What Exactly is NMT?

As an NMT (Neurologic Music Therapist) I get asked this question A LOT. Nothing wrong with that. I enjoy answering it. I think it’s important to distinguish the difference between the two. Music therapy according to Schmidt Peters (2000), is specifically defined as the following, “a planned, goal directed process of interaction and intervention based on assessment and evaluation of individual client’s specific needs, strengths and weaknesses, in which music or music based experiences are specifically prescribed to be used by specially trained personnel to influence thoughts, feelings, or behaviors (p. 2).” A mouthful isn’t it? So here is the jist, the breakdown of what Music therapy is. Music Therapy uses music as its tool to influence change in an individual’s condition specific to that individual. It uses assessment and evaluation in order to determine appropriate treatment goals and objectives for sessions. Neurologic Music Therapy is an outcome of Music Therapy. It is a very specific practice. It is founded on evidence based models that created a system of 21 therapeutic techniques. These techniques are used to drive the change in the individual and promote transfer of skills from the clinic setting to home setting, school setting, etc. You’re probably wondering through, why Neurologic? Good question. NMT was founded on the connections between the brain and music and how music can reshape the brain’s pathways. Your brain is made up of several different neurons that create pathways in your brain that contribute to how we move, think, feel, hear, and much more. Sometimes these pathways, like a road, get blocked, and usually if we’re driving we redirect our navigation system around the road block. Music becomes the navigation system that creates a different route for the neurons when a pathway in the brain is blocked or has a loop that keeps repeating itself. This is the short and sweet answer of what NMT is. If you want to learn more, every two weeks, I plan on posting a tidbit of information that dives into the world of NMT. So you and anybody else that is interested, is more than welcome to join me as we talk about NMT, it’s terms that you may hear an NMT refer to, and questions that parents may have.