Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Finding Its Rhythm

29/11/2022

Finding Its Rhythm As evidence of music therapy's benefits grows, the practice is increasingly showing up in hospitals, schools, and more.

By

Susan Gedutis Lindsay

November 24, 2022

It was only 15 years ago that music therapy was still considered to be at the periphery of medical practice. At the time, Rich Abante Moats was at Berklee, studying to enter the field.

There were hardly any music therapy departments in hospital settings, she says. It was even more rare to see a music therapist who had an administrative role over a department. But today, as director of Integrative and Creative Arts Therapies at AdventHealth in central Florida, Moats B.M. '07 M.A. '19 oversees a team of 12 music therapists who work with adults and children in a variety of inpatient and outpatient hospital settings: ICUs, surgery, oncology, neurology, COVID, and neonatal units.

Rich Abante Moats B.M. '07 M.A. '19

AdventHealth, Moats says, now recognizes that music therapy benefits not only the patients, but also the business side of hospital care: People are able to leave the hospital sooner if they receive music therapy. Patients that receive music therapy score their experience higher than others.

AdventHealth is one of many health care institutions around the country that have embraced music therapy in recent years. In Boston alone, there are now eight music therapists at Children's Hospital and six at Massachusetts General Hospital; both programs made this expansion in the last 10 years. In 2017, the National Institutes of Health collaborated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to form the SoundHealth initiative to provide $20 million for music therapy research.

Thanks to years of studies supporting music therapy's benefits, demand for music therapy is growing in a variety of clinical and community settings. A half-century of effort by board-certified professionals is finally codifying the practice and demonstrating its impact on concrete health outcomes.

The field now abounds with well-paid clinical positions, and a handful of states are licensing music therapists beyond the expected board certification. The music therapy field is flourishing, says Joy Allen, chair of Berklee's Music Therapy Department.

Joy Allen

According to a September 2022 report by consulting firm SkyQuest Technology, the American Music Therapy Association estimates that the demand for music therapy in the U.S. has doubled in the last five years. The report also notes that U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers indicate there was a 17 percent increase in job openings for music therapists during roughly the same period.

Music therapy effects positive changes in patients' well-being by involving them in live music-making. The music, often improvised, is made using a wide variety of instruments-including guitars, ukuleles, percussion instruments, keyboard, and the voice. It draws on a range of genres and styles, as patients are encouraged to use their own natural musicality to express themselves and to connect with others. Through this music, therapists teach relaxation, techniques to cope with pain, and tools for managing stress and chronic illness. The therapy can be particularly helpful in getting patients to process emotions that they are unable to express in words. The work can be done individually or in groups, depending on need.

Suzanne Hanser

Music affects areas of the brain well beyond cognitive areas, including parts that affect mood, feeling, and emotion, says Suzanne Hanser, chair emerita of Berklee's Music Therapy Department. Music therapists can focus on these areas to develop new pathways in the brain.

The field is also benefiting from a cultural shift in medicine: a growing awareness of the value of a patient's quality of life. As science has advanced in terms of curing' and mitigating some of the losses from illness, it mandates more opportunities for behavioral health and rehabilitation sciences, Allen says. This shifts the emphasis to discovering what is meaningful for an individual and finding therapeutic means to help them meet health challenges they need to learn to live with.

Researchers and educators like Hanser are playing a critical role in continuing to establish the practice. She wrote a seminal music therapy textbook, The Music Therapist's Handbook, in 1988, founded Berklee's Music Therapy Department in 1995, and chaired it from 1996 to 2015.

These last 10 years, the biggest change was that we went from the Western medical disease model-the whole idea of the disabilities, the disease of [people] who had so many abilities, Hanser says. Now we're moving far away from diagnostic categories and disabilities and looking at the whole person.

As research began to show positive health outcomes associated with practices such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine, the science of mind-body medicine has grown, and music therapy is part of it, Hanser says.

Noa Ferguson B.M. '09

The practice is also finding stronger footing in public schools. Noa Ferguson B.M. '09 is in her 11th year of providing music therapy to schoolchildren as cofounder of Spectrum Creative Arts in Rochester, New York. Her team of five music therapists serves 50 schools in 12 districts.

In the past 10 years that I've been a clinician, music therapy has become a licensed profession at the state level in a handful of states across the U.S., Ferguson says. (All U.S. music therapists share a board-certification credential.) Here in Rochester, music therapy has started to become a household term that caregivers know to advocate for within their school districts and education systems.

Marl n Rodriguez-Wolfe B.M. 08

As awareness of the field in
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/finding-its-rhythm...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

11/07/2025

2025 Sundance Institute Producers Lab Fellows Announced

PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...

11/07/2025

L3Harris Delivers First P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to US Navy

L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...

11/07/2025

WETA Launches WETA+ Free Streaming Service

ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...

11/07/2025

TV Tech's Top Regulatory Stories of 2025

The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...

11/07/2025

Calrec to Feature Suite of Interconnected Audio Solutions at IBC2025

Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...

11/07/2025

Encompass Supports DAZN's Coverage of 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...

11/07/2025

SBE Survey: Certified Broadcast Engineers Earn More

Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....

