ABSTRACT
Defining music therapy is a difficult task, a point well articulated by Aigen (2014): “The diversity present in music therapy renders it impossible to make unequivocal statements about the profession, a fact that can be vexing to people trying to understand it from the outside” (p. xviii). Nevertheless, given that the title of this chapter is ‘Music Therapy,’ a definitioneven if incomplete or unsatisfactory to some readers-is warranted. Considering the international focus of this handbook, the World Federation of Music Therapy’s definition of music therapy is most appropriate:
Music therapy is the professional use of music and its elements as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. Research, practice, education, and clinical training in music therapy are based on professional standards according to cultural, social, and political contexts.
