Music Therapy | FAQs—Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most frequently asked questions of music therapists?

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

What is music therapy?

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.

»MusicWorx Music Therapy Definition

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 more than 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 Inc. is an AMTA-approved clinical training internship site in San Diego, California that accepts eight domestically or internationally trained music therapy graduates each year.

»MusicWorx Music Therapist Training

What human functions respond to music therapy?

»MusicWorx Music Therapy Client Populations

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 a better quality of life for an individual. Music therapy addresses a person's cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.

Can healthy individuals benefit from music therapy?

Healthy people benefit from music therapy under all of the following conditions:

labor and childbirth assistance
maintenance of vital physical exercise
socialization and fun recreation
stress reduction through active music making, such as drumming
stress reduction through passive listening

Who else may benefit from music therapy?

individuals with developmental diagnoses including the following:
      autism
      Cornelia deLange Syndrome
      Down Syndrome
      Rett Syndrome
individuals with Alzheimer's
patients in medical settings
patients with acute pain and chronic pain
patients with cancer, including mesothelioma
patients with eating disorders
patients with Parkinson's
patients with physical disabilities
patients with substance addictions
patients with traumatic brain injuries

»MusicWorx Music Therapy Client Populations

Where do music therapists provide services?

assisted living facilities
clinics
community health centers
convalescent facilities
corporations
correctional facilities
day care treatment centers
halfway houses
health spas
hospices
medical hospitals
nursing homes
outpatient clinics
patient residences
private practice offices
psychiatric facilities
rehabilitation facilities
schools
senior centers
substance abuse facilities

»MusicWorx Music Therapy Services

Why is music therapy effective?

The human ability and need to respond to music seems to be innate, does not depend on musical ability or training, and usually remains unimpaired by mental and physical illnesses. Music has a unique power among the therapeutic media to engage and sustain the attention of patients and, in the hands of a trained therapist, accomplish a variety of therapeutic goals and objectives. A part of our lives, music is a powerful, unifying force that harmonizes people across lines of geography, language, and culture. Music entertains, uplifts, opens the mind, and awakens the senses to the complexity of human experiences.

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.

The American Cancer Society recognizes that music therapy benefits patients with cancer, including mesothelioma.

In addition, MusicWorx founder and CEO, Dr. Barbara Reuer, offers a thorough research bibliography to anyone wishing more in-depth music therapy exploration.

»MusicWorx 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. However, the most common music therapy activities include the following:

chanting, singing, and toning combinations
composing original songs
engaging in a relaxation exercises with background music
envisioning imagery
feeling vibrotactile sensations
guided imagery / relaxation exercises
improvising or writing lyrics for original pieces of music
learning to play the guitar, QChord, or keyboard
listening to live or recorded music
moving to music
participation of family or visitors to share meaningful moments
playing non-musician-proof instruments
singing
toning, vocalizing, and holding vowels

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 to 60 minutes in length.

After assessment and brief discussion of a patient's musical preference, intervention begins. A session may consist of only the therapist providing music or of both therapist and patient making music together. This may include, but is not limited to, the following:

breathing to a rhythm to relax and sedate
composing songs to express emotion
learning to play the keyboard to improve fine motor skills
moving to music can restore a natural gait
using instruments to improvise unspoken emotions
using melody to recall memories associated to lyrics
using singing, lyrics discussion, or music and imagery to help a patient reach goals

»MusicWorx Music Therapy Methods

What kinds of musical instruments does a music therapist use?

MusicWorx music therapists employ cello, flute, guitar, keyboard, QChord, violin, and, of course, voice–for chanting, singing, and toning. Therapists also use non-musician-proof instruments belonging to percussion and rhythm categories. Compact disc recordings are popular, too.

»MusicWorx Musical instruments

Who supplies musical instruments used in music therapy sessions?

In most cases, music therapists bring to each therapy session all musical equipment required.

Must a music therapy patient be able to read music, play a musical instrument, or sing on key?

The ability to respond to music is completely natural within every person. And since music therapy addresses non-musical goals, patients need no prior music training or advanced skill.

How quickly does music therapy produce results?

Immediate and quite apparent responses often result from individualized music therapy experiences.

Is music therapy covered by medical insurance?

Medicare Partial Hospitalization Benefit recognizes music therapy as a reimbursable service. Other coverage is considered on a case-by-case basis, varying from state to state and from insurance company to insurance company.

What common music therapy misconceptions exist?

It is not true that patients need some particular music ability to benefit from music therapy. It is not true that only one particular musical style proves more therapeutic than others.

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.

»AMTA Website
»WFMT Website

Experts Endorse Music Therapy

Oliver Sacks, MD

Oliver Sacks, MD

Professor of Neurology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

"Music can move us to the heights and depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does—humans are a musical species."

"I regard music therapy as a tool of great power in many neurological disorders—Parkinson's and Alzheimer's—because of its unique capacity to organize or reorganize cerebral function when it has been damaged."

»More Expert Endorsements