This book shows, for the first time, how research and clinical work can creatively complement one another, proving beneficial to both disciplines. Each chapter is written by a leading researcher and practitioner in the field, and the book covers a wide spectrum of approaches within different settings.

Forty-two case histories, each describing the process of music therapy from beginning to end. The cases include children, adolescents, and adults receiving individual and group therapy in psychiatric, medical, educational or community settings. With authors from nine countries, the book details a broad spectrum of approaches and techniques in music therapy. The essence of music therapy is captured by telling the moving stories of people who have been helped through carefully crafted music experiences and the relationships developed with these exceptional music therapists. The book can be used as a reference, a textbook for training students, or as an introduction to the field.

Music therapy is growing internationally to be one of the leading evidence-based psychosocial allied health professions to meet needs across the lifespan.The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy is the most comprehensive text on this topic in its history. It presents exhaustive coverage of the topic from international leaders in the field.

Melody is thought to be an 'essential core' of music. In the context of music therapy, looking at how patients develop their own melodies in improvisation can explain how they find their own voice, determine their position in relation to the world, and play an important role in how they relate to their therapist. Gudrun Aldridge and David Aldridge explore the concept of melody within its historical context and investigate current theories of melody. They make recommendations for choosing an appropriate method of analysing melodic improvisation, and utilise case studies to demonstrate these analyses in practice. They show how the interaction between patient and therapist is affected by the patient's melodic statements, and how the process of improvisation offers patients a chance to transform their inner emotions into externalised expressions. Melody in Music Therapy is an important addition to music therapy literature, and will be of interest to music therapists, educators and students alike, as well as musicologists.

A collection of 21 case studies exemplifying psychodynamic music therapy, informed variously by the theories of Freud, Jung, Klein, Winnicott, Stern, Kohut, Mahler, Bion, and others. Experienced music therapists from 9 countries describe their work with children, adolescents, and adults, using diverse methods, such as improvisation, songs, music imaging, and music listening.

"There are marvelous case studies in the music therapy literature that paint a beautiful, complex picture of the client's therapeutic process in music therapy. Clinical Decision-making in Music Therapy, however, offers cases that are not just about the client and their therapeutic process, but specifically about the music therapist's clinical choices and why they made them in relation to the needs of the client. This book contains 53 cases from music therapy clinicians from around the world including work with diverse clientele from across the lifespan in a wide variety of settings. Each case includes a discussion of the music therapist's clinical choices, their reflection on the case, and a description of their context in relation to their clinical work. Cases are arranged according to the method-variation used, with additional sections that focus on a transition from one method-variation to another. Students will find these cases useful for exploring and understanding clinical decision-making for working with clientele with unique strengths and needs. Professionals may find the cases useful for expanding their ways of thinking and acting within their clinical work, and deepening their awareness of how they respond to the emergent needs of clients"--

This is the first and most comprehensive textbook on music therapy research to be published, with 24 chapters, edited and authored by eminent researchers and scholars. The book begins with an overview of issues in music therapy research, followed by a survey of the current literature; then different types of quantitative and qualitative research designs are described in detail, including philosophical and historical modes of inquiry. Several chapters describe the actual process of doing research, and throughout the book, numerous examples of music therapy research are provided. This is a standard reference for students and professionals in the field.

Thirty-four case studies from music therapists around the world, describing practices from a broad range of clinical orientations and highlighting recent developments in the field. This includes cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, psychodynamic, medical, community, aesthetic and healing orientations, and various models of music therapy practice. Clients include children, adolescents, adults and older adults in medical, early intervention, school, community, private practice, psychiatric, prison, drug and alcohol, nursing home and hospice settings. Each chapter includes a description of the author's theoretical foundation(s), assessment process, therapeutic process and health outcomes, encompassing improvisational, receptive, recreative,compositional and creative arts methods and techniques. Conceived as a textbook for training students, this collection may also be used as an introduction to music therapy, and as a reference that reflects developments in practice within the field.

In the context of music therapy, microanalysis is the detailed analysis of that short period of time during a music therapy session during which some kind of significant change takes place. These moments are crucial to the therapeutic process, and there is increasing interest amongst music therapists in understanding how they come about and whether there are ways of initiating them. The contributors to this groundbreaking book look at methods of micro process analyses used in a variety of music therapy contexts, both clinical and research-based. They outline their methods, which include using video and audio materials, interviewing, and monitoring the client's heart rate, and also give examples of the practical application of microanalysis from their clinical experience, including work with clients who have psychiatric illness, autism and other conditions. Microanalyses in Music Therapy provides a wealth of important theoretical and practical information for music therapy clinicians, educators and students.