STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: Music therapists commonly serve persons with mental health
and functional wellness issues in a variety of settings including public and private psychiatric
hospitals or schools, mental health centers, private practice, community-based programs,
correctional and forensic facilities, and substance abuse treatment programs. Music therapists
use defined music interventions founded in sound theory and supported by an ongoing research.
Music therapists use music to enhance social or interpersonal, affective, cognitive, and
behavioral functioning. Research indicates that music therapy is effective at reducing muscle
tension and anxiety, and at promoting relaxation, verbalization, interpersonal relationships, and
group cohesiveness. This can set the stage for open communication and provide a starting place
for non-threatening support and processing symptoms associated with or exacerbated by trauma
and disaster, such as the 9/11 event. A therapist can talk with a client, but a qualified music
therapist can use music to actively link a client to their psycho-emotional state quickly. In certain
settings, the active use of music therapy interventions has resulted in a shorter length of stay
(treatment period) and more efficient response to the client’s overall intervention plan.
STANDARDIZATION: Music therapy goals, objectives and progress are documented in a
treatment plan, following client assessment, and delivered in accordance with the AMTA
Standards of Clinical Practice. Music selections and certain active music making activities are
modified for client preferences and individualized needs (i.e., song selection and music may
vary).
REPLICATION: Yes; music therapy interventions have been used with different providers and
populations. Research on many important questions of effectiveness has been replicated and is
part of an ongoing research strategy aimed at supporting evidence-based practice.
OUTCOMES: Global state, mental state, anxiety management, social and emotional functioning