Towards a Culturally Centered Music Therapy Practice

At present very little information on the topic of multicultural music therapy practice has been published in the United States and Canada. This article reviews the music therapy and counselling literature to advocate the need for culturally centered music therapy practice. The paper examines the areas of ethical considerations, cultural empathy, the need for music therapists to understand and explore their own and their clients' world views, and the concept of music as a universal language. The article ends with some useful techniques for readers to apply to their practice.