OCMT 2025

When we define music therapy in a way that emphasizes personhood and utilizes music as a resource, it naturally leads to shifts in our roles and the nature of therapeutic relationships. In recent years, music therapists have increasingly practiced clinical and cultural reflexivity, gradually informing perspectives and decision-making processes. Some meaningful aspects of this reflexivity…

Caregiving, a global public health concern that impacts more than 1 billion individuals worldwide, is associated with negative physical and psychosocial health effects due to the demanding nature of the role. This presentation describes a novel pilot intervention program, “Listen, Breathe, Move” (LBM), which integrates music therapy and gentle movement/yoga. The single, virtually delivered session…

There is a substantial gap in the music therapy literature  surrounding adoptees, and more specifically, transracially  adopted music therapists (TRA MTs). Literature has discussed the  benefits of music therapy for adoptees as clients, but there is  limited research on adoptees as therapists. The researchers  conducted a phenomenological study on the lived experiences of  TRA MTs…

Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy, due to the promising results studies have shown in the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. Additionally, from the earliest days of psychedelic research in the 1960s with the work of Helen Bonny and E. Thayer Gaston…

As a helping profession, music therapists often are placed in emotionally demanding environments, working with vulnerable populations. When work-related emotional stress is not dealt with effectively, it can negatively impact music therapists as individuals and professionals. Although there are different stressors and challenges that music therapists face, this presentation strives to examine imposter syndrome while…

Carer is often being neglected by the society across the globe, especially for those who take care of people with severe intellectual/multiple-disabilities. This presentation aims to help attendees to understand the framework of community music therapy through a multi-phase music therapy program at a school for severe intellectual/multiple disabilities students and their parents in Hong…

The presentation titled “Exploring the Value of Group Music Therapy for Clients with Eating Disorders” examines an important yet underexplored area in the field of music therapy (MT). Eating disorders (EDs) are complex, multifaceted conditions that impact individuals globally, affecting both physical and mental health. These disorders often require a multidisciplinary approach, integrating medical, psychological,…

The exploration of intersubjective processes is a key focus across numerous therapeutic disciplines, including music therapy. Many scholars investigated the intersubjective meanings that arise from musical experiences within music therapy. This study concentrated on understanding the development of intersubjective relationships through dyadic improvisation, analyzing six music therapy studies that feature detailed descriptions of clinical improvisations…

The recognition of music therapy as an effective intervention is growing, albeit still in its early stages in many contexts. Therefore, the need for robust evaluation methods has become increasingly apparent. This presentation elaborates on a study that employs the Jacobson-Truax Method (JT Method) to assess the effectiveness of music therapy using the Reliable Change…

Our presentation will consist of four parts covering issues of voice and song selection in music therapy. The first report explores the challenges of selecting and composing songs in therapeutic sessions with children. The author introduces the “round (circular) song” method, a flexible approach that fosters engagement and adapts to the child’s interests and therapeutic…

The WFMT Research and Ethics Commission “…promotes the integration of research and ethics into the practice of music therapy throughout the world” (WFMT, 2020). One of the key goals of the commission is to “…promote and assist music therapists, including researchers, clinicians, and/or academics, to work according to WFMT ethical guidelines and local cultural understandings…

Music therapy has had a deep, yet uneasy (and often unspoken) relationship to spirituality throughout its development as a Western, evidence-based profession to date. Despite the spiritual roots of many contemporary music therapy approaches, most empirical research started emerging only after 2002 and has largely been based on student-led projects since then. Similarly, our engagement…

The traditional culture of any country essentially serves as a music-therapeutic and psychological tool, enabling communities to navigate grief and the emotions of their everyday lives and stoties. In Russian folklore, a unique number of “laments” has been preserved— a special musical genre in which the emotions of a grieving person are expressed through a…

This presentation focuses on the transformative impact of music therapy sessions on children with cancer from Gaza and the West Bank, treated in an Israeli hospital by a Palestinian MT from Jaffa. It zeroes in on the case study of a 3-year-old cancer patient from Gaza, receiving treatment at Tel Aviv Hospital. Despite being far…

After a significant brain injury, cognitive impairments such as short attention spans, poor memory, impaired reasoning, and slower cognitive processing can interfere with rehabilitation. These impairments make it challenging for patients to follow instructions, complete tasks, or keep up with rehabilitation activities.  Cognitive issues also impact motor planning and coordination, where the brain struggles to…

According to the World Health Organization (2017), prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 70% of the world population had experienced a traumatic life event. Trauma-informed educational practices bring a lens through which global educators can understand students’ learning needs, classroom presence, and clinical development. In this presentation, music therapy educators will review the six pillars of…

Music-based activities can offer opportunities for connection. Music is a universal language and a safe place for people to meet when spoken communication becomes more challenging. Intergenerational relationships can help to address the loneliness and social isolation so often experienced by older adults, especially those living in communal settings like long-term care homes. Sadly, many…

Addition remains a worldwide problem, with 64 million people reporting  having a substance use disorder in 2022. Borling (2011) outlines a 3-phase process of recovery, namely bio-physical, psycho-emotional, and psycho-spiritual. Further, Borling (2011) among others note the importance of spiritual connection and spiritual health in sustained recovery (e.g. Snodgrass et al., 2024). There is a…