The Meaning of Music Therapy

A music therapist’s reflections on the relevance of music therapy as an essential service in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic was a time for reflection as individuals, workforces, and society. It is through these reflections and active responses we grow as people, workplaces, and society. In a recently published article for the Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, Certified Music Therapist (MTA) Taylor Kurta, exemplifies the value of reflection as she openly shares her experiences of being a music therapist during the COVID-19 pandemic, while being separated from a loved one who was receiving music therapy. In this emotive and deeply touching account, Kurta describes her experience working as a music therapist during the pandemic and her own doubts about the necessity of music therapy during the pandemic. She then recounts how her loved-one’s experience receiving music therapy at the end-of-life transformed her perspective and convinced her of the essentiality of music therapy. Do you wonder if music therapy is essential? Perhaps reading this article will give you a new perspective on the value and meaning of music therapy.