what is music therapy

Music and Musicking

August 7, 2018
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I have a confession: I am not a fan of the word “musicking.” Not only is it a silly-sounding word to me, but you can’t even find it in Merriam-Webster. (Okay, technically it’s described as the “present participle of music,” meaning it’s the ongoing action of the thing called “music.” But unlike other present participles […]

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In Defense of Extrinsic Benefits…?

August 11, 2016
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Another summer means another opportunity to catch up on a little book reading. This summer’s reading list was inspired by my upcoming teaching and writing commitments. Two books in particular sparked musings on a topic I haven’t yet blogged about (at least not directly), but about which I’ve had numerous conversations with music therapists and […]

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[PsychToday] Building Bridges: Music Therapy in Hospice Care

March 8, 2016
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A beautiful story was published in People magazine recently about a music therapist at Cincinnati Children’s hospital who composes “heartbeat songs” for his clients and their family. These particular clients are unique—they all receive hospice services, meaning these children were given a prognosis of six months or less to live…Read more.

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On Shifts in Categorizing a Profession

June 11, 2015
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The field of music therapy is broad and diverse—diverse in approaches, in clinical and musical styles, in types of settings, and types of clinical populations. This diversity makes us hard to define (whole books have been written on defining music therapy), but it also allows for multiple perspectives on how to categorize the work we […]

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Comments on “Using” vs “Working In” Music

March 6, 2014
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I’ve been percolating on the ideas presented by Dr. John Carpente in a blog post he wrote this week in which he explores the concept of music being “used” in therapy as opposed to music being “worked in” in therapy. It’s not a new conversation—I usually read about the music AS versus music IN therapy […]

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[#MTAdvocacy Press Release] Setting the Record Straight: What Music Therapy Is and Is Not

January 30, 2014
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Last fall, I received an email Jennifer Peters, a Communications Intern for the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Jennifer was working on a press release about music therapy and asked if I’d be willing to help distribute the release. She sent it to me this week and well…it fits quite nicely with this month’s Social […]

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#MTAdvocacy: What We Are

January 23, 2014
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The second definition for “identity” in the Merriam Webster dictionary reads: the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different than others. This month marks the 4th annual Social Media Advocacy month, a project whereby music therapy bloggers, podcasters, tweeters, Instagramers, and Facebook users flood the online airwaves with articles, likes, and shares […]

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[Guest Post] Welcome to 2014: Declaring Our Independence

January 9, 2014
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January is Social Media Advocacy Month for the music therapy community. This year’s theme is “We are…” so join us as we celebrate our identity as a distinct and unique profession! This week I invite you to read what my fellow CBMT colleague and friend Dr. Dena Register has to say about declaring our independence […]

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2014 Social Media Advocacy Month Kickoff

January 2, 2014
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Today marks the start of one of my favorite times of year: it’s Social Media Advocacy Month! For the past 4 years, music therapy bloggers and podcasters have banded together throughout the month of January to talk, write, question, share, and advocate for music therapy. This project is part of the collaborative AMTA/CBMT State Recognition […]

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