Chapter 9 - Current Trends and Future Directions in Music Therapy

Abstract

This chapter provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of the current status of the field of music therapy by exploring important topics such as workforce characteristics, professional challenges faced by music therapists across the country, the education and clinical preparation of therapists, and the research that has greatly contributed to the establishment of music therapy as an academic, evidence-based therapeutic modality. Throughout the chapter, trends in relation to workforce characteristics, including gender, cultural/ethnic diversity, and music therapists’ salaries, are identified and discussed. The pervasive issues of burnout and attrition among music therapy professionals is also explored, emphasizing the impact of such issues not only on the individual music therapist but also on the growth and stability of the profession as a whole. The chapter concludes with an array of suggestions for ameliorating or further enhancing the various topics conferred, in particular, the development of coping techniques and self-care practices to promote career longevity among members of the workforce, possible avenues to improve future music therapy research to potentially increase acceptance of the therapeutic modality by members of related professional communities, and ideas on how to grow the number of music therapists, enhancing some of the diversity challenges and workforce characteristics discussed earlier in the chapter. Finally, strategies for improving music therapy advocacy efforts are proposed.