Resources & references

This fact sheet from the American Music Therapy Association provides information about music therapy practices for substance abuse recovery. This page provides information on potential outcomes of music therapy, contraindications for music therapy, the clinical process, research areas, and a client testimonial.

This informational page from the Music Therapy Association of British-Columbia provides an overview of music therapy practices in a mental health context. It describes why music therapy may be effective in addressing mental health needs, lists examples of mental illnesses where music therapy can help, presents different approaches and activities that can be used, and provides literature supporting the use of music therapy for mental health.

This article explains how music therapy can help people cope with grief in a variety of ways. It can help create connection with a deceased loved one. It can help those grieving to explore spirituality (hope and meaning in life) and deal with challenging emotions. Many people have an intimate connection to the songs that have helped them through bereavement.

This fact sheet from the American Music Therapy Association provides information about music therapy practices for adults with mental health and substance use challenges. This page provides information on relevant definitions and statistics, the types of mental health settings in which music therapists work, potential outcomes of music therapy, contraindications for music therapy, the clinical process, and effectiveness research.

Music therapy allows children with visual impairment to reach their goals and develop their motor, cognitive and communications skills. Children who are part of the group explain why they enjoy music therapy. 

 Music therapy improves the health of premature babies and boosts parental bonding

  This article describes different techniques, interventions and outcomes of teens during cancer treatment. They describe how writing lyrics, making videos helped them get through grueling treatment and connect with others, study found.

Music is now being used as medicine at the Foothills Medical Centre intensive care unit in Calgary, helping everyone from palliative care patients to stroke victims.

Watch the music therapy journey of a young girl with cerebral palsy and blindness. Her mother tells the changes she witnesses in her daugther during music therapy sessions. Also, this video explains how music therapy is provided in Northen Ireland. The Royal National Institute for the Blind advocates for more music therary access for children in this country. 

 Article describes research findings of music therapy with individuals recovering from a stroke or who are managing Parkinson's disease. This article discusses the use of music therapy for neurorehabilitation

After 35 years in the field of information technology followed by some time in politics, Suzanne Caron became a music therapist and founded the National Music Therapy Institute. Its mission is to raise awareness of and facilitate access to music therapy. A number of steps had to be completed before the dream of launching this Institute could become a reality —a process that demonstrated the importance of a determined, flexible, and creative approach. The COVID-19 pandemic— a tragedy in many respects—led the Institute to explore music therapy online for autistic people and family caregivers, and to develop training that would facilitate the transition for music therapists across Canada. The future looks promising for this Institute, whose story has yet to unfold.

This article describes the Intergenerational Jamboree music therapy intervention. The benefits for yound children and older adults are outlined, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. A complete guide is provided for music therapists who wish to implement the Jamboree in their community.