What IS Music Therapy? Looks like fun!

Is that where you.... 

• sing to make people feel better?
• play guitar for sick kids?
• write songs with teens?
• play lullabies for babies?
• help people learn using music?
• sing for people with dementia?
• play music for people with disabilities?
• play songs when people are dying?
• ​express feelings through music?
• use music to help people who feel sad?

My answer........................................YES!

Yes, yes, yes it's all of those things, but it's also a whole lot more. To an outsider looking in, music therapy (MT) can appear to be entertainment. You see someone playing guitar & singing for someone who is smiling & moving to the sound and your brain links this to similar experiences- perhaps a music concert or entertainer you've seen.

Viewing it as a form of entertainment is a totally normal assumption to make based on what you are looking at, but in the case of MT, much more is happening that is perhaps less obvious to un-skilled observers. Think of a jam doughnut. To a foreigner who has never encountered this delicious sweet treat it might look like a plain, bread-like, flattened out ball. But those who know better would see it in all it's sickly sweet glory! The point here is that looks can be deceiving where MT (& doughnuts) are concerned.

Go ahead & picture a young girl singing as her music therapist plays guitar. It looks like fun & she is clearly enjoying herself, but there are a myriad of reasons this activity might have been chosen by her therapist. For example:

• She may be struggling to express her emotions & singing songs helps with this
• She's perhaps feeling anxious & singing relaxes her body 
• She might be experiencing impaired lung function & singing promotes deep breathing
• Perhaps she's experiencing pain or nausea & singing is a helpful distraction
• She might have communication challenges & singing helps her make sounds or form words
• It might even be that the lyrics reflect her own experience so it's comforting for her to sing those words aloud

The therapeutic focus is considered carefully by the music therapist who guides the session, but this won't always be visible to the observer.

Music is often non-confrontational & enjoyable which makes it an ideal creative tool for therapists to use to optimise therapeutic processes or outcomes. Think of it this way, if MT was the aforementioned jam doughnut, the sugar would be the music, the dough the therapist & client working together, & the jam would be the delicious, oozy, sweet, flowing wonder that's created through this partnership.

Make sense? Ok I understand if I lost you with the doughnut but hopefully you get the idea. Music Therapy is first & foremost therapeutic, not entertainment. Music is the toolbox we use to target therapeutic goals and support clients towards improved wellness.

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