Adolescents and Music Therapy: Contextualized Recommendations for Research and Practice

Abstract Music therapists have been working with, writing about, and researching their work with adolescents for many decades. This paper provides a reflective review of the research literature in the field that is categorized in three contexts: education, mental health, and community. Grouping knowledge in this way affords a new perspective on how music therapists describe adolescents, including the terms we use to describe them, the types of programs we offer, the approaches to research that are most popular, and the way we talk about the focus of therapy. Distinctions between research in these fields are highlighted, with reference to the beliefs and values that are most congruent with each of these contexts. Following this reflective review on the literature, I provide five recommendations for consideration by researchers and practitioners. These include: determining if and when evidence is an appropriate focus; continuing to seek understanding; not underestimating the value of positive experiences; avoiding an exclusive focus on the music therapist’s perspective; and being realistic about the outcomes of group versus individual therapy. The paper concludes with an illustrative example to emphasize how one adolescent might be “seen” differently in each context.