What Is Music Therapy?
Music Therapy is a professional healthcare discipline that uses music as a therapeutic tool to achieve functional goals. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”
Who Benefits?
Participation in music therapy does not require previous music training. A variety of persons of all ages can benefit from music therapy sessions, including those with
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- neurological injury and illness
- physical disabilities
- speech disorders
- dementia
- developmental and learning differences
- acute and chronic pain
- hospice needs
- mental health needs
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What Training Do Music Therapists Receive?
All music therapists have completed an AMTA-approved university music therapy curriculum and 1200 hours of clinical training. Following coursework, a 6-month internship provides the bulk of this clinical training. Upon completion of the internship, one is eligible to sit for the national board certification exam. The Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) administers the board exam and provides and regulates the Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC) credential. CBMT is an independent organization, fully accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). To maintain the MT-BC credential, a music therapist must complete 100 hours of continuing education every five years.
What is Neurologic Music Therapy?
The ‘Robert F. Unkefer’ Academy offers training and advanced Fellowship training in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). As defined by the Academy, NMT is the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions due to neurological disease. It is based on a neuroscience model of music perception and production, and uses music to influence specific change in nonmusical brain processes and behavior. NMT treatment techniques are standardized, supported by research, and used for sensorimotor, cognitive, and speech and language training. Neurologic music therapists are trained to develop interventions that are therapeutically, musically, and scientifically sound in order to meet functional, individualized client goals.
References
American Music Therapy Association, http://www.musictherapy.org/.
Center for Biomedical Research in Music, Colorado State University, (1999). Training Manual for Neurologic Music Therapy. Fort Collins: Michael Thaut.