Australian Music Therapy Association

Australian Music Therapy Association The Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is the government-recognised peak body for the music therapy profession in Australia.

We manage the registration and regulation of registered music therapists, and we promote and advocate for music therapy.

Only a week left to pre-order! Just for fun, AMTA volunteers got together with Scrub Turkey to design hospital scrubs th...
24/04/2026

Only a week left to pre-order! Just for fun, AMTA volunteers got together with Scrub Turkey to design hospital scrubs that showcase music therapy - perfect for anyone who works in health and loves music.

To grab your own pair, tap the links below and place your pre-order by 29 April. If we hit the minimum order by then, we’ll move into production. If not, you’ll be fully refunded.

Show your support for music therapy and support a terrific Australian small business that brightens healthcare environments and brings personality to medical uniforms.

👚https://www.scrubturkey.com.au/products/pre-order-music-therapy-unisex-printed-scrub-top
👖https://www.scrubturkey.com.au/products/pre-order-music-therapy-unisex-printed-scrub-pants

The image shown is a mock-up. The image placement might be a little different in real life.
📷 A man and a woman wearing scrubs that feature the custom-made music therapy design. Text: “I helped design these music therapy scrubs. Now I need your help to get them into production. Pre-orders are open now until April 29. Pre-order yours share with your crew." Scrub Turkey logo.

Music therapy creates opportunities for music to become a shared space for connection.It's a practice captured beautiful...
22/04/2026

Music therapy creates opportunities for music to become a shared space for connection.

It's a practice captured beautifully by this year's winner of the World Federation of Music Therapy's photo competition for World Music Therapy Week. "In this moment, a mother and her child explore sound together through play and imagination," wrote Italy's valentina giacosa of her entry "Exploring the other's world".

Congratulations to all the entrants and prize-winners.

📷 1 - A toddler and mother crouch on the floor together, closely examining a ukelele.
2 - A music therapist, holding a drum, guides children through a shared path of movement and listening. "The rhythm that connects," Tiziana Aquilani, Italy.
3 - An elderly man living with dementia, sitting in an audience clapping hands, listens to a young band performing the theme song they had composed for him about his life. "A chorus of affirmations composed from young band," Leung Yu Ting, Hong Kong.

Music Therapy Matters #4 is out now! AMTA's public newsletter is full of good news stories and opportunities to connect...
21/04/2026

Music Therapy Matters #4 is out now! AMTA's public newsletter is full of good news stories and opportunities to connect with music therapy.

You'll find the latest edition in the news section of the AMTA website right now - and there's a link in our bio ☝️

📥 Would you like to have Music Therapy Matters delivered to your inbox? It's a free quarterly publication direct from the Australian Music Therapy Association, and you can subscribe from our website.

📷 Music therapy matters banner, with the AMTA logo and branding over an image of two hands on a djembe drum.

Music Therapy Matters #4 is out now! AMTA's public newsletter is full of good news stories and opportunities to connect...
21/04/2026

Music Therapy Matters #4 is out now! AMTA's public newsletter is full of good news stories and opportunities to connect with music therapy.

👉 Tap here to check it out: https://mailchi.mp/e5276c7cb0ac/music-therapy-matters-edition4?e=[UNIQID]

Would you like to have Music Therapy Matters delivered to your inbox? It's a free quarterly publication direct from the Australian Music Therapy Association.
Subscribe here: https://www.austmta.org.au/subscribe-to-enewsletter/

📷 Music therapy matters banner, with the AMTA logo and branding over an image of two hands on a djembe drum.

16/04/2026

As our World Music Therapy Week finale, AMTA President Monica Zidar RMT reflects on our theme: 'Connect with music therapy'.

She shares how music therapy connected a family with the lost voice of a loved one. It's a story of the power of music therapy in aged care and dementia care.

"Her family would come into the nursing home whenever I was delivering a session because she would complete the phrases in songs that were familiar to her," recalls Monica. "It was the only time that her family would ever hear her voice."

