Resources & references

This article is a narrative review which offers background information on palliative care music therapy, and reports the authors’ viewpoints and reflections on supervision strategies and models employed with music therapy interns in palliative care settings based on their experiences. Approaches are shared on supporting pre-professionals as they begin working in palliative care contexts, as well as implications for supervision practices.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized primarily by a dysfunctional basal ganglia (BG) system, producing
motor and non-motor symptoms. A significant number of studies have demonstrated that rhythmic auditory
stimulation can improve gait and other motor behaviors in PD that are not well managed by the conventional
therapy. As music, being highly complex stimulus, can modulate brain activity/function in distributed areas of
brain, the therapeutic properties of music potentially extend to alleviate non-motor symptoms of PD. Despite the
clinical, behavioral evidence and promises of rhythm and music based interventions, the neural substrates underlying the effectiveness are poorly understood. The goal of this review is to appraise the current state of
knowledge in order to direct further neuroimaging studies that help to determine the therapeutic effects of
rhythm and music based interventions for motor and non-motor symptoms of PD.

Informed by personal experiences, queer autoethnographic research, and literature from the fields of speech-language pathology, vocal pedagogy and music therapy, this paper is an introduction to gender affirming voicework in music therapy, the training that it might involve, and several questions/issues that need further exploration. As a new holistic method grounded in a queer theoretical framework, the author envisions this work to be a therapeutic space focused on accessing and embodying affirming gender expressions by working with the intersections of the physical voice, the psychological voice, and the body as these each become relevant to an individual.

The discipline of music therapy is practiced differently across the globe and over the years, in all regions of the world, the number of music therapy training programs has expanded. This article focuses on the challenges and issues faced by the discipline of music therapy and health in general, based on the analysis of systemic issues in education and training, social issues, and significant issues such as multiculturalism, equity, and race around the world.

This qualitative study explored the experiences of informal caregivers of older adults who took part in group telehealth music therapy. Semi-structured interviews with 5 women caregivers were conducted. Through a thematic analysis process, the following themes were identified: (a) affordances of group telehealth music therapy, (b) challenges of group telehealth music therapy, and (c) music as a health resource. Telehealth considerations, clinical implications, as well as ways to support caregiver agency are discussed.

 Music Therapist Jodi Winnwalker shares the connective and healing power of music

This video showcases the Jared Kurtin Music Therapy Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, which is a clinical and evidence-based program for hospitalized infants, children and their families. This hospital is a leader in creative medical treatment options and has the first established pediatric music therapy program in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This chapter details a unique music therapy songwriting program, Hear Our Voices, and the songwriting process of the Little Saints, a group of “at-risk” fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The authors, who were also the music therapists working with this group, discuss the relevance of Hip-Hop culture, and its musical framework, to the music therapy process, and to the success of the program. 

Brian Schreck, a music therapist at Cincinnati Children's, helps patients and families dealing with a serious illness or end-of-life diagnosis cope and grieve through innovative music therapy.  In this video, the Bennett family describes how the therapy helped them through the loss of their 14-year-old son, Dylan. They listen to the song every single day.

This article is published by a center that offers services to facilitate the rehabilitation of clients that suffer from substance abuse/dependency, using proven traditional methods in conjunction with a holistic approach. The article presents how music therapy works and how it can help to contribute in the treatment for addiction recovery.

 Music therapy is an ancient and yet very modern practice that has the power to heal and transform our brains and bodies in significant ways. Kathleen Howland, speech language and music therapist explains how music really does have the power to heal our brain and heart.

George Stroumboulopoulos sits down with Chrissy Pearson, the Executive Director of the Canadian Music Therapy Fund, to discuss how music therapy can help a brain recover after a stroke. Visit the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy website to learn about Neurologic Music Therapy. .