Defining Therapeutic Function of Music
Music is a complex intervention strategy, thus the characteristics of the music are important to therapeutic outcomes. Greater clarity for the role of the musical elements in therapeutic outcomes is desired; yet few strategic methods support the description of the musical elements in the development of treatment interventions. In this AMTA-Pro podcast, Dr. Deanna Hanson-Abromeit overviews an article published in Music Therapy Perspectives, Volume 33, A Conceptual Methodology to Define the Therapeutic Function of Music. The article proposes an ante-hoc worksheet to articulate the Therapeutic Function of Music (TFM) Plan. This worksheet helps the music therapist organize the relationship between the treatment goal, theoretical framework and musical elements in order to define the purpose and intent of each musical element. The result is a theory-based synthesis of the music as a whole for therapeutic intervention. The TFM Plan will benefit music therapy with stronger explanations of the therapeutic effect of music, generate consistent application of music characteristics for therapeutic response, support predictable outcomes, and foster a specialized understanding of music as a therapeutic medium differentiated from other professionals using music-based interventions.
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Defining Therapeutic Function of Music
2015 AMTA-Pro Podcast
Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, Ph.D., MT-BC
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A Conceptual Methodology to Define the Therapeutic Function of Music
Hanson-Abromeit, D. (2015). A conceptual methodology to define the therapeutic function of music. Music Therapy Perspectives, 33 (1), 25-38. doi:10.1093/mtp/miu061
Article abstract. Music is a complex intervention strategy, thus the characteristics of the music are important to therapeutic outcomes. Greater clarity for the role of the musical elements in therapeutic outcomes is desired; yet few strategic methods support the description of the musical elements in the development of treatment interventions. This paper proposes an ante-hoc worksheet to articulate the Therapeutic Function of Music (TFM) Plan. This worksheet helps the music therapist organize the relationship between the treatment goal, theoretical framework and musical elements in order to define the purpose and intent of each musical element. The result is a theory-based synthesis of the music as a whole for therapeutic intervention. The TFM Plan will benefit music therapy with stronger explanations of the therapeutic effect of music, generate consistent application of music characteristics for therapeutic response, support predictable outcomes, and foster a specialized understanding of music as a therapeutic medium differentiated from other professionals using music-based interventions.
Related References
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Hanson-Abromeit, D. (2013). Therapeutic function of music. In K. Kirkland (Ed.), International dictionary of music therapy (pp. 130). New York: Routledge.
Merriam, A. P. (1964). Uses and functions. In The anthropology of music (pp. 209-227). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
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Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, Ph.D., MT-BC
AMTA-Pro podcast speaker Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, Ph.D., MT-BC, earned her Bachelor of Music and Masters of Arts in Music Therapy from the University of Iowa and the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education with an emphasis in Music Therapy from the University of Kansas. She was on the faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance for eight years, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses and regularly supervised graduate research. Deanna was selected by Conservatory faculty as the 2012 recipient of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Excellence in Teaching Award. Deanna joined the Music Education and Music Therapy faculty at the University of Kansas in 2013 where she continues to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as supervise clinical students and graduate research.
Deanna is the co-editor of two monographs on music therapy in the hospital setting, published by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and has authored multiple book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. She was the 2010 and 2013 recipient of the AMTA Midwestern Region Scholarly Activity Award. She served on the Continuing Education Committee for the Certification Board for Music Therapists from 2006-2013, serving as committee chair for two years. Deanna is serving her second elected term on the American Music Therapy Association Assembly of Delegates (2012-2016), recently completed a term on the editorial board for Music Therapy Perspectives, and is currently on the editorial board for the Journal of Music Therapy. Deanna presents regularly at regional, national and international conferences.
Deanna’s clinical practice and research focuses on music with neurodevelopmentally at-risk infants, particularly infants who are premature or living in poverty. She co-coordinated an international cross disciplinary research and practice group meeting in London 2014 to increase collaboration and capacity for high impact research related to music and infants. She is currently involved with two clinical research programs, one with infants living in poverty and the other with infants hospitalized in the NICU. Deanna values a team science approach that allows for the integration of views and expertise from multiple disciplines. A strong component of her research is theory-guided evidence-based intervention development, particularly utilizing the conceptual framework as an illustration to design and implement intervention research. Deanna is particularly interested in understanding the basic science of music as a mechanism for change in intervention research and practice. She has experience with several methodologies including systematic review, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.