Music Therapy or Music Medicine?

Effects of music therapy on anxiety and physiologic parameters in angiography: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Exclusion criteria included pediatric studies, animal studies, non-English studies, case reports, and angiography technique reports. Although the distinction between ‘music,’ which can be medicinally informed, and ‘music therapy,’ which involves application of a music therapy assessment and treatment plan adjusted uniquely for the individual patient,14 was considered, studies including either of these interventions were included.…”

Music therapy in dementia: a narrative synthesis systematic review

“…Differentiating between music therapy and music activities studies is not straightforward. There is debate about whether music therapy depends on both theoretical and applied understanding or whether in addition it also requires a therapeutic relationship between therapist and client (Gold, ; Gold et al ., ). For example, Gold et al .…”

“…For example, Gold et al . () argued that a recent major trial of ‘receptive music therapy’ in depression (Brandes et al ., ) was not music therapy but simply music listening because music therapy involved a therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client (Gold, ). Raglio and Gianelli () compared ‘music activities’ and ‘music therapy’ interventions in dementia and concluded that ‘music therapy requires clear theoretical and applicative bases along with methodological and scientific rigor in research design’.…”

The impact of music therapy versus music medicine on psychological outcomes and pain in cancer patients: a mixed methods study

“…The use of music in cancer care can be situated along a continuum of care, namely from music listening initiated by patients, to music medicine (pre-recorded music offered by medical personnel for symptom management) and to music therapy (the psychotherapeutic use of music). Several authors have argued for a clear distinction between these areas of practice when researching the efficacy of music interventions [7][8][9]. Whereas music medicine (MM) does not involve a systematic therapeutic process, music therapy (MT) requires the presence of such a process developed between the client and a trained music therapist through personally tailored music experiences including listening to live, improvised, or pre-recorded music; playing music instruments; improvising music; and composing music [7,8].…”