“What do you do?”

“I’m a music therapist”

“That’s interesting… what is a music therapist?”

 

I have had this exact conversation countless times.  The thing about it is, there is no real definitive answer.  People define it many different ways.  My own personal answer has evolved over the years.  My answer today is quite different from the answer I would have given at the end of my undergraduate career and it has continued to evolve past the completion of my master’s degree.  I have had to write papers about my philosophy and definition of music therapy, but my short, sweet definition of music therapy is:

 

               “A trained therapist using music to accomplish non-musical goals within a client/therapist relationship.  For example helping a child with speech production through the use of rhythmic speech experiences, or helping someone who has had a stroke work on increasing range of motion in their affected hand by playing the piano.” 

We spend a lot of time discussing and tweaking the definition of what we do as music therapists, and now we would love to hear from you.  “What is music therapy?”