Resources & references

This video features an individual who was paralyzed due to a motor vehicle collision and participated in music therapy sessions in a hospital in Alberta, Canada. The video includes clips of music therapy sessions, testimonials from the patient, and interviews from certified music therapists.

Heather Overly, a board-certified music therapist, discusses how music therapy can support children with  developmental disabilities. Through live session examples and interviews, she demonstrates how group music therapy can meet therapeutic goals such as self-expression, academic skills, and social skills.

The brain often seems to hold on to its ability to understand musical communication long after other skills are lost to dementia. This video features a certified music therapist and an older adult with Alzheimer’s disease singing a familiar song, showing how music enhances self-expression, interpersonal interaction, and musical communication through vocal improvisation and singing familiar songs. 

Click here to learn more about the benefits of music therapy for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

 This video shows examples of music therapy sessions and perspectives from music therapists and the Children's Hospital in Boston, MA.

Leticia Prieto Alvarez, a music therapist at Hebrew Senior Life in the United States,  explains the benefits of music therapy for older adults and provides examples of active music therapy experiences in group and individual settings. 

 Board Certified music therapy program at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Funded by Children's Miracle Network - Herskey. By manipulating the elements of a song, music therapists help control a patient's pain and anxiety, ease adjustment to the hospital setting and promote rehabilitation.

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

At McGuire VA Medical Center in Virginia, Hope Kumme, a certified music therapist, uses music to help veterans with PTSD and other chronic ailments. Learn how group music therapy sessions have helped clients improve pain management, mood, and quality of life.

This video presents the work of Kelsey MacDonald, certified music therapist (Canada). In this video, Kelsey provides music therapy sessions to a patient with dementia at Aberdeen Hospital in Nova Scotia. This video includes testimonials from the patient's daughter and the director of the palliative care unit.

Heather Overly, a board-certified music therapist leads a music therapy session with an older adult in hospice care. She explains how music therapy can improve quality of life among this population.

This video shows work by music therapist Carolyn Williams with children at Sick Kids Medical Hospital, in Toronto. Parents talk about the impact that music therapy has had on the development and the recovery of their child, while the music therapist comments on the actions and reactions of the children in the video. 

Charlotte Stewart, a board-certified music therapist, sings a hello song to a child during an individual music therapy session, helping the child develop their verbal communication skills through singing.