Musical Offerings, Fall 2019

Musical Offerings ⦁ 2019 ⦁ Volume 10 ⦁ Number 2 61 Musical Offerings 10, no. 2 (2019): 61–80 ISSN 2330-8206 (print); ISSN 2167-3799 (online) © 2019, Zachary J. Krauss, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) * Due to the scientific content of this paper, the author has chosen to use APA style, and the Editors have concurred. The Effects of Music Therapy on Individuals Suffering from Psychiatric Disorders: A Literature Review and Look into Future Prospects Zachary J. Krauss Cedarville University usic therapy is a relatively recent development in the world of psychology, and it is certainly a recent development in the world of medicine. Regardless, some of the earliest references to music therapy appeared in a 1789 article titled “Music Physically Considered,” which discussed therapeutic value of music that was referenced in two different medical dissertations (AMTA, 2019). * The value of music therapy as a legitimate form of psychotherapy has been debated in the past few years. A quick search through the current literature available on music therapy on PubMed yields resources that both support and deny the efficacy of music therapy. However, upon closer inspection, it seems that the more recent research in the field of music therapy is finding that this form of therapy truly is a viable treatment method for those in need. This paper argues that, while the effectiveness of music therapy has been debated in the past, recent literature shows that music therapy is significantly more effective in practice than psychotherapy or psychological pharmacotherapy alone. This paper serves as a review of recent literature (published between 2014 and 2019) on the effectiveness of music therapy in clinical settings, with a focus on the effectiveness of music therapy to treat those with psychiatric disorders. A narrower focus was utilized to accommodate articles and reviews that included information about music therapy and M