Music Therapy Music Therapy M usic therapy is a growing and rapidly developing field that provides opportunities for an exciting and rewarding career. It is the systematic application of music, as directed by the music therapist in a therapeutic environment, to bring about desirable changes of behavior.
Music therapists use their music skills and interests to realize therapeutic goals.
They work with a wide variety of populations, such as adult psychiatric patients, autistic children, chemically dependent clients and persons with impairments in mobility, vision, hearing or development. From music therapy-assisted childbirth to professional work in hospitals, prisons, hospice settings, schools and nursing homes, music therapists play a significant role in the health field. By emphasizing both traditional as well as innovative approaches to the exciting and growing field of music therapy, the Maryville University music therapy program encourages students to pursue their own special interests. The curriculum is also well-supported by course work in applied and theoretical music skills, as well as by studies in psychology, anatomy, special education and the humanities. Students have excellent opportunities to obtain a wide variety of supervised clinical experiences throughout the greater St. Louis area.