What is ‘Music Therapy’?

Music therapy is a topic that often prompts intrigue and wonder. While music is a familiar and accessible art form, its therapeutic applications may be less recognised, particularly in relation to contemporary allied health practice. As a music therapy academic and educator with a specialist interest in mental health, I’m often asked what music therapy entails and how this practice impacts the individual. This article speaks to both of these questions by offering a brief overview of music therapy practice in Ireland, while sharing descriptions of practice from the perspectives of those who have attended sessions in a mental health context.

Overview

According to the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists, music therapy is an evidence-based profession where the planned and creative use of music-based interventions supports people to improve, restore or maintain functioning and well-being. In this allied healthcare practice, music is the medium through which client needs and goals are addressed. This is achieved through the planned use of music-based interventions such as singing, song-writing, instrumental play and music listening. Musical skill or training is not a pre-requisite of clients to attend music therapy. Indeed, many clients come to music therapy with a simple interest or love of music and willingness to engage in a creative therapeutic process.

Music therapy can be offered in an individual or group setting to many different client cohorts right across the lifespan. In Ireland there are music therapists working in the areas of early-intervention, special education, intellectual disability, mental health, community care, older adult care, pediatrics and neurological rehabilitation to name but a few. Music therapy sessions are provided by a qualified practitioner who has usually completed training to Masters Level. The only professional training in music therapy in Ireland is offered on the MA Music Therapy Programme at the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, University of Limerick. This programme commenced in 1998 and has over 90 graduates to date who work in Ireland and beyond.

Personal Perspectives of Music Therapy

Similar to other allied health professions, it is inherent that music therapy is informed by the best available evidence to ensure effectiveness of this practice. Since music therapy was first professionalised in the 1940s, a growing evidence-base has been established to support its application across a range of populations. This includes a range of mental health conditions, in particular for people with schizophrenia or depression. While there are many different types of evidence in terms of assuring efficacy of practice, service user perspectives and experiences are important sources of information that should not be overlooked as health services are developed. A main focus of my research has sought to highlight personal and lived experience of music therapy in mental health. As we live in an era where public and patient involvement are increasingly emphasised in healthcare development, such research is crucial in terms of building a rounded-evidence base that can help inform public and professional stakeholder groups alike.

In a study carried out at the University of Limerick, mental health service users in Ireland highlighted that music therapy is often attended because of one’s love or interest in music and that it involves building relationships with others beyond the use of words (McCaffrey, 2015 & 2016). It offers a way of acknowledging one’s personhood and connecting with a sense of wellness, even when this may sometimes seem overshadowed by illness. Service users also relayed how group music therapy offered them a forum in which they could contribute to the benefit of others through musical play which in turn lead to a sense of belonging and achievement. Such outcomes of practice are difficult to quantify within a clinical and symptomatic discourse, yet they are incredibly important to the service users of music therapy who participated in this study. This highlighted music therapy as being both person-centred but also resource-oriented. Such qualities of music therapy are inherent to the personal recovery journey in terms of regaining control and confidence of one’s life and overcoming the limitations of mental illness

For further information

If you would like to find out further information about music therapy in Ireland please come to our very special event on March 14th 2017 entitled ‘Celebrating Music Therapy Research and Practice in Ireland’, hosted by the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, at the University of Limerick. This free event brings together leading specialists in the field to present examples of the diverse music therapy professional practice and research in Ireland, as well as to celebrate and promote the MA Music Therapy at the University of Limerick, the only professional qualification in music therapy on the island of Ireland.

For music therapy event bookings contact: eventbrite.ie

For information about the MA Music Therapy Programme at the University of Limerick see: IrishWorldAcademy.ie

For information about the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists see: iacat.ie

References
McCaffrey, T., & Edwards, J. (2016). Music therapy helped me get back doing”: Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to illuminate the perspectives of music therapy participants in mental health services. Journal of Music Therapy, 53(2), 121-48.
McCaffrey, T., & Edwards, J. (2015). Meeting art with art: Arts based methods enhance researcher reflexivity in research with mental health service users. Journal of Music Therapy, 52(4), 515-32.