MTR 2025 Progress Report

Progress Report of Historic Music Therapy Research Symposium -
MTR 2025: A Productive and Engaging Meeting!

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) convened an historic and innovative research symposium, “IMPROVING ACCESS AND QUALITY: MUSIC THERAPY RESEARCH 2025” (MTR 2025), July 16-18, 2015. This visionary special event was designed to recommend guidance for future research in music therapy and was made possible by a generous donation from David’s Fund and Tom and Lucy Ott.

The Editors of AMTA’s peer reviewed journals, Drs. Meadows and Robb noted that,

“when viewed as a whole, music therapy research has moved through several important stages of development, characterized by differentiation and integration of philosophies and perspectives that parallel changes occurring in the broader national health research community, including an emphasis on diverse methodologies.  Central to advancing the science and practice of music therapy is finding ways to develop and integrate this knowledge across these research cultures, while meeting both internal and external demands for research that demonstrates improvements in quality and access to care.” 

The opening night keynotes addressed these points and others.

Keynotes included:

• Importance of Research for Improving Access and Quality by Pamela Hinds, RN, PhD, FAAN, Associate Center Director, Center for Translational Science, Children’s Research Institute; Director, Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes, Children’s National™
• Cultures of Inquiry in Music Therapy and Research and the Changing Landscape of Knowledge Generation and Implementation by Sheri Robb, PhD, MT-BC and Tony Meadows, PhD, MT-BC. 

The Symposium agenda facilitated input from a broad and diverse group of professional music therapists including clinicians, educators, students, and researchers. 

• Panel One: Music Therapy Research Needs: a summary of surveys/interviews with clinicians and educators was followed by exploration of how the research process grows and evolves in music therapy practice and highlights the important questions, potential impact, and interplay of theories, methods, and approaches.
• Panel Two: Policy Imperatives: discussed the impact of research on Music Therapy recognition, access, and funding.   AMTA Government Relations Director, Judy Simpson, shared her thoughts regarding future music therapy research as it informs policy imperatives. Judy summarized input from a variety of colleagues regarding the role and use of research in policy-making and advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Panel Three: Considerations for Future Research in Selected Clinical Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias, and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) were selected to highlight opportunities for future research. These topics involve large segments of practicing music therapists and have been identified by policy-makers and funders as areas where research findings impact policy and funding. Each topic leader outlined considerations for future research in music therapy, drawing from the literature and knowledge of trends in current music therapy practice. Respondents added commentary and supplemental remarks.
• Panel Four: Research Capacity Building: Infrastructure, Education, and Training: panelists offered conceptual ideas and factors for consideration regarding research capacity building for two major topics: a) research infrastructure and b) music therapy education and training. In addition to the perspectives of educators, the perspectives of practicing clinicians and intern supervisors were presented because of their importance to the dialogue, and the unique set of challenges and needs of practicing clinician/scholars.

Six breakout groups convened in which participants discussed topics related to Panels Two, Three and Four, responded to a set of questions, and prioritized 42 recommendations.  The results will be summarized, consolidated, and shared in the fall through the AMTA website and at the annual conference.  AMTA is proud to sponsor this unique opportunity to bring the many myriad members of the music therapy community together to collaboratively explore our research future.

For more information contact:

Al Bumanis, AMTA Director of Communications
Bumanis@musictherapy.org; 301-589-3300, ext. 103, office; 240-401-1001, cell.

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