Music therapy is the use of music as a therapeutic
intervention with people of all ages in a process designed to address emotional, cognitive, physical, transpersonal, social and community needs. Music therapy aims to develop potentials and improve quality of life through prevention, treatment or rehabilitation. In all instances the use of music is clinically informed, which involves a variety of clinical techniques implemented during musical improvisation, performance, composition, movement, vocal work and music listening. In some instances the musical activities may extend towards and include extra-musical elements such as talking, drama, art and story-telling.
Music therapy is practiced with individuals and groups and aims to:
enhance musical and general creativity; develop musical vocabulary; alternate means of communication through the non-verbal qualities of music; extend the range of emotional and self- expression through musical processes and lead to therapeutic change, in the context of the client-therapist relationship, through the co-creation of music.
The training of music therapists includes theoretical and clinical foundations of the following music therapy approaches:
