Music Therapy: An art beyond words (2nd ed.)

Abstract

This is the second edition of a book appearing 20 years after its initial publication. The first edition was authored by Leslie Bunt, and Brynjulf Stige has been added as the coauthor for the second edition. It is intended as an introduction to the current international practice of music therapy as seen through seven contemporary perspectives: medical, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, transpersonal, culture centered, and music centered. The scope of these perspectives indicates the authors’ intent to be broadly inclusive and comprehensive in their account. The nine chapters of the book include three introductory chapters focusing on what music therapy is, how it has developed, and information on its basic building blocks. The four chapters that follow introduce clinical work organized by four stages of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood. The book concludes with two chapters exploring the profession and discipline of music therapy as a community resource with a hybrid identity.