11/07/2025

SmallHD Unveils Quantum 27 OLED Monitor

CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...

11/07/2025

Tegna Will Pay $225K to Settle FCC Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...

11/07/2025

Sens. Markey, Lujn Again Call for FCC Vote on Paramount-Skydance Merger

WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...

11/07/2025

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...

11/07/2025

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks Adjusts Broadcast Booths for Rangers, Devils

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...

11/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Clients' Needs With Scalable Cloud-Based Storage

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...

11/07/2025

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transition to the Cloud

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...

11/07/2025

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff Friday, July 1...

11/07/2025

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimbledon

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...

11/07/2025

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-Serrano 3 Card at MSG

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...

11/07/2025

'Too Hot to Handle: Italy' Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix

Back to All News Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix Entertainment 11 July 2025 GlobalItaly Link copied to clipboard July 11, 20...

11/07/2025

Netflix Will Release 'Death Inc.' Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Back to All News Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 Entertainment 11 July 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Season 1 Season 2 Se...

11/07/2025

A Gaming GPU Helps Crack the Code on a Thousand-Year Cultural Conversation

Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia. From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...

10/07/2025

Nielsen Appoints Richard Pacheco as Head of Global Partnerships

NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...

10/07/2025

Sponsored: Robotic Deployments Are Transforming Local News

Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...

10/07/2025

Stuttgart Media University Upgrades Studio with Lawo mc56

Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...

10/07/2025

SMPTE Opens Early Bird Registration for Media Technology Summit

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...

10/07/2025

TNDV Television Launches Aspiration 35 to Support Cinematic Workflows

NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....

10/07/2025

Key Code Education Launches Beginner, Intermediate Training Courses

BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...

10/07/2025

Actus Digital to Show Actus X Intelligent Monitoring With AI at IBC2025

HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...

10/07/2025

Comments on FCC Ownership Rules Due in August

The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...

10/07/2025

Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for 'Superestar'

Back to All News Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video Play Video Entertainment 10 July 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard...

10/07/2025

From Terabytes to Turnkey: AI-Powered Climate Models Go Mainstream

In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...

10/07/2025

Indonesia on Track to Achieve Sovereign AI Goals With NVIDIA, Cisco and IOH

As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...

10/07/2025

5G for All? What the DFL's Use of Easy5G, RefCam Could Mean for Events in the Future

5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...

10/07/2025

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-15

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...

10/07/2025

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New Era

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...

10/07/2025

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions In-House

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...

10/07/2025

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First Production

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...

10/07/2025

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint Venture Targeting Local-Sports-Media Market

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...

10/07/2025

Bringing Culture Into Focus on My Brilliant Career': First Nations Voices Reshaping Storytelling on Set

Back to All News Bringing Culture Into Focus on My Brilliant Career': Firs...

10/07/2025

Daktronics and Grass Valley Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver End-to-End Venue Solutions

Strategic Alliance Combines Daktronics' LED Display and Content Management S...

10/07/2025

Reach the PEAK' on GeForce NOW

Grab a friend and climb toward the clouds - PEAK is now available on GeForce NOW, enabling members to try the hugely popular indie hit on virtually any device. ...

10/07/2025

How to Run Coding Assistants for Free on RTX AI PCs and Workstations

Coding assistants or copilots - AI-powered assistants that can suggest, explain and debug code - are fundamentally changing how software is developed for both e...

09/07/2025

Through Their Lens: What Cinematographer Jomo Fray Saw at the 2025 Directors Lab

By Bailey Pennick There's something arresting about the way Jomo Fray captures the world. The cinematographer, now best known for his unparalleled work on ...

09/07/2025

How Sencore is Upgrading IPTV for the Hospitality Industry

Key Highlights Centralized management interface for full control, monitoring, and diagnostics Scalable, multi-site OTT decryption and distribution Secure int...

09/07/2025

L3Harris Appoints Rob Mitrevski to Lead Enterprise Pursuit of Golden Dome

MELBOURNE, Fla., July 9, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has appointed Rob Mitrevski as President, Golden Dome Strategy and Integration, a new role cre...

09/07/2025

TAM Ireland awards programme data harmonisation contract to MetaBroadcast and Nielsen's Gracenote

Collaboration will result in improved data quality and understanding of genre-le...

09/07/2025

NAB Slams NextGen TV Critics for Protecting Their Turf

The National Association of Broadcasters is hitting back at critics who oppose its proposal to phase out the current ATSC 1.0 DTV over-the-air standard and tran...

09/07/2025

Zeam Launches on LG Smart TVs

Zeam Media's hyperlocal streaming platform Zeam has announced a new distribution deal with LG that will bring the streaming service to LG smart TVs and devi...

09/07/2025

TAM Ireland awards programme data harmonisation contract...

MetaBroadcast, the UK's leading metadata management specialist, announced today that it was awarded a three-year contract from TAM Ireland (Television Audie...

09/07/2025

Bitfocus transforms complex control for any media applica...

More than 700 professional devices and applications already integrated through open software Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, is show...

09/07/2025

Actus Digital Transforms Broadcast Compliance with AI-Pow...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver a...