Music therapy is deeply personalised because each person brings their own musical tastes, experiences, strengths, prefer...
14/04/2026

Music therapy is deeply personalised because each person brings their own musical tastes, experiences, strengths, preferences, and goals.

Sessions are shaped around the individual, with music used in ways that feel relevant, supportive, and meaningful to them. This personalised approach can create space for connection, expression, and growth in a way that honours who each person is and their authentic selves.

This World Music Therapy Week, we’re recognising the personalised nature of music therapy and the care taken to meet each person for who they are, and where they are at.

During World Music Therapy Week, we're showing how people connect with music therapy. Josephine Sham RMT is the director...
13/04/2026

During World Music Therapy Week, we're showing how people connect with music therapy. Josephine Sham RMT is the director of a bilingual music therapy practice that connects people with their communities.

“My cultural and linguistic background allows me to build meaningful and deeply connected therapeutic relationships with my clients,” Josephine says.

“During COVID, I supported a pair of Chinese older adults who were experiencing significant isolation. They didn't speak English, and the lockdown made their world even smaller. Through online sessions, I sang familiar Cantonese songs to support them - songs that carried memories, identity, and comfort. In those moments, music became more than just music - it lifted their mood, eased feelings of depression, and reconnected them to something deeply familiar.

“That experience remains incredibly precious to me. Music therapy not only supports my clients - it also brings together my cultural identity and professional identity in a deeply meaningful way.”

Thank you, Josephine, for sharing how music therapy connects, as part of World Music Therapy Week.

📷 A registered music therapist holds a guitar and sings with a child, who is playing a keyboard. Text “connect with music therapy” plus “world music therapy week” and the Australian Music Therapy Association logo.

❤️‍🔥Show your support for music therapy by wearing our hot new music therapy scrubs! AMTA volunteers worked with Scrub T...
12/04/2026

❤️‍🔥Show your support for music therapy by wearing our hot new music therapy scrubs! AMTA volunteers worked with Scrub Turkey to design scrubs that reflect the tools we use and the more human, expressive side of the profession.

We’re proud to launch this fun initiative during World Music Therapy Week, 10 to 15 April. It's just one more way you can connect with music therapy.

The scrubs designed by .turkey and AMTA volunteers are available for pre-order. If we hit the minimum order by 29 April, we’ll move into production. If not, you’ll be fully refunded. So check it out now!

👚 https://www.scrubturkey.com.au/products/pre-order-music-therapy-unisex-printed-scrub-top
👖https://www.scrubturkey.com.au/products/pre-order-music-therapy-unisex-printed-scrub-pants

Quick note: image is a mockup. Check out the website for size and fit guides.

📷 A man and a woman wearing scrubs that feature the custom-made music therapy design. Text: “Music therapy scrubs are now available for pre-order. Scrub Turkey.”

“No, you don’t want to hear me sing. Anyway, I wouldn’t know what to sing!” In the neonatal intensive care unit in hosp...
12/04/2026

“No, you don’t want to hear me sing. Anyway, I wouldn’t know what to sing!”

In the neonatal intensive care unit in hospital, a premature baby settles as their parent hums a familiar melody. But it doesn't always just happen that way. Registered music therapists in this space help families in a scary place at a scary time. Connecting with music therapy can make a big difference – for the whole family. Registered music therapists in the NICU use musical interventions to support parent–baby bonding, improve the healing environment, support babies’ neurodevelopment, help them feel calm and much more.

One of the hospitals in Australia that engages registered music therapists is the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) in South Australia, where Maybelle Swaney RMT and her team provide individual and group support for patients. To connect with music therapy this World Music Therapy Week, you might like to start by reading Maybelle’s wise words on the AMTA website:https://www.austmta.org.au/news-item/17227/music-therapy-in-the-neonatal-intensive-care-unit

📷 A registered music therapist plays guitar to a newborn baby in a crib in the neonatal intensive care unit. Text “connect with music therapy” plus “world music therapy week” and the Australian Music Therapy Association logo.

