mmtdefine

Medical
Music
Therapy

DEFINITION OF MUSIC THERAPY

Music Therapy is a research-based health profession in which music activities are designed to accomplish non-musical therapeutic goals with clients of all ages and abilities in a non-threatening environment. Such treatment involving the use of music to facilitate learning, healing and change in individiuals' lives may occur in medical, rehabilitative, special education, geriatric and psychiatric settings.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

cognitive stimulation
coping skills
enhanced development
mood elevation
music paired with respiratory therapy, physical/occupational therapy, and speech/language pathology exercises to reduce pain and anxiety, increase compliance, and reinforce progress
normalization of environment
pain and anxiety reduction
reality orientation
rehabilitation of physical and cognitive abilities
socialization

PURPOSES OF MEDICAL MUSIC THERAPY

The Medical Music Therapy Program is under the auspices of the TMH Medical Director in partnership with the Department of Music Therapy in the College of Music at Florida State University.

Its purposes are fourfold:

to provide clinical music therapy services to TMH patients in accordance with established medical music therapy practices and approved hospital protocols
to serve as an AMTA national training site for music therapy interns
to provide training and supervision for FSU music therapy majors in clinical practica
and to conduct research on innovative uses of medical music therapy.

The TMH Medical Music Therapy program is designed in accordance with American Music Therapy Association requirements and holds national approval as an internship site. The staff consists of one Master's level Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) and 2 qualified interns.