​What is Music Therapy?

Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program (American Music Therapy Association, 2018.)

How Does It Work?

Engaging in a music activity stimulates many parts of the brain!
​

​​What Can Music Therapy Do?​

​​​​​

• Promote Wellness
• Enhance Memory
• Improve Communication​​​​​

• Promote Self-Expression
• Encourage Socialization​
• Enhance Quality of Life​​

• Promote Physical Rehabilitation
• Improve Motor-Skills
• Manage Stress

​​​Who Can Benefit?

Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related conditions, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain.

​
​Where Can Music Therapy Take Place?

Medical hospitals, outpatient clinics, day care treatment centers, agencies serving developmentally disabled persons, senior centers, nursing homes, schools, and private residences.
​

Some Examples of Music Interventions

• Singing
• Playing instruments
• ​Drumming
• Performing
• Lyric Analysis

• Improvising
• Composing
• Songwriting
• Listening to Music
• Music & Relaxation

• Music & Movement
• Music & Visual Art
• Music & Drama
• Musical Games​

Some Examples of Goals

• ​Psychological - increase emotional expression, improve coping skills 
• Cognitive - increase attention span, improve academic skills
• Communicative - increase verbal communication, improve receptive communication
• Social - increase interactions with others, increase eye contact, improve impulse control, decrease inappropriate behaviors
• Physiological ​- improve grasp, increase use of limbs, maintain range of motion​
  

​More About Music Therapy

The American Music Therapy Association​

​The Certification Board for Music Therapists
​
Journal of Music Therapy

​
"(Music therapy) can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and comfort - between demoralization and dignity."

- Barbara Crowe (National Association for Music Therapy)


​

​