Information.
What is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music experiences within a therapeutic relationship to address the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional strengths and needs of individuals. The process for music therapy for a client includes a referral, an assessment, creation of an individualized treatment plan, documentation of progress, and evaluation. The therapeutic music experiences implemented during music therapy sessions are categorized into 4 methods:
Recreative - involves the client making music through instrument play and/or singing to a pre-composed musical piece. Recreative experiences might address the following goal areas: gross/fine motor, communication (breath control, articulation, etc.), social, cognition (memory, attention, executive functions, etc.), emotional (self-expression, self-regulation, etc.), and sensory processing.
Receptive - involves the client listening to live or recorded music and responding through any modality. Receptive experiences might address the following goal areas: promoting relaxation and/or stimulation, facilitating reminiscence, anxiety reduction, mood elevation, etc.
Compositional - involves the client creating a musical product. Compositional experiences might address the following goal areas: collaboration, perseverance, self-expression, problem solving, etc.
Improvisational - involves the client spontaneously making music with the therapist with instruments and/or vocals. Improvisational experiences might address the following goal areas: relatedness, communication, self-expression, sensory integration, etc.
A music therapist is a credentialed professional that has completed their educational training from an approved music therapy program, as well as clinical training requirements set forth by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). A music therapist must pass and maintain board-certification from the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT). Upon board-certification, a music therapist could practice in a variety of settings, including medical and psychiatric hospitals, private practices, hospice, schools, assisted living facilities, Veteran’s affairs facilities, early intervention programs, rehabilitative facilities, and so on.
Neuroscience-Informed Music Therapy
Neuroscience-informed music therapy focuses on how music affects the brain. Music therapists that operate from a neuroscience-informed approach form clinical decisions based on the neuroscience of the brain, the neuroscience of music processing and production, and the study of how engaging with music can impact the brain. Four main physiological factors relating music and the brain are cortical distribution, shared and extended networks, entrainment, and optimization of neural networks. First, music is cortically distributed throughout the brain, which means that music can differentially activate parts of the brain. Second, shared networks refer to areas of the brain that are activated during both nonmusical and musical tasks. This means that music can access areas of the brain that are responsible for speech and language, cognition, sensorimotor, social skills, etc. For instance, rhythm activates the primary cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, supplementary and premotor areas, and the cerebellum. Engaging with rhythm during movement experiences can influence more efficient movements. Extended networks are connections that extend beyond the cortical areas needed for a similar nonmusical task. For example, speech is lateralized to the left side of the brain and singing/pitch is heavily lateralized to the right. If an individual injures their left hemisphere, pitch allows the individual to sing despite the loss of speech. Next, entrainment is the concept that an external oscillating body can synchronize an internal oscillating body, such as heart rate, gait, respiration rate, etc. Lastly, optimized networks refer to networks that improve performance with the addition of musical stimuli. In other words, elements of music, such as melody, help the brain organize information and respond more efficiently. Additionally, engaging and rewarding music activates the reward centers in the brain, causing the release of dopamine, leading to cortical plasticity.
Celebrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
We are committed to an anti-oppressive approach to music therapy practice. We strive to create an environment where you can feel valued and safe. Discrimination, of any kind, will not be tolerated. Anti-oppressive practice (AOP) is not unique to the field of music therapy; rather, it is a theory that offers avenues for celebrating diversity, inclusion, and equity, as well as dismantling systemic oppression. Critical components of anti-oppressive practices include anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-heterosexism, anti-ableism, anti-ageism, and an understanding of class oppression. Anti-oppressive practice requires recognizing imbalance of power and committing to rectifying those imbalances. Here at Emerald Coast Music Therapy, we are dedicated to the development of our cultural humility and will continue deepening our understanding of our own and others’ cultural influences.
Music therapy resources related to Anti-Oppressive Practice:
Cultural Intersections in Music Therapy (2017), Anti-oppressive music therapy: Updates and future considerations (2021), Music Therapy in a Multicultural Context: A Handbook for Music Therapy Students and Professionals (2020), A Call for Radical Imagining: Exploring Anti-Blackness in the Music Therapy Profession (2020),