First - What is music therapy?

My definition of music therapy is “using music as the vehicle for therapeutic change.” Just about everyone has a connection of some sort with music – whether it is a memory of a loved one connected to a specific song, a love of dancing, playing an instrument, or countless other scenarios. So, it is not difficult to consider that music can help ease the process of growth in any major therapeutic domain – whether working on physical, emotional, spiritual, behavioral, academic, or other forms of goals. Many people hear “music therapy” and assume that I play music AT someone in order to “cure” them of an ailment or malady. This is not the case!

Let me give you an example:

Imagine: I am sitting opposite a child with a xylophone between us. We are both holding mallets, and take turns playing a little melody for the other person to copy. We smile and laugh as we come up with creative riffs for the other to attempt.

Now, let’s pick apart that game (AKA, a musical intervention).

·      Holding mallets exercises fine motor skills, as well as using both arms to aim and play specific notes. This can even be modified to address specific movements that require growth as assessed by a physical or occupational therapist.

·      Taking turns is in itself an important developmental skill for children, and requires working on impulse control.

As a music therapist I would use this intervention to address the goals of fine and gross motor control, impulse control, and turn-taking. While these are clear and measurable, the human aspect of making music together (and all the neurochemicals released in the process) make this more sustainable, engaging, and possibly more efficiently encoded in the brain than non-musical interventions.

Who can benefit from music therapy services?

Anyone who has goals to address, and has an interest in music (this includes people with little to no hearing).

I have personally worked with toddlers, both typically-developing and disabled children, adults in day treatment, incarcerated adults, adolescents and adults in locked inpatient units, children in foster care, older adults in long term care, and people across the lifespan in hospice care. All of these groups and individuals had a goal to meet - and it was my job to find a musical way to get them to that goal.

What can be addressed through music therapy?

Music therapy can address:

• Psychological needs: addressing self-expression, identity building, coping skills, and community building.

• Physical re/hab: fine and gross motor skills, physical rehab, developmental skills, partnering with physical therapy to find engaging ways to do exercises

• Academic learning: using music to learn needed information (how did you learn the ABCs?)

• Social skills: working on impulse control, turn-taking, group cohesion, and developmentally appropriate interactions.

• Spiritual needs: during crisis, towards end of life, and generally coping with existential stress of the modern world.