What is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is defined by the Australian Music Therapy Association Inc (AMTA™) as a research- based practice and profession in which music is used to actively support people as they strive to improve their health, functioning and wellbeing. Music therapists are musicians who have trained at university to understand how music can have an effect on behaviours, on how people feel and how people think.
Music therapists work with people to achieve goals for everyday life skills. These goals might be communication goals, social goals, movement goals, mood, and feelings goals, and/or spiritual goals. In a music therapy session people might sing, play instruments, dance, write their own songs and record them, perform, listen, and talk about music.
Some of the places music therapists work in are: private practices, people’s homes, schools, day services, community health, disability care, residential aged care, hospitals, palliative care, prisons, child care centres. Music therapy sessions might be individual or in a group.
Music therapy can help support people of any age who might be experiencing challenges (including mental, intellectual, physical, emotional, or social) or wishing to improve their well-being. It is often used to address a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, behaviour, communication, and movement, including: • Autism • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) • Anxiety • Cancer • Depression • Bipolar disorder • Schizophrenia • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • Eating disorders • Personality disorders • Physical disabilities • Dementia • Stroke • Spinal cord injury • Neurodegenerative conditions. Music therapy is also recognised by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as a Therapeutic Support under ‘Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living’.
Registered Music Therapists:
• Have a Bachelor or Master’s degree in music therapy from the Australian Music Therapy Association’s accredited universities (University of Melbourne or University of Western Sydney) or an equivalent international tertiary degree;
• Have completed a minimum 640 hours of supervised clinical training as part of their degree;
• Use methods that are informed by research and practice from around the world; and
• Work collaboratively towards specific health and wellbeing goals assessed as appropriate for an individual or group.
You can find Registered Music Therapists by using the Find a Music Therapist search on https://www.austmta.org.au