ABSTRACT

Music therapy is interdisciplinary. It bridges art, science and many areas within the two including neurology, psychology, musicology, psychoanalysis, humanities and medicine. In this chapter I outline some current practices, research and changing trends in the professional practice of music therapy in Britain since 1945, and international influences upon these changes. I consider examples of how professional organizations, changing trends in clinical practice and research have contributed to the current position of music therapy as an important treatment in the twenty-first century. I then turn to examine clinical material, with a focus upon adult mental health populations for people without obvious organic brain damage. I write from the perspective of a clinician, researcher, trainer and developer of the profession.