Music Therapy

Music therapy, as defined by the Canadian Association of Music Therapists (2020), “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.”

Music therapists develop individualized treatment plans for the people they support. Goals are most often not musical in nature, however they are addressed through musical experiences. Sessions may include singing, playing instruments, song writing, movement to music, or relaxation to music, just to name some examples. Music therapists support the well-being of the whole person through relationship-building and attunement within a therapeutic context.