Multicultural Music Therapy: An Exploration

Abstract

This paper examines multicultural issues that currently exist within the field of music therapy. Music therapists often find themselves working with clients who come from very different cultural backgrounds than themselves. Before music therapists can understand and work with clients from other cultures, they must first have an understanding of their own background and culture, and how their values and beliefs have shaped them as therapists. This paper highlights the value of multicultural awareness, and explores issues of disability, gender/sexuality, feminism, and race, as they relate to music therapy.