What is music therapy and how does it work?

While there are lots of different ways clients and support workers can engage in “music” related support, from going to a gig, to learning an instrument together, we wanted to focus on music therapy. What is music therapy and what does it involve?

We asked  Helen Cameron, a disability advisor at the Australian Music Therapy Association to share her insights. As a registered music therapist who facilitates her own music therapy private practice supporting people with intellectual disabilities, Helen describes music therapy as “the use of music to achieve non-musical aims.” So what exactly does that mean? 

“Music therapy is for the health and wellbeing of people, so lots of people come to us with communication difficulties,” says Helen. “Music can be a non-verbal form of expression; people can communicate through song or through playing instruments, so they can develop social and communication skills, so interacting with another person and understanding what they’re saying, for instance you can do that by playing the drums.

“Some people with, for example, Cerebral Palsy, might come to us and they might want to increase their fine motor skills or core strength. So, they might want to practice grasping or have the opportunity to play on the piano or use fingerpicking on a guitar.”

What does a music therapy session involve? 

A music therapy session can occur in person or online. Music therapists use a range of music therapy methods and tailor each session to the needs of the person. A session may include:

• Listening to music played by the music therapist
• Listening to recorded music
• Making music by playing an instrument or singing
• Using or writing lyrics and songs
• Getting resources and activities to do outside of the music therapy session

“The music therapist has musical skill, so the client or support worker doesn’t need musical skill to participate,” says Helen. “All musical therapists are trained musicians, we sing or play piano or guitar (portable instruments), and we’re skilled in understanding disabilities and putting together a plan to understand that person’s needs. We work with a person in a holistic manner. We also liaise with the other allied health professionals a person might be working with.”

What are the benefits of music therapy? 

According to the Australian Music Therapy Association, research has shown that music therapy can help people in many ways. It can help with your...

Mental health and wellbeing

• Reducing stress or anxiety. Music therapy can help improve breathing, lower your heart rate, and relax your muscles. 
• Regulating moods and energy levels. Did you know, listening to happy or sad music can affect the way you perceive the world around you? 
• Increasing motivation. Adding a musical component to a task can help increase motivation and attention. Think about how music during exercise can help stay on task. Music can often be used for other tasks, such as teeth cleaning or tying shoelaces. 
• Managing anger and frustration. A 2013 study found that music therapy improved all participants’ positive coping skills and anger management skills.

Speech, communication and social skills

• Improving verbal and non-verbal communication. For example, by singing words that might be difficult to say, or using drums or maracas to communicate rather than words. 
• Improving physical speech function. Music therapy can help facilitate speech as it uses the areas of the brain involved in communication. 
• Increasing social communication skills by practicing. These might include eye contact, listening, following instructions, sharing and seeking interactions. 
• Increasing social interaction through turn-taking, joint attention and imitation. Social skills including turn-taking, practicing conversations and asking questions can all be trained during music therapy.

Body movement, coordination and physical function

• Improving gross motor function and control. This might include clapping, marching or walking to music during a music therapy class. 
• Improving fine motor function and control. Fine motor skills might be used when finger picking a guitar or playing a piano. 
• Improving balance. Research suggests that gait rehabilitation for people with Parkinson disease or after a stroke can be aided by rhythmic stimuli during music therapy. 
• Increasing physical independence. Music therapy can help increase physical independence, and enhance feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.

How can support workers get involved? 

There’s no need for a support worker to be the next Taylor Swift to participate in music therapy sessions with their clients. “The enthusiasm and the involvement of the support worker is a really key factor,” says Helen. “I make sure the support worker gets an instrument as well, they need an ability to get in there and not be shy about it. Obviously, the support worker needs to know the person they’re supporting quite well, so being able to enliven the person they’re working with or recognising when their client might be overstimulated. The support worker is the person who’s going to make it a really rich experience.” 

Support workers can also get involved outside the music therapy session, by continuing the activities learnt in the session. “Support workers can take away the strategies, go and sing the songs we’ve sung together and use the resources we’ve shared to continue doing music with their clients in between sessions. I’ve got clients with support workers who are singing and doing music in between sessions, and we see greater progress in those clients.”