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What (on earth) is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is an evidence-based allied-health practice that targets an individual or group's non-musical goals through co-created music-based activities. Registered Music Therapists (RMT's) are practitioners recognized by the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA), who are the governing body for Music Therapy in Australia. Music Therapy can be applied to anyone throughout their life-span and no prior musical experience is required.
"What does this actually mean?! ", you might ask. It's a very fair question!
Well, through the relationship created between the participant, therapist, and the music, co-directed therapeutic change can occur in many ways. Music can be thought of as another language that we all can speak (whether we think we can or not), and this instinctive ability to explore music and creativity is the vehicle that aids in therapeutic growth. These activities (also known as interventions) could be therapeutic song-writing, improvisational music making, re-creation of known or favourite songs, receptive listening to music, discussing, or writing about music. The efficacy of Music Therapy is something that I am passionate about, so please feel free to read about Music Therapy practices, philosophy and more in the blog section of this website.
Since the dawn of human-kind, we have used music to communicate thoughts, feelings and emotions. It can express the inexpressible, and help to break down barriers for people coming into contact with themselves and their environment. Below is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the ways in which Music Therapy can help participants actualize towards their goals or achieve a sense of wellness and connectivity with themselves and their world:
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Increase self-awareness
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Increase receptive and expressive communication skills
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Increase social skills
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Increase self-confidence
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Facilitate self-concept
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Increase joy
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Skill building
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Increase emotional expression
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Increase attention span and focus
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Develop coping skills and strategies
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Increase community participation
Music Therapists view the participant as a whole, complex, and talented organism who is focused towards their potential at all times. The participants are the expert in their lives, so the music therapy program is co-created with them and individualised towards their needs and goals.
Oliver Young, RMT
My name is Oliver (Oli) Young, and I'm a Registered Music Therapist (RMT). I have a passion for music and community engagement, and have been playing music socially and professionally for close to 20 years. I completed my Masters program in Creative Music Therapy in 2023 at Western Sydney University, where I gained experience in a variety of community health settings such as forensic mental health and homelessness facilities, D.V. shelters, individual outreach within the community and private clinics. I am passionate about the ways in which music and Music Therapy can help participants achieve their goals, while often having fun along the way.
I strongly believe that it's through creating positive, genuine, and reciprocal relationships with participants that therapeutic change can occur. This relationship is crucial to the work we do as therapists, and I feel incredibly lucky to have found myself in a job that I love, where the onus is on working with people in such a relational manner.
I'm an advocate for using music technologies in Music Therapy practice, which is strongly influenced by my audio engineering and professional 'muso' background. Outside of my work as an RMT and musician, I'm an avid cook and a food enthusiast in general, love hiking in nature, exploring the city of Sydney and its surrounds, and love an early morning coffee next to my rescue cat, (Lazy) Maisy.
I am always more than happy to discuss any questions you might have - please feel free to drop a line!
The lands that I practice on are implicitly owned by First Nation Peoples. So-Called 'Australia' was, is, and always will be the Land of First Nations Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and my practice will continue to pay ownership to this. Sovereignty was never ceded, and the trauma of such continues. I will try to hold myself and others with European settler ties accountable for their actions on-going to the best of my regard.
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