Music Performance Anxiety as Occupational Health Hazard in Music Therapy

Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is an experience of the nervous system being overwhelmed in an evaluative or performance-based situation. While music therapists are not performers, the work we do relies on performance skills. Some research has cited that as a whole, musicians score higher on anxiety measures than the general population which puts musicians at a pre-disposed place for decreased mental health and poses risk for compassion fatigue and burnout. MPA may also be a barrier to remaining present with a client or group in the moment of a music therapy intervention which could impair the therapeutic relationship, cause difficulties with gaining assessment information, and create an otherwise unsafe environment. It can also lead to questionable ethical decision-making and potentially physical harm of the therapist such as straining the voice to overcompensate for MPA. MPA can be experienced by students and professionals alike.