Resources & references

Liz Mitchell, certified MTA,  shares her story

This video (in Spanish) presents a child with a neurologic disorder who received music therapy services in Spain. It includes interviews from the child's mother, the music therapist, and a music therapy student.

An anthology of selected writings and presentations by Carolyn Kenny from 1979 to 2006. This volume includes two books, The Mythic Artery and The Field of Play; articles from journals about Music Therapy and Indigenous Studies, chapters in books on Music Therapy; and previously unpublished papers and case study. This volume clearly reveals, perhaps for the first time, the important interplay between Kenny’s lifelong work in Music Therapy and her parallel work in Indigenous Studies. It also integrates many disciplines that both influence and are influenced by Music Therapy education, practice, and research.

Three therapists use instruments and voices — and parents — to reach kids "where they're at" and promote healing and a feeling of safety. Music therapists at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (Pascal Comeau, Julien Peyrin and Christelle Jacquet) sing and use instruments to help children get in touch with their emotions and find calm when undergoing procedures.

This news report describes the impact of music therapy on children with visual impairment. A parent speaks about the changes they have seen on their child, and their hopes for the future. 

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the efficacy of music therapy on pain and anxiety in children undergoing clinical procedures. Conclusion: Music is effective in reducing anxiety and pain in children undergoing medical and dental procedures; it can be considered an adjunctive therapy in clinical situations that produce pain or anxiety.

This pilot study had two purposes: First, to document and compare attentive behavior during music and play-based group instructional sessions and second, and to document and compare 4 group participation behaviors during music and play-based sessions. Discussion regarding differential outcomes among participants, as well as an exploration of theories related to music, arousal, and attention are discussed in an effort to guide future research.

This systematic review indicates that music interventions compared to standard care may have beneficial effects on anxiety, depression, hope, pain, and fatigue in adults with cancer. The results of two trials suggest that music interventions may have a beneficial effect on anxiety in children with cancer. For several outcomes, music therapy interventions delivered by a trained music therapist led to consistent results across studies. The abstract is available in many languages. 

This interdisciplinary book guides the reader through principles, techniques, and exercises for incorporating music into grief counseling, with the end goal of further empowering the grieving person. Music has a unique ability to elicit a whole range of powerful emotional responses in people - even so far as altering or enhancing one's mood - as well as physical reactions. The book uses musical expression to help the bereaved find meaning in loss and hurt, and move forward with their lives. 

 Music therapist Deforia Lane shares her experience of how music therapy has been used to help an unborn child. Dr Lane also takes you inside University Hospital Seidman Cancer Center to experience first hand the response of their patients to music therapy

This accessible video explains what is a visual impairment and how it affects children in the USA. It summarizes 5 different research articles about music therapy for children with visual impairment. It also provides a list of practice guidelines for music therapists working with children who have a visual impairment.

 This video shows examples of music therapy sessions and perspectives from music therapists and the Children's Hospital in Boston, MA.