Michael J. Silverman

• PhD, MT-BC
• Managing Director at University of Minnesota

Some colleges and universities with music therapy (MT) programs maintain on-campus music therapy clinics (OCMTC). Understanding how MT programs manage and operate their OCMTC may help enhance clinical training and increase access for service users in local communities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand how academic programs man...

Background Alzheimer dementia (AD) constitutes a major societal problem with devastating neuropsychiatric involvement. Pharmaceutical interventions carry a heightened risk of side effects; thus, nonpharmacological interventions such as music-based interventions (MBIs), including music therapy, are recommended. Recent Findings The 2023 Neurology re...

Caregivers are essential to patient health and wellness, especially regarding infant patients. Stress on parent caregivers can impact parent-infant bonding and ultimately infