Neurologic Music Therapy

Neurologic music therapy (NMT) differs from general music therapy because NMT is based on scientific knowledge of how the brain perceives and responds to music and rhythm. Research has shown how the brain can physically react and change when treated with specific research-based music techniques. These “NMT interventions” are 20 standardized and individualized techniques used to help recover movement, speech & language, and cognition following a neurological illness or injury.

Neurologic music therapists serve many populations including, but not limited to: stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and other neurological diseases affecting cognition, movement, and communication (e.g., MS, Muscular Dystrophy, etc). NMT addresses clinical needs in neurologic rehabilitation, neuropediatric, neuropsychiatric, neurogeriatric, and neurodevelopmental therapy. Therapeutic goals and interventions address rehabilitation, development, and maintenance of functional behaviors (Thaut 2015).