Resources & references

 Presentation by Tanya Lavoie, certified music therapist, working at the Montreal Children's Hospital.

This fact sheet from the American Music Therapy Association provides information about music therapy practices for adults with mental health and substance use challenges. This page provides information on relevant definitions and statistics, the types of mental health settings in which music therapists work, potential outcomes of music therapy, contraindications for music therapy, the clinical process, and effectiveness research.

Music therapy is increasingly being used as an intervention for stress reduction in both medical and mental healthcare settings. Music therapy is characterized by personally tailored music interventions initiated by a trained and qualified music therapist, which distinguishes music therapy from other music interventions, such as ‘music medicine’, which concerns mainly music listening interventions offered by healthcare professionals. To summarize the growing body of empirical research on music therapy, a multilevel meta-analysis was performed to assess the strength of the effects of music therapy on both physiological and psychological stress-related outcomes, and to test potential moderators of the intervention effects. Results showed that music therapy showed an overall medium-to-large effect on stress-related outcomes.

This video features a presentation by Dr. Laurel Young, PhD, MTA, about music therapy in bereavement care. This presentation provides an overview of music therapy in bereavement care. Dr. Young will review existing literature and share examples from her own clinical work and research. She also makes recommendations for future practice and research. 

This brief entry is a summary of a peer-reviewed article. It explains succinctly what is music therapy in palliative care. 

Click here to read the related research study.

This research article reviewed existing studies to evaluate the efficacy of music therapy in supporting adults going through cancer treatment. The results showed that music therapy was effective in improving psychosocial wellbeing, pain management, and enhancing quality of life.

This research article evaluates current studies that explore the benefits of music therapy for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The results showed that music therapy offers psychosocial and emotional benefits such as improving self-acceptance and reducing anxiety and depression.

Julien Peyrin is part of the team of music therapists working at this hospital. With his Handpan, Julien creates links with the adolescents of our psychiatric unit. Through musical exchanges with them, he allows them to manage their emotions through creation. Patients write and record their songs or musical performances and choose music that calms them or helps them fall asleep. They also have the opportunity to release excess energy by playing a percussion instrument. This non-judgmental therapeutic approach is proving successful. Not only do patients report feeling progress at the end of their sessions, some even report discovering a new passion!

Les Impatients is an organization that helps people living with mental health problems, offering art-based services. With Dany Bouchard, a certified music therapist, and people participating in his group music therapy sessions, the reporter Alexandre Courteau explored this discipline and shared some participants' testimonies on how music therapy has changed their life.

The objective of this phenomenological research is to document the experience of music therapists practicing in mental health with adults receiving services in community and hospital settings in Quebec. Reflections, recommendations, research ideas, and the results of interviews are presented here. It is hoped that this work will help to foster the use of music therapy practices in mental health, an innovative and creative approach.

The primary purpose of this study was to understand family members’ perceptions of music therapy experienced by a relative in palliative medicine or hospice. Patient self-reported scales and music therapist assessment of change were also investigated. Patients reported statistically significant improvement in pain, depression, distress, and mood scores. Family members of patients in palliative medicine and hospice settings reported an immediate positive impact of music therapy on the patient and on themselves.

Many young people experience social isolation during times of mental illness which can impact lifelong health outcomes. Supporting recovery involves addressing the social dimensions of mental health and promoting capacity for community engagement. A practice-based study was designed to explore how a pilot group music therapy project could support young people to bridge from mental health services into everyday community engagement. Results show that young people’s experienced of the group as a safe space that supported processes of coming together and constructing the social identity. The concept of scaffolding is offered as a useful way of considering how support may be structured.