Resources & references

A music therapy group for individual's with Parkinson's disease is hosted on a weekly basis at Drury University. A music therapist and participants share how the sessions improve neurorehabilitation and symptom management through drumming, instrument playing, and singing.  The text includes an audio excerpt embedded in the article.

This video presents music therapy sessions at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in the Tertiary Palliative Care Unit led by Sheila Killoran, certified music therapist.

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.

Watch music therapist Karen Hook describe how she uses music therapy with autistic children and children with learning disabilities. 

Click here to watch part 2 of the documentary.

Listen to music therapist Calli Puko describe her work with adolescents in behavioural health. 

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.

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.

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

Watch how certified music therapist  Amy Smith supports children in a pediatric hospital setting, with specific examples from neonatal intensive care (NICU) and rehabilitation.

Watch how music therapy is provided in a pediatric hospital setting to work on a variety of goals with children with diverse needs.

Researchers at the University of Limerick discuss their respective studies in music therapy and arts-based research among older adults with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Presentations include testimonials and music performances used in arts-based research.

This study reviews existing research to compare the effects of music therapy in addition to standard care versus standard care alone, or to standard care plus an active control intervention, on psychological symptoms, substance craving, motivation for treatment, and motivation to stay clean/sober.