Approaches in music therapy

Any of several specialized approaches may be used in music therapy. Nordoff-Robbins music therapy (also known as creative music therapy), for example, is an improvisational approach to therapy that also involves the composition of music. It was originally created by American composer and music therapist Paul Nordoff and British music therapist Clive Robbins as a therapeutic approach for children and adults with significant developmental disabilities (e.g., intellectual, sensory, or motor disability). This approach is practiced worldwide with a variety of patients of different ages.

Using the Nordoff-Robbins approach, a child with autism, for example, may vocalize spontaneously, and these vocalizations can become the basis of improvised music. This experience of “being heard” captures the child’s attention. Once attention is established, the music therapist can alter and advance the music improvisation in ways that prompt the child to vocalize with specific responses or to play an instrument in a specific way. The music becomes the context of a nonverbal dialogue that mirrors the prelingual communication of infants with caregivers. This natural phase of development includes turn taking, repeating the other’s production, and expanding those productions, all of which are key to the development of speech, language, and cognition.

Music therapists may choose to be trained in neurologic music therapy (NMT). Training in this approach focuses on understanding and applying scientific, evidence-based practices, usually for the purpose of neurorehabilitation (the recovery of neurologic function). Examples of techniques employed in this approach include auditory perception training, patterned sensory enhancement, and therapeutic singing, which may be used to improve cognitive, sensorimotor, or speech functions, respectively. Training in neurologic music therapy is offered at institutions worldwide and includes training of other allied health practitioners, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapists, as well as training of physicians and nurses.

Guided imagery and music (GIM), originally devised by American music therapist Helen Lindquist Bonny in the 1960s and early ’70s, is a music-based psychotherapeutic practice that aims to integrate emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual components of well-being. During a session, the therapist guides the patient into a deepened state of relaxation. Specially selected music is then played, and the patient describes his or her mental imagery, feelings, and memories, thereby enabling personal insight and contemplation.

Music therapy may also be used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). NICU music therapy is a highly specialized practice for premature infants. Studies have indicated that the structured use of music therapy in the NICU can positively affect premature infants, such as by improving feeding. This can result in reduced hospitalization stays and significant cost savings.