A Large, Widely Varied Field Full Of Healing Possibilities By Jessica Wasmund Music Therapy 12/16/2007 - jwasmund@post-journal.com After World War I, thousands of musicians — both amateur and professional — would travel to Veteran’s hospitals across the country playing music for the wounded soldiers. As the doughboys began to recover from both the physical and emotional trauma of the war, doctors realized the potential healing powers of music and began hiring musicians to keep on staff.

By the time veterans started coming home from the World War II, the demand for music therapists was growing even more and the need for a college curriculum in the art was established. The current form of the therapy has existed since 1944, when the first undergraduate degree program was founded at Michigan State University, quickly followed by the initial graduate studies program at the University of Kansas. Since then, the profession has continued to grow to what it is today.

According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy is ‘‘the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional.’’ In short, a licensed music therapist assesses the emotional and physical well-being of individuals, including social, communication and cognitive skills through musical responses, like a physical or occupational therapist would.

They then devise music sessions for patients using music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion and music performance. ‘‘In terms of musical therapy services, there are more therapists now working with many more populations then we used to,’’ said Dr. Joni Milgram-Luterman, director of the music therapy department at the State University at Fredonia.