Music therapy is the use of music in addressing emotional, cognitive, and social issues. It was proven to be effective in the early 20th century, wherein institutions established a music therapy curricula to enhance the current knowledge on music therapy. A variety of musical activities were introduced, resulting in positive effects which were favorable in the needs of the patient

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Mental illness remains as a major social dilemma that cannot be ignored. Although there is social stigma towards mental illnesses, affected people still needs quality interventions using holistic treatment models to address all aspects of health so they can live in the least restrictive environments of their choice.

 

But even with the development in genetics, neurology, etiology, and psychopharmacology in the past century, an intervention that directly treats people with mental illnesses are yet to be discovered. Alongside medical prescriptions, psychological interventions are now considered as a significant component in the treatment of mental disorders. This is due to the findings that newer antipsychotic medications are not that effective as researchers had previously thought. Due to this, psychological interventions were considered and researchers found psychological interventions are essential components of effective and comprehensive mental health care to promote illness management and recovery.

 

Music therapy is a psychosocial treatment defined as the clinical use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed music therapist. Music therapy, depending on the clinical situation and therapeutic programming, is often deemed as a complementary or alternative therapy (Silverman, 2015)