ABSTRACT
Relatively few music therapists in Britain work for education authorities. This is due partly to the present economic climate where, though the value of music for children with special needs is recognised by teachers and therapists of other disciplines, financial administrators are often reluctant to see music therapy as a high priority. The other major factor is the lack of knowledge about music therapy - how it works and why it can be so effective. Perhaps therapy as a concept, particularly when related to the creative arts, is still viewed with suspicion by some in the education field. Music therapists must take on the responsibility for dispelling such suspicion and anxieties by being open about their aims and methods: talking in seminars to colleagues in schools, school governors, running workshops and presenting videos of individual and group work with children so that the value of the therapy can be seen in the context of the whole curriculum for the child. The approach is holistic, aiming to promote the balance between the emotional, physical, intellectual and social development of the individual.
