My personal philosophy of music therapy is a "living" definition.  As I continually experience new facets of Music Therapy with my clients, my understanding and philosophy of Music Therapy continually grow.

Music and rhythm encapsulate every individual’s life from the rhythmic and melodic sounds in the mother’s womb to the slowing rhythms of pulse and respiration at the end of life.  The music and rhythm of nature have a profound effect on each human, from the sound of birds singing to the sound of an ambulance siren provoking significant changes in emotional, physiological, and cognitive functioning.  These responses occur automatically and on a subconscious level.

Music provides a unique motivation for humans.  Children are drawn to drumming on pots and pans while adults are drawn to dancing to an upbeat piece of music, even if it is as simple as tapping their foot to the beat of the music. 

Music serves as a tool for communication between humans.  A mother is able to determine her newborn’s emotional state by the pitch, volume, and quality of the baby’s cry.  Music can evoke emotions that are otherwise impossible to verbalize, bringing a person to tears when they were unable to effectively speak of their emotional state.

Music Therapy utilizes these inherent characteristics of music to effect numerous changes in humans.  The various elements of music are applied in a scientific and purposeful way to effect autonomic, motivation, communicative, and behavioral changes toward habilitation, maintenance and rehabilitation of motor, communication, cognitive, self-help, and affective skills necessary for the individual to realize their full potential in society. 

The therapeutic environment is designed to communicate acceptance, encouragement, and a sense of safety to each individual, fostering an environment and a therapeutic relationship that is growth oriented; a dynamic process of intercommunication results, emphasizing the similarities between client and therapist.  Through the use of composed and improvised music, with specially designed and adapted instruments, the therapist attempts to meet each individual “where he is,” interpreting his affect and behaviors musically, and returning a musical portrait back to meet the individual’s needs and responses.

The development of a safe therapeutic environment and client-therapist relationship provides each individual the opportunity to experience music, motor, communication, emotional, and social skills successfully.  This success-based environment is key for therapeutic improvement to take place.