The contribution of Music Therapists

Introduction

There are approximately 600 music therapists in the UK. Within the NHS music therapists are employed in specialist mental health settings. They provide accessible and sustained help to the patient with complex mental health difficulties who may not be able or willing to access traditional talking therapies. Service users are keen to access music therapy and demand currently outstrips supply.

Music making is a powerful agent for positive social change in bringing people together particularly where there are different social, cultural and hierarchical contexts. Within mental health services, music therapists use their particular clinical skills within the context of a safe therapy relationship to promote healthy interactions, on a personal, group or institutional level and within settings where creativity is often under threat.

In North Westminster Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit Music Therapists collaborate with staff and patients in a weekly community building music therapy session. This aim is to promote understanding and good relations in a challenging environment.

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Career routes and progression

Music therapists’ basic training is at Masters Degree level. Areas of study include child development; psychotherapeutic approaches; clinical studies relating to mental illness; clinical application of musical improvisation; research methods. Personal psychotherapy/music therapy are mandatory as is a professional standard of musicianship. Supervision of music therapists involves reflection on the meaning of the interaction in an interpersonal context and close examination of the co-improvisations by listening back to the sessions, which are recorded.

Challenges/Oppportunities

Traditional perspectives of music therapy focus on the activity of making music rather than as a supportive and challenging treatment option.

Music therapy needs to be recognised as a key treatment for patients with particular needs. Music therapists can also provide consultation, supervision and generic mental health practice.

At SW London & St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust music therapists work at Tier 3 CAMHS undertaking generic assessment work as well as music therapy interventions. Music therapy plays a key role in the multi-disciplinary communication disorders clinic.

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Music therapy requires further development and standardisation of formalised assessment tools for use within complex mental health settings and in contribution to NICE.

Music therapists at CNW London Mental Health NHS Trust collaborated with researchers at Imperial College London to examine the effectiveness of music therapy for inpatients with Schizophrenia. Results of this randomised control trial are included in the Cochrane Review of music therapy for schizophrenia which shows evidence for the effectiveness of this treatment.

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Increased recognition and use of senior music therapists’ competencies is growing within management and service development areas as well as through AHP consultant therapist posts. Professional Lead, Management and consultant music therapist posts now exist within London Mental Health Services

Music therapists need to work more in collaboration with arts-in-health practitioners who are working in challenging clinical settings without clinical training.