Music Therapy vs Therapeutic Music: What's the difference?

When I say I get asked this question a lot, I mean it. A - LOT! Like, millions of times! Some people get irritated with having to answer questions about how their job works (or in our case, whether it is in fact a "real job" and if it actually DOES work). I used to be one of those people when I was in my music therapy undergrad and early in my career. Having to explain my job almost daily was exhausting.. Until I re-framed it in my own head as an opportunity to share how exciting and impactful my career is. Telling stories (from my own experience of things; always gotta keep client protection and confidentiality in mind!) and helping people to really understand the work I was doing became a joy for me. Sharing universal experience and seeing people light up when they really started to understand my job is the best.

So this brings me to today's topic.

I hear so many people say, "music is my therapy!" Let's be honest - you've probably said it before, and that's great! I'm so glad you have experienced the the power of music and it's had a positive impact on you. This is where we take it a step further and look at the question of music therapy vs therapeutic music.

Before we go on, we have to distinguish the difference between therapy and therapeutic. THERAPEUTIC describes the calming or healing aspects of an activity. Exercise, being in nature, bitching about your ex with your best friend (amirite?!?). THERAPY is the structured, professional treatment of mental health concerns delivered by a trained therapist. They are both wonderful, but they do not replace each other.

So Music Therapy vs Therapeutic Music: What IS the difference?

Therapeutic Music

Therapeutic music is something most of us have encountered at some point in our lives; listening to our favourite song to boost our mood. Blasting a "rage" playlist while we scream at the top of our lungs. Carefully curating the tempo of songs to match the level of intensity to a workout. Music has a way of motivating, soothing and pumping us up. It gives us a way to express our feelings, expel energy, provide deep and meaningful catharsis, and pass the time. Using music in this way (whether on your own or with others) is therapeutic, but it's not therapy. It is also usually a passive experience, meaning that you are listening to music rather than participating.

Music Therapy

Music therapy is a very specific and specialized form of therapy. It is the clinical use of music by a CERTIFIED Music Therapist (MTA here in Canada and MT-BC in the USA) within the therapeutic relationship to support development, growth and well-being (CAMT, 2020). Music therapy is on its way to being regulated in Canada, and until then, we are overseen by the Canadian Association of Music Therapists. To hold the MTA designation, we have to graduate from a specialized and recognized music therapy bachelors or Masters program, complete 1000 hours of supervised internship, take a national certification exam and then complete at least 60 continuing education credits every 5 years.

Sessions are crafted and driven by goals, touching on the same domains that that traditional talk therapy does - physical, cognitive, spiritual, emotional, social, communication and musical.

While music is used as the main vessel for the therapy, the end goal is not usually related to music. What I mean by this is that we are using music as the rapport builder, icebreaker, or mode for emotional expression, but the goal is likely rooted in one of the other domains. For example, in my bereavement work, I often support clients with writing songs. The goal is not to write a banger, it's to create a space to express, contain, and honour their grief. When I worked in recovery settings, often clients would ask to have lessons (piano, guitar, voice, whatevs) because it was something they always wanted to do or something they gave up during the course of their addiction. In these cases, the goal may be about learning to play, but the byproduct is much more. Increased attention span and attention to detail, increased focus, decreased anxiety, decreased negative self-talk, increased confidence and self-image, increased coping skill, and massive increases in joy.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, this modality is specialized and requires specific training to use it. If you a musician and a therapist, you are not a music therapist because you didn't receive training for it. Just like you are not a doctor because you are empathetic and you know how to do first aid. I took an undergrad that focused on how music impacts and influences us emotionally, physically, and psychologically.

Music IN Therapy vs Music AS Therapy

Okay, I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here - you cannot say (well, you shouldn't, anyways) that you are a music therapist or that you are using music therapy if you do not have the training or credentials. Before you jump all over me, I am NOT saying you can't use music in a therapeutic way. We don't own it, it's for everyone. We just want to protect the public, demystify the sea of potential modalities, and empower people to make informed decisions regarding their mental health.

As I was saying, if you are a therapist/counsellor/life coach and you are using music in your sessions (live or recorded), you are using therapeutic music, or music IN therapy. It is likely passive listening and used as a connection point with a client, maybe some imagery or relaxation. You are using music as an intervention but verbal processing and talk therapy is still the main modality (and it's beautiful!).

I use it in this way as well, but as an MTA, I also use encourage active participation from my clients to listen and discuss aspects of the music (lyrics, instrumentation, themes, images), write songs, play instruments to previously written music or improvisation, etc. In this case, it is considered music AS therapy. Music is the catalyst to the expression and processing of emotions. Of course we also debrief verbally and discuss what the heck just happened, but music is doing the heavy lifting.

As I've said before, I don't think that one is better than the other and I don't claim to own the right to be the only profession that can use music for the benefit of our clients. I am saying that it is important to be mindful of what we are calling it so it doesn't dilute and confuse things for the people who are considering to explore it.

Anyways, I think this is long enough for today! I hope this gave you a glimpse into the difference between music therapy and therapeutic music. If you have thoughts or questions, please leave a little note and we'll get a conversation started!

And as always; you're worth the time it takes to be comfy in your own skin <3

~Alexina :)

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