Music Therapy Defined
Music therapy is the specialized use of music by a credentialed professional who develops individualized treatment and supportive interventions with people of all ages and ability levels to address their social, communication, emotional, physical, cognitive, sensory and spiritual needs, according to the Certification Board for Music Therapists.
The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) states that music therapists assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills through musical responses.
They also design music sessions for individuals and groups based on client needs using music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery, music performance, and learning through music.
The AMTA states that music therapists participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning, ongoing evaluation, and follow up.
A range of individuals may be helped including persons with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor.
Music therapists work in psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitative facilities, medical hospitals, outpatient clinics, day care treatment centers, agencies serving developmentally disabled persons, community mental health centers, drug and alcohol programs, senior centers, nursing homes, hospice programs, correctional facilities, halfway houses, schools, and private practice.
The idea of music as a healing influence which could affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato, the AMTA says.
The 20th-century discipline began after World War I and World War II when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars.
The patients' notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals.
It was soon evident that the hospital musicians needed some prior training before entering the facility and so the demand grew for a college curriculum.
The first music therapy degree program in the world, founded at Michigan State University in 1944, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1994. The AMTA was founded in 1998.
Persons who complete one of the approved college music therapy curricula (including an internship) are then eligible to sit for the national examination offered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.
Music therapists who successfully complete the independently administered examination hold the music therapist-board certified credential (MT-BC).
Always consult your physician for more information.