“Where Words Fail,
Music Speaks”
“Music therapy is a discipline in which Certified Music Therapists (MTAs) use music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being. Music therapists use music safely and ethically to address human needs within cognitive, communicative, emotional, musical, physical, social, and spiritual domains.”
Canadian Association of Music Therapists (CAMT)
September 2020
https://www.musictherapy.ca/
Types of Music Therapy Offered:
Community Music Therapy (CoMT)
The use of music to promote community development, social resources, activism, awareness to social issues and supporting people in developing their personal strengths through group music making. An example is creating a music program or project, such as an open mic series for youth or establishing a music group for seniors. Another example could even be establishing a karaoke evening for first responders at a hospital. Nicholas’ approach to CoMT includes taking secular musical activities and orienting them to the needs of a specific community or population to promote inclusion, awareness, creative expression and support people in acquiring the social resources they need to be well.
Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT)
The Neurologic Music Therapy® (NMT™) System of Techniques is a standardized evidence-based clinical treatment system of 20 techniques that is driven by advances in applied auditory music neuroscience and the clinical understanding of music perception, production, and cognition. To see a list of the Academy’s Intellectual Property, click here. The NMT™ System targets specific functional behaviours in the areas of cognition, sensorimotor, and speech and language based on a client’s diagnostics and treatment goals. The NMT™ system provides structured music-based exercises that are not only relevant to NMT™ music therapists but exemplify how music can be integrated into intervention practices for all allied healthcare professionals, in the disciplines such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, neuropsychology, and speech-language pathology. The Transformational Design Model (TDM)™ is the clinical model that guides the selection of NMT™ technique based on client diagnostics, functional assessment, client long-term goals and short-term objectives, and the understanding of overlapping parallel mechanisms between the non-musical behaviour and the musical translation.
Humanistic Music Therapy
Humanistic Music Therapy stems from Humanistic Psychology principles. A large contributor to the approach was Carl Rogers (1902-1987) who established concepts regarding the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic setting. These principles ask that the therapeutic environment remain empathetic in that the client’s life experiences are honoured and that the therapist regard the individual with unconditional positive regard and transparency. Within a Humanistic lens, music serves as a medium in which the individual can freely express themselves and explore their innate creative capabilities. Music also serves as a way for the music therapist and client to relate and “ to work together . . . in the interest of addressing therapy goals.” (B. Abrams, 2017, pp.152.).