Resources & references

This article suggests a provisional paradigm shift from disability as pathology, to disability as neurodiversity: this has the potential to productively resituate the epistemological orientations of music therapy, both as a field of inquiry and a domain of practice. Drawing from their own work on the ethnomusicology of autism, as well as from research and writings in disability studies and autistic self-advocacy, they propose that the relativistic foundations of ethnomusicology offer a potentially useful alternative and complement to the principally treatment-directed foundations of music therapy.

The European Music Therapy Confederation was founded in 1991, as a forum for exchange between music therapists in Europe. The EMTC is a confederation of professional music therapy associations, working actively to promote the further development of professional practice in Europe, and to foster exchange and collaboration between member countries.

This research examines the potential benefit of a music therapy social skills development program to improve social skills and academic performance of school-aged children with limited resources, in an afterschool program.
 

Since the 2015 Canadian legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAiD), many Canadian music therapists have become involved in the care of those requesting this procedure. This qualitative study, the first of its kind, examines the experience of music therapy within MAiD, exploring lived experience from three perspectives: the patient, their primary caregiver, and the music therapist/researcher.

This phenomenological study aims to document the practice of music therapy in adolescent mental health, and more specifically the brief therapy sessions carried out with groups of adolescents. Through semi-structured interviews, three Canadian music therapists, working primarily in mental health with adolescents, share their professional experience. Three main themes emerged: (a) the main goals addressed in this type of context, (b) the program structures generally established, and (c) the professional skills required.

This report tells how music therapists help the various needs of students in a school for the blind. Different music therapy interventions are described, and music therapists explain how they address goals based on their students' Individual education plan. 

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of music therapy on pain and anxiety in pediatric burn patients during nursing procedures. The results from the qualitative and quantitative data indicated that music therapy reduced pain, anxiety, and behavioral distress, while increasing mood and enhancing relaxation. 

This article explores the efficacy of music therapy interventions in palliative care and their therapeutic impact on physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

This study investigated the behavioural and neurophysiological responses to song, speech and noise in a child with a brain injury and a disorder of consciousness. The child had a greater number of behavioural responses during the song condition, compared to the speech and noise conditions, supporting the use of music therapy in pediatric populations.

Click ici to read a summary of this study.

Music therapists work across populations and age groups to assist with pain management, from children during painful procedures to people at end-of-life care. Music therapists address acute, chronic as well as procedural pain.

Research conducted at the University of Melbourne demonstrates that familiar songs can stimulate brain responses that other stimuli cannot in children with severe brain injuries. This article suggests that music therapy can facilitate neurorehabilitation and speed recovery.

Click here to read the study referenced in this article.

This study evaluated the feasibility and potential benefits of a drum circle activity designed to improve the affective experience of patients, families and staff in a large pediatric hospital. This preliminary study supports the usefulness of group drumming to enhance the well-being of pediatric hospital patients, families and staff.