Music therapy is defined as the final 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.[1] Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a certified music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health.
Music therapists primarily help clients improve their health across various domains, including cognitive functioning, motor skills, emotional and affective development, behavior and social skills, and quality of life, by using music experiences such as free improvisation, singing, songwriting, and listening to, discussing, and moving to music to achieve treatment goals and objectives.
Music therapy is considered both an art and a science. It has a wide qualitative and quantitative research literature base and incorporates clinical therapy, biomusicology, musical acoustics, music theory, psychoacoustics, embodied music cognition, aesthetics of music, and comparative musicology. Referrals to music therapy services may be made by other health care professionals such as physicians, psychologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Clients can also choose to pursue music therapy services without a referral (i.e., self-referral).
Music therapists are found in nearly every area of the helping professions. Some commonly-found practices include developmental work (communication, motor skills, etc.) with individuals with special needs, songwriting and listening in reminiscence/orientation work with the elderly, processing and relaxation work, and rhythmic entrainment for physical rehabilitation in stroke victims. Music therapy is also used in some medical hospitals, cancer centers, schools, alcohol and drug recovery programs, psychiatric hospitals, and correctional facilities.[2]