American Music Therapy Association Mission
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 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 and the 2014 press release, "Setting the Record Straight: What Music Therapy Is... and Is Not."
Online registration for the 2019 AMTA Annual Conference is open and there are many ways to register. Click the "Attend a Conference" button for more information. Make your plans now to attend "Innovate! Integrate! Motivate!"
Check In to AMTA Membership in 2019!
Join or Renew Your AMTA Membership Today! We are checking in with members across the country and invite you to do so as well. Check in with a friend, a colleague, or a student... see how they are doing, share experiences, and build a strong network. Help us strengthen our music therapy community! We invite you to join AMTA in 2019 and remember that we need your voice! Each one of us improves and enhances the music therapy family. Read what others think at #CheckInChallenge on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds and check in to thoughts from our diverse and robust group of members! Learn about the long list of benefits that support you & your music therapy practice.
Music Therapy Featured at Kennedy Center Event, "Sound Health: Music and the Mind"
A major national event, held on June 3, 2017 honored the power of music and music therapy and made possible by a partnership between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Renée Fleming, and the National Institutes of Health. A concert with the National Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Edwin Outwater, alongside renowned neuroscientists Dr. Daniel Levitin, Dr. Nina Kraus, Dr. Charles Limb, as well as musician Ben Folds, singer/actor Jussie Smollett, and of course, the incomparable Renée Fleming, kicked off the weekend of interactive presentations, including one curated by Dr. Sheri Robb, “Breakthroughs with Music Therapy: Recovery, Resilience, Quality of Life.” If you missed the live stream of Dr. Robb’s excellent session, “Breakthroughs with Music Therapy: Recovery, Resilience, Quality of Life,” with the help of musician Ben Folds, other music therapists, researchers, and clients, you can watch below. You can find recordings of this and other events in the Sound Health: Music and the Mind Saturday workshop series at the Kennedy Center's YouTube Channel.