Donate
Attend
Join Us
Find Banner

QUICKLINKS

Social Networking

Facebook  Twitter  youtube
 

Support Music Therapy

Help support the music therapy profession... just by shopping!
home-btn-100x705% of any purchase you make at Amazon.com can go to benefit AMTA and its programs. All you have to do is click here before you head to Amazon.com and then make your purchase in the new window that appears.  Amazon will donate 5% of your purchase price to AMTA at no extra charge to you. That's easy.
CFClogo_1RGB
 
AMTA's Combined Federal Campaign designation #
is 11588.  
Music Therapy Makes a Difference

Music Therapy Makes a Difference

The mission of the American Music Therapy Association is to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world.

 
What is the Profession of Music Therapy?

What is the Profession of Music Therapy?

Music Therapy is the clinical & evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.

 
How Does Music Therapy Work?

How Does Music Therapy Work?

Music therapy interventions can be designed to address a variety of healthcare & educational goals: Promote Wellness, Manage Stress, Alleviate Pain, Express Feelings, Enhance Memory, Improve Communication, Promote Physical Rehabilitation and more

 
Where Do Music Therapists Work?

Where Do Music Therapists Work?

Music therapists work in medical hospitals, treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals, schools, community mental health centers, drug & alcohol programs, senior centers, nursing homes, hospice programs, correctional facilities & more.

 
What Do Music Therapists Do?

What Do Music Therapists Do?

Music therapists assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, & cognitive skills through musical responses; design music interventions for individuals and groups based on client needs; & follow up progress.

 
Who Can Benefit from Music Therapy?

Who Can Benefit from Music Therapy?

Children, adolescents, adults, & the elderly with mental health needs, developmental & learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, acute and chronic pain, & more.

 
Does Research Support Music Therapy?

Does Research Support Music Therapy?

AMTA promotes a vast amount of research exploring the benefits of music as therapy through publication of the "Journal of Music Therapy," "Music Therapy Perspectives" & other sources. A substantial body of literature exists to support its effectiveness.

 
 
 
 

Success in Advocacy

Music therapist Meredith Pizzi talks about her winning business pitch in the Make Mine a Million $ Business™ National Event - a boost for her music therapy clinic and an attention-getter for music therapy in general.

 

Join AMTA or Renew Your Membership

Now is the time to join or renew your AMTA membership for 2012.  But why?  Watch this video produced by the AMTA Membership Committee to find out just a few of the reasons others are members of AMTA.

And if you need even more reasons, please visit our Twitter feed or Facebook page to read why #AMTARocks.

You can join AMTA online by going to our bookstore, selecting the appropriate membership category and adding it to your shopping cart.  Follow the online instructions to check out.  Or, if you'd like to mail in a membership payment, you can print out the membership form here.

What is Music Therapy?

We invited AMTA members to submit videos that complete the sentence "music therapy is..."

What follows is a beautiful illustration of the many ways we talk about and experience the music therapy profession.

 
 

 

What is Music Therapy?

Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.

Music therapy interventions can be designed to:

  • Promote Wellness
  • Manage Stress
  • Alleviate Pain
  • Express Feelings
  • Enhance Memory
  • Improve Communication
  • Promote Physical Rehabilitation

Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in a wide variety of healthcare and educational settings. For further information, please explore the rest of this site including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

 

What is AMTA's Mission?

The mission of the American Music Therapy Association is to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and to increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world.


 

AMTA's 2011 AMTA Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia was a huge success.  Thanks to all who helped make this conference possible.

For more conference memories, see the conference event page and check back for new items to be added.

Latest News

view all news stories

Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Autism Speaks Shares Music Therapy Examples
Excerpts of music therapy now appear in the Autism Speaks Video Glossary, in the new Treatments section. You will find music therapy under "Clinical Therapies." Users must set up a (free) account and password in order to access the glossary and can then watch descriptions of work with children at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Center. Continue Reading
 
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Majoring in Music Therapy
The website, Majoring in Music.com discusses how to choose a music therapy program for those who are considering entering the music therapy profession. Continue Reading
 
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
New AMTA-Pro Podcast Featuring Dr. Kenneth E. Bruscia
AMTA presented Kenneth E. Bruscia as the William W. Sears Distinguished Lecture Series Speaker at the annual AMTA conference in Atlanta, Georgia in November, 2011. Dr. Bruscia’s lecture, “Ways of Thinking in Music Therapy,” is an analysis of various ways of thinking about the respective roles of music, therapist, and client, and how these roles are configured in different models and styles of music therapy practice. Continue Reading
 
Monday, January 23, 2012
Department of Labor - Employment and Training Administration (ETA) releases Allied Health Competency Model
The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has worked with technical and subject matter experts from education, business, and industry to develop a comprehensive competency model for the Allied Health industry sector. AMTA participated as a Validator and Industry Champion in the Model development process. Continue Reading
 
Friday, January 20, 2012
Announcing the 2nd Annual Social Media Advocacy Month
In January 2012, over 3 dozen music therapy bloggers and podcasters are working with the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) as they spread the word about music therapy advocacy and the State Recognition Operational Plan through the social media airwaves. Continue Reading
 
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Musician Ben Folds Helps Promote Music Therapy
Ben Folds wanted to perform for the cause because he believes music unifies and heals. Continue Reading
 
Thursday, January 19, 2012
New AMTA-Pro Podcast: Journey Toward a Career in Music Therapy
In this AMTA-Pro podcast, two music therapy students describe the diverse paths they took coming into the field as well as interesting experiences along the way that have equipped them for the journey through internship and into successful professional careers. Continue Reading
 
Monday, January 9, 2012
Music Therapy in Early Childhood Classrooms
AMTA's Immediate Past President, Ronna Kaplan continues her blog with The Huffington Post: "Music therapists sometimes use arts integration to address state academic content standards. In a preschool class where many of the children had speech and language delays, the music therapist helped children identify matching sounds and recognize rhymes in songs and words, part of a core pre-kindergarten language arts standard." Continue Reading
 
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Magical Medicine of Music
"Unlike speech, controlled by the left side of the brain, music engages both sides of the brain. And because both sides of the brain are involved, music is ideal for reigniting the brain’s spark plugs." Continue Reading
 
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Releases White Paper on Arts and Human Development
The National Endowment for the Arts is leading a new task force to encourage research on how the arts help people reach their full potential at all stages of life. A white paper titled "The Arts and Human Development: Framing a National Research Agenda for the Arts, Lifelong Learning, and Individual Well-Being," examines the relationship between the arts and positive health and educational outcomes at various segments of the lifespan. Continue Reading