
moving
playing "non-musician-proof” instruments
singing
vibrotactile experiences

Music therapy activities might be employed to achieve the following results:

a therapist and patient might compose songs to express emotion
a patient might learn to play the piano to improve fine motor skills
a patient might use instruments to improvise unspoken emotions
a therapist might use music and movement activities (singing, lyrics discussion or music and imagery) to help a patient reach goals

In a hospital setting, a music therapist adapts to the needs of several patients seen in a series of visits, usually on a single floor. Accompanied by a cart equipped with musical instruments, song books, and recorded music, a therapist travels from room to room, conducting sessions varying from 15-60 minutes in length.

After assessment and brief discussion of a patient's musical preference, intervention begins. This may include, but is not limited to, the following: singing, playing rhythm instruments, learning to play the guitar, QChord, or keyboard, listening to live voice or instrumental music performed by therapist, engaging in a relaxation exercises with background music, composing original songs, participation of family or visitors to share meaningful moments. A session may consist of only the therapist providing music or of both therapist and patient making music together.

Click to view music therapy Patient Successes.

What is the history of the music therapy health care profession?
The use of music as a healing influence to affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato. The twentieth century discipline began during World War I, when both amateur and professional musicians of all types visited veterans' hospitals to perform for the thousands suffering physical and emotional war traumas. The patients' notable responses to music led doctors and nurses to request hospital hiring of musicians. Hospitals soon realized that musicians required training prior to entering medical facilities. Michigan State University responded in 1944, when it offered the first music therapy degree program in the world.

In 1950, the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) chartered its membership. In 1971, the American Association for Music Therapy (AAMT) developed. And in 1998, the two groups joined forces to form the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), now representing more than 5,000 music therapists, corporate members and related associations worldwide. The AMTA mission is to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world. AMTA also sets the educational and clinical training standards for music therapists.

An international organization, the World Federation of Music Therapy, Inc. (WFMT) formed in 1985 to promote music therapy world wide.