What You'll Do

  • Adapt existing or develop new music therapy assessment instruments or procedures to meet an individual client's needs.
  • Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of specific treatments or therapy approaches.
  • Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for therapy.
  • Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.
  • Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
  • Confer with professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
  • Customize treatment programs for specific areas of music therapy, such as intellectual or developmental disabilities, educational settings, geriatrics, medical settings, mental health, physical disabilities, or wellness.
  • Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.
  • Engage clients in music experiences to identify client responses to different styles of music, types of musical experiences, such as improvising or listening, or elements of music, such as tempo or harmony.
  • Establish client goals or objectives for music therapy treatment, considering client needs, capabilities, interests, overall therapeutic program, coordination of treatment, or length of treatment.

Essential Skills

Social Perceptiveness 4.25/5
Active Listening 4.12/5
Reading Comprehension 4.0/5
Speaking 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Service Orientation 4.0/5
Learning Strategies 3.75/5
Monitoring 3.75/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.75/5
Writing 3.25/5
Active Learning 3.25/5
Coordination 3.25/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Artist: Creating original work and expressing ideas feels natural.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.

Common styles

Empathy, Cooperation, Optimism, Sincerity, Social Orientation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Expression 4.12/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Written Comprehension 3.88/5
Written Expression 3.88/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.88/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.88/5
Speech Recognition 3.88/5

Technologies & Tools

Avid Technology Pro Tools Electronic health record EHR software Email software Microsoft Office software Musical instrument digital interface MIDI software Virtual instrument software Web browser software

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Empathy (High importance: 5.0/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.76/5)
  • Optimism (High importance: 4.66/5)
  • Sincerity (High importance: 4.61/5)
  • Social Orientation (High importance: 4.57/5)

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How to Become One

Most employers require a bachelor's degree in a relevant field. Some positions may also require experience through internships, co-ops, or entry-level work to strengthen your candidacy.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) Certified Music Therapist Community Music Therapist Creative Arts Music Therapist Creative Music Therapist Expressive Music Therapist Home Care Music Therapist Hospice Music Therapist LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist) Music Art Therapist Music Dance Therapist Music Rehabilitation Therapist Music Therapist Music Therapy Specialist Neurologic Music Therapist Public School System Music Therapist Therapist

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.