Music therapists use music-based experiences to address client needs in one or more domains of human functioning: cognitive, academic, emotional/psychological; behavioral; communication; social; physiological (sensory, motor, pain, neurological and other physical systems), spiritual, aesthetics.

[15] Music therapy conducted in groups allows adolescent individuals to feel a sense of belonging, express their opinions, learn how to socialize and verbalize appropriately with peers, improve compromising skills, and develop tolerance and empathy.

Neurological impairments following a brain injury can be in the form of apraxia – loss to perform purposeful movements, dysarthria, muscle control disturbances (due to damage of the central nervous system), aphasia (defect in expression causing distorted speech), or language comprehension.

Although its exact nature depends on the therapist, in general MIT relies on the use of intonation (the rising and falling of the voice) and rhythm (beat/speed) to train patients to produce phrases verbally.

[40][41] Potential improvements include decreased aggression, fewer hallucinations and delusions, social functioning, and quality of life of people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like disorders.

One study that evaluated a number of treatment approaches found that only music therapy had significant positive outcomes where the others showed little improvement in participants (Rosner, Kruse & Hagl, 2010)[citation needed].

Yet another study completed by Russel Hilliard (2007), looked at the effects of Orff-based music therapy and social work groups on childhood grief symptoms and behaviors.

Singing or playing an instrument is often used to help clients express their thoughts and feelings in a more structured manner than improvisation and can also allow participation with only limited knowledge of music.

[55] In active music therapy, patients engage in some form of music-making (e.g., vocalizing, rapping, chanting, singing, playing instruments, improvising, song writing, composing, or conducting).

Researchers at Baylor, Scott, and White Universities are studying the effect of harmonica playing on patients with COPD to determine if it helps improve lung function.

[56] Another example of active music therapy takes place in a nursing home in Japan: therapists teach the elderly how to play easy-to-use instruments so they can overcome physical difficulties.

[57] Music therapist Kenneth Bruscia stated: "A model is a comprehensive approach to assessment, treatment, and evaluation that includes theoretical principles, clinical indications and contraindications, goals, methodological guidelines and specifications, and the characteristic use of certain procedural sequences and techniques.

GIM with children can be used in one-on-one or group settings, and involves relaxation techniques, identification and sharing of personal feeling states, and improvisation to discover the self, and foster growth.

Nordoff and Robbins's success became known globally in the mental health community, and they were invited to share their findings and offer training on an international tour that lasted several years.

Funds were granted to support the founding of the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre[71] in Great Britain in 1974, where a one-year graduate program for students was implemented.

[75] Corresponding with the attitudes of humanistic psychology, the developmental potential of the child, as in the acknowledgement of their strengths as well as their handicaps, and the importance of the therapist-child relationship, are central factors in Orff music therapy.

Rooted in the principles of liberation psychology and influenced by the global history of music's role in communal and spiritual practices, LMT challenges traditional, colonialist frameworks of mental health care.

LMT practitioners view music not only as a therapeutic tool but as a form of activism and resistance, fostering solidarity, critical consciousness (concientización), and community empowerment.

This approach combines music's therapeutic qualities with its capacity for social and political transformation, drawing on a variety of influences, including folk traditions, hip-hop, drumming, and chanting, alongside modern and classical genres.

Through methods such as lyric analysis, improvisation, and collective musicking, LMT bridges personal emotional experiences with broader societal struggles, engaging individuals and communities in processes of healing and liberation.

Lastly, the authors of this study stated that "Given the position and importance of songs in all cultures, the example in this therapeutic process demonstrates the powerful nature of lyrics and music to contain and express difficult and often unspoken feelings" (Schwantes et al., 2011).

A clear rock painting in Ginga Wardelirrhmeng, on the northern edge of the Arnhem Land plateau, from the freshwater period[84] (that had begun 1500 years ago)[85] shows a didgeridoo player and two songmen participating in an Ubarr ceremony.

The Indian Association of Music Therapy was established in 2010 by Dr. Dinesh C. Sharma with a motto "to use pleasant sounds in a specific manner like drug in due course of time as green medicine".

The most common people associated with music therapy are herbalists, Witch doctors, and faith healers according to Professor Charles O. Aluede of Ambrose Alli University (Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria).

[108] Applying music and thematic sounds to the healing process is believed to help the patient overcome true sickness in his/her mind which then will seemingly cure the disease.

The Esan of Edo State of Nigeria, in particular, herbalists perform practices with an Oko – a small aerophone made of elephant tusk which is blown into dying patients' ears to resuscitate them.

Music therapists are certified professionals who possess the abilities to determine appropriate interventions to support one recovering from a physically, emotionally, or mentally traumatic experience.

He also states that "The earliest fragment of musical notation is found on a 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet, which includes instructions and tuning for a hymn honoring the ruler Lipit-Ishtar.

[147] In his De vita libri tres published in 1489, Platonist Marsilio Ficino gives a lengthy account of how music and songs can be used to draw celestial benefits for staying healthy.

[153] Throughout the 19th century, an impressive number of books and articles were authored by physicians in Europe and the United States discussing use of music as a therapeutic agent to treat both mental and physical illness.