In the beginnings of music therapy in the United States, music and war were intertwined. Music was recognized primarily for its role in military ceremonies before its therapeutic value gained recognition (Ainlay, 1948). When medical services were insufficient to rehabilitate the injured WWII veterans, the Army’s Reconditioning Program was initiated to address soldiers’ unmet needs. This program was the “first actual recognition given to music as a definite means to be used in a hospital to help the sick and injured” (Ainlay, 1948, p. 323).

In 1951, the Veterans Administration Hospital in Knoxville, Iowa, established its first music therapy program (Hanson-Abromeit & Davis, 2007), developing musical activities with a variety of choices for their patients. Because of the growing popularity and need for therapeutic music in hospitals, the profession of music therapy was expanding year by year.

Specific methods and techniques, such as Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), and improvisation have been used with Vietnam veterans (Blake, 1994; Blake & Bishop, 1994; Burt, 1995).

There are numerous examples of Music therapists involved in music therapy programs in the military across the country, and examples are cited in the AMTA white paper. They range from a program for active duty airmen to foster coping and stress management around deployment, to programs that center on the use of songwriting to address issues associated with symptoms of PTSD, to programs that address the needs of service members and veterans with polytrauma in rehabilitation. Music therapists work with military personnel and their families across all phases of service, from pre-deployment through veteran status. The types of music interventions provided are vast due to the influence music has on the human brain and body.

Music Therapists are contributing to a strong base of evidence in support of various music therapy interventions, drawing from high quality research.

Ramchand, R., Schell, T. L., Jaycox, L. H., & Tanielian, T. (2011). Epidemiology of trauma events and mental health outcomes among service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. In J. I. Ruzek, P. P. Schnurr, J. J. Vasterling, & M. J. Friedman (Eds.). Caring for veterans with deployment-related stress disorders. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/12323-001