This course is designed to introduce the fundamental techniques and application of music therapy in various settings based on therapeutic goals. The main purpose is to explain safety, referral, assessment, interpretation of assessment information, treatment planning, treatment implementation and documentation based on diverse populations and essential music therapy goals such as cognitive, physical, emotional, social, communication and spiritual wellness area of a human.
This course explores the concerns and strategies of observation skills of clients in music and /or non-music setting, development of music therapy assessment procedures, explanation of clients’ responses in music and /or non-music setting, establishment of client goals and objectives, structure and organization of music therapy experiences, and documentation of individualized music therapy experiences. This course helps students understand and develop a therapeutic relationship by recognizing aspects of their own professional and personal biases, feelings, and behaviors that affect the therapeutic process through peer-reviews and group discussion. Students understand the techniques and application of music therapy for human needs in various setting to improve cultural perspectives and implementation. In addition, this course focuses on improving professional competencies for effective music therapy interventions using voice, keyboard, guitar, instruments, apps, non-musical materials and so on.
An introduction to fundamental techniques and application of music therapy with special attention to the collaboration with other professionals and/or family, caregivers, and personal network to design interdisciplinary treatment programs is important. Basic principles and procedures of the practice of music therapy interventions are useful to gain the effective insights and possibilities in therapeutic, educational, missional, as well as performance settings. Moreover, this course provides professional music therapy contexts based on the guideline of the American Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT).
‘Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre. Praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute. Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord’ (Psalms 150, NIV). ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows’ (James 1:17, NIV).
As a disciple of Jesus, students practice ‘Christlikeness (Romans 8:29)’, ‘Maturity (Philippians 3:12-16)’, and ‘Creation care (1 Samuel 16:23, Acts 3:8,16)’ through the application of fundamental music therapy interventions based on cognitive, physical, emotional, social, communication and spiritual wellness of humans. Students apply this in their lives in school, hospital, community, and local church. The therapeutic ‘Damascus (Acts 26:12)’ moment is explained by their therapeutic relationship with the therapeutic function of music for Christian and non-Christian through their missional life.
The course reflects critically on fundamental techniques and application of music therapy based on behavioral, psychosocial, cognitive, holistic, humanistic, existential, neuroscience, psychodynamic and biblical approaches to apply to various aspects of music performance, therapeutic music intervention, educational and biblical musical activities.
The focus is upon how music therapy techniques and application work as a therapeutic tool for human needs in terms of intercultural perspectives of music and therapeutic musical activities. The inspiration of unique and/or differences of musical behavior helps to understand humans in different cultural settings.
Students resonate with therapeutic relationships and phenomenon with well-structured music therapy intervention even though music is invisible, and the process is abstract through various evidence-based music and music therapy research.
The course is a primer to the integration of biblical music origins and evidence-based music therapy interventions such as music listening, singing, playing and music making within therapeutic music functions based on cognitive, physical, emotional, social, communication, spiritual, and wellness area of humans.
