Resources & references

This research study interviews  experienced music therapists of diverse cultural backgrounds. The results provide recommendations on how to build safety in the therapeutic relationship among children and adolescents who have experienced trauma.

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.

This paper updates an earlier review that encouraged the music therapy community to continuing investigating the efficacy of music therapy in treatment of substance abuse. 12 studies met inclusion for this review. The most common music therapy method to be investigated was lyric analysis, followed by music and imagery methods, and then songwriting. Recommendations include suggestions for reducing bias in future studies and continued research.

This article explores the evidence-based benefits of music therapy among adults with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It references existing research showing how music enhances communication, cognitive functioning, physical activity, memory, reality orientation, and quality of life.

Learn more about the benefits of music therapy by seeing a music therapy experience in action 

This fact sheet from the American Music Therapy Association provides information about music therapy practices for substance abuse recovery. This page provides information on potential outcomes of music therapy, contraindications for music therapy, the clinical process, research areas, and a client testimonial.

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. 

Learn more about the benefits of music therapy for individuals with dementia and Alzheimer's disease

What would you think if you met a person who had lost his ability to speak after having a stroke, but who could sing with perfect clarity? Harvey Alter, president and founder of the International Aphasia Movement, spoke regarding his first-hand experience on music's power to heal at the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function's 2008 Music Has Power Awards Benefit.

To find out more about the therapeutic use of music in speech rehabilitation, visit http://www.imnf.org.

 Music therapy has positioned itself squarely within the medical model of disability, arguing that many sorts of human variability should be understood as illnesses, diseases, or other sorts of pathological medical conditions, and offering music as a source of normalization, remediation, and therapy toward a possible cure. But for many human conditions, including autism, cure is neither possible nor desirable. Instead of seeking to normalize autistic people, music therapy might instead acknowledge their distinctive sorts of musical interests and attitudes and offer to enhance their indigenous culture in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Instead of normalization and cure, music therapists might seek enhanced self-expression, knowledge, and pleasure through mutual music-making.

This fact sheet explains the benefits of music therapy for older adults with memory disorders including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It also describes the clinical processes and neurological impact of music therapy, and the importance of working with a professional music therapist. 

See an example of a music therapy session in action

A comprehensive guide to music therapy with young children, providing a detailed examination of development from birth to age five, with theoretical perspectives and extensive scales of developmental milestones.
The author categorizes development within five levels. An expansive catalog of musical goals is provided for singing, playing, moving, and musical understanding within each level.

The primary purpose of this handbook is to educate music therapists and healthcare professionals about the uses and evidence-based benefits of music therapy practices with older adults including those in hospice care, health and wellness programs, intergenerational programs, and those living with Alzheimer’s disease, 

This informational page from the Music Therapy Association of British-Columbia provides an overview of music therapy practices in a mental health context. It describes why music therapy may be effective in addressing mental health needs, lists examples of mental illnesses where music therapy can help, presents different approaches and activities that can be used, and provides literature supporting the use of music therapy for mental health.