This World Music Therapy Week, 10 to 15 April 2026, we're inviting you to connect with music therapy and learn how regis...
10/04/2026

This World Music Therapy Week, 10 to 15 April 2026, we're inviting you to connect with music therapy and learn how registered music therapists change lives.

Today, we're showing how music therapy helps connect older Australians... in so many ways.

🪘 In a music therapy rehabilitation session, a stroke survivor might use rhythm to support their gait and coordination.
🔉 In an aged care home, a registered music therapist might create a personal playlist that helps a resident to regulate their mood and promote calm and safety.
🤲 In a dementia-inclusive choir, an older person might find friendship and a healthy dose of dopamine that contributes to their wellbeing.
🎶 In the palliative care ward, a cancer patient might write a song to leave behind for a loved one.

What connects all of these moments? A qualified, skilled, passionate registered music therapist who uses music as a therapy tool – safely, ethically, in a regulatory framework that ensures quality care.

Learn more about World Music Therapy Week at the AMTA website.
https://www.austmta.org.au/news-item/22563/world-music-therapy-week-2026-connect-with-music-therapy

📷 An older man in a hospital bed holding a sheet of song lyrics raises his hand to bump fists with a registered music therapist standing at his bedside. Text “connect with music therapy” plus “world music therapy week” and the Australian Music Therapy Association logo.

🎉It’s World Music Therapy Week!Between 10 and 15 April, the Australian Music Therapy Association invites you to connect ...
09/04/2026

🎉It’s World Music Therapy Week!

Between 10 and 15 April, the Australian Music Therapy Association invites you to connect with music therapy. We want to hear and share your stories about how music therapy connects - in so many different ways, across every life stage.

Today, we’re thinking about how music therapy connects young people...
🎶 In schools, music therapy can help children build communication skills when speech is difficult.
🎤 When an autistic child sings along with a registered music therapist, they’re developing language and communication skills essential for peer play.
🎸 For teenagers, music is often a lifeline. A chat with a qualified therapist about a favourite song can open up a meaningful conversation about mental health.

Would you like to connect with music therapy? Visit the Australian Music Therapy website to learn more, and reach out to a registered music therapist via our online directory. https://www.austmta.org.au/

📷 A registered music therapist and a music therapy participant smile at each other over the top of a large drum, in a hospital setting. Text “connect with music therapy” plus “world music therapy week” and the Australian Music Therapy Association logo.

World Music Therapy Week starts tomorrow, but we're taking a moment today to show how Tracie Wicks RMT connects with mus...
09/04/2026

World Music Therapy Week starts tomorrow, but we're taking a moment today to show how Tracie Wicks RMT connects with music therapy. Tracie is Senior Music Therapist at Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, where she works in specialist palliative care at Caloundra Hospital.

“I have been most honoured to support and bear witness to many connections through music therapy,” Tracie says.

She recently worked with a patient, Donald*, who used music therapy to create a personalised playlist of meaningful songs to help him relax, supporting his quality of life at home. When Donald later returned for end-of-life care, that same music played softly by his bedside - offering comfort, familiarity and connection in his final days while also honouring his identity and is memories.

“His family expressed comfort knowing he passed away listening to music that was meaningful and comforting to him.”

In palliative care, music therapy can support pain management, emotional expression, memory and connection - helping people engage in care and maintain a sense of identity, even at the end of life.

“I will always remember the smile he gave me when I returned with my guitar,” Tracie says, “and his words: ‘I’m so glad you came today.’”

To connect with music therapy this World Music Therapy Week, keep an eye on AMTA's posts and visit our website to find a registered music therapist near you.

📷 A smiling registered music therapist pushes a keyboard along a hospital corridor, her guitar standing nearby. Text “connect with music therapy” plus “world music therapy week”.

*Name changed.

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PO Box 7345
Beaumaris, VIC
3193

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+61395866033

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