Music Therapy is Healthcare
Yes, music therapy is healthcare! ☕️ Over the years, music therapy has become increasingly recognized as a healthcare service; however, there is so much more awareness that is needed to fully distinguish music therapy from music education, music performance, and music volunteers.
Music therapists use music as a therapeutic tool to help clients improve their over all health and well-being. This includes all areas and aspects of their lives such as physical, social, cognitive, psychological and spiritual needs.
Music therapy is recognized as an allied health profession. This means that music therapists are regarded as medical and clinical professionals. As certified clinicians, music therapists are able to work independently or within interdisciplinary teams to help clients achieve therapeutic outcomes.
Music therapists can be found in a variety of medical settings including medical or psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health, private practice, memory care units, and more.
Music therapy is more than playing or listening to music. Like other “traditional” therapies (i.e. speech, occupational, physical, massage, etc,), music therapists conduct formal assessments or evaluations and create individualized treatment plans for each client.
Music is then used a medium to assist clients in reaching their goals. For example, a client who recently had a stroke may use singing to help them regain their speech. Patients in hospice care may be guided in writing a song as a legacy for their loved ones to facilitate positive coping.
Although a music therapy session may sometimes look purely fun from a distance, the structure and intention that a music therapist provides is the foundation for its recognition as a research and evidenced-based healthcare profession.
Furthermore, music therapists are board certified clinicians. This ensures that music therapists are highly trained to work within diverse healthcare populations and settings. It also creates opportunities for music therapists to receive reimbursement for services through private and government-funded insurance.
For more information about the music therapy profession, visit:
