Music Therapists
Plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status.
Also Known As:
Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC)
LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist)
Music Therapist
Neurologic Music Therapist
Public School System Music Therapist
Therapist
Wages
Annual wages for Music Therapists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
62,500
12% Change From 2024
Explore Music Therapists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Collaborate with others to design or implement interdisciplinary treatment programs.
- Plan or structure music therapy sessions to achieve appropriate transitions, pacing, sequencing, energy level, or intensity in accordance with treatment plans.
- Compose, arrange, or adapt music for music therapy treatments.
- Adapt existing or develop new music therapy assessment instruments or procedures to meet an individual client's needs.
- Customize treatment programs for specific areas of music therapy, such as intellectual or developmental disabilities, educational settings, geriatrics, medical settings, mental health, physical disabilities, or wellness.
- Integrate behavioral, developmental, improvisational, medical, or neurological approaches into music therapy treatments.
- Conduct, or assist in the conduct of, music therapy research.
- Document evaluations, treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Gather diagnostic data from sources such as case documentation, observations of clients, or interviews with clients or family members.
- Participate in continuing education.
- Establish client goals or objectives for music therapy treatment, considering client needs, capabilities, interests, overall therapeutic program, coordination of treatment, or length of treatment.
- Sing or play musical instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, or percussion instruments.
- Communicate with clients to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to musical experiences.
- Conduct information sharing sessions, such as in-service workshops for other professionals, potential client groups, or the general community.
- Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.
- Engage clients in music experiences to identify client responses to different styles of music, types of musical experiences, such as improvising or listening, or elements of music, such as tempo or harmony.
- Identify and respond to emergency physical or mental health situations.
- Assess the risks and benefits of treatment termination for clients.
- Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to music therapy.
- Apply current technology to music therapy practices.
- Sing or play musical instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, or percussion instruments.
- Document evaluations, treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Supervise staff, volunteers, practicum students, or interns engaged in music therapy activities.
- Improvise instrumentally, vocally, or physically to meet client's therapeutic needs.
- Gather diagnostic data from sources such as case documentation, observations of clients, or interviews with clients or family members.
- Select or adapt musical instruments, musical equipment, or non-musical materials, such as adaptive devices or visual aids, to meet treatment objectives.
- Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of specific treatments or therapy approaches.
- Design or provide music therapy experiences to address client needs, such as using music for self-care, adjusting to life changes, improving cognitive functioning, raising self-esteem, communicating, or controlling impulses.
- Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to music therapy.
- Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for therapy.
- Confer with professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
- Apply selected research findings to practice.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")