The  music therapist  does therapy with music, that is, he uses sound to improve certain psychophysical and emotional states. Numerous studies have testified to the benefits of listening to sounds and music on people suffering from various psychic diseases such as depression, autism, dyslexia, etc. Let’s find out better.

>   What the  music therapist does

>   How to become a  music therapist

>   Curiosity

>   Useful resources on the profession of  music therapist

What the music therapist does

In Italy there is a distinction between music therapist and music therapist : the latter is the performer, the technician, the one who implements the program decided by the music therapist, who is the figure with the greatest responsibility and a more consistent training period behind him.

It is the music therapist who makes the diagnosis , decides on the therapy and, at the end of the treatment, evaluates the results obtained with respect to the set objectives. And only he therefore has the necessary skills to take the responsibility of digging into the past and removing blocks, interpreting, restoring, healing. THE

The  music therapist is the one who enters the music therapy training without previous professionalization.

Become a music therapist

The music therapist has a degree in medicine, psychology, educational sciences and / or a diploma from the conservatory with a specialization in music therapy. The professions listed above are all regulated by professional associations (Order of doctors, Order of psychologists, Order of psychotherapists). However, since currently in Italy the professional figure of the music therapist is not recognized by the State and that the clinical figures enrolled in an association cannot boast a title that is not recognized by the State, in a purely theoretical world the msicotherapist could not be said to be such. For their part, some regions are beginning to recognize the figure of the music therapist, even if formally non-existent, and practice wins anyway over the regulatory vacuum.

One of the main music therapy associations , the FIM (Italian Federation of Music Therapists), organizes courses to train the professional figure of the music therapist.

Two very valid conservatories , the music conservatories of L’Aquila and that of Verona, have activated music therapy courses with ministerial recognition.

There are also other schools scattered throughout the Italian territory, such as in Bolzano or Rome, which offer recognition limited to the region in which they are located or diplomas recognized in those European countries where the figure of the music therapist is legally recognized.

The first music therapy school in Italy was an initiative started by the Pro Civitate Christiana of Assisi in 1981. Today the school is called Music Therapy Assisi and organizes a four-year course in association with CONFIAM.

More and more often there are masters or university courses of specialization in music therapy.
The Faculty of Education at the University of Rome3, for example, organizes a master’s degree in art therapy (including music therapy).

The benefits of music therapy for children

Curiosity

The concept of music therapy as a scientific discipline developed at the beginning of the eighteenth century: the first treatise on music therapy dates back to the first half of the 1700s and the author is a London-based medical musician, Richard Brockiesby .

Useful resources on the profession of music therapist

• Interesting blog on music therapy
• Italian Confederation of Music Therapy Associations and Schools ( C ONFIAM)
• World Federation of Music Therapy ( FMM), in English
• Selection of music therapy books