ABSTRACT
Music therapy has entered a period of artistic renaissance. Within the burgeoning literature of empirical studies and the qualitative explorations of psychotherapy, music therapy has now turned its attention to the one element that makes it unique: music. The creative and aesthetic qualities of music are now being given equal weight in balancing the process and outcomes of music therapy. Aesthetic Music Therapy (AeMT) is a music-centred approach that considers creativity as fundamental. Through musical analysis, questions are raised about the future assessment of clinical improvisation. Creativity and aesthetic content proceed hand in hand as music therapy now becomes more open to new ways of thinking. This chapter defines a musiccentred approach to clinical practice and the potential avenues of research that arise from attempting to understand clinical form from musical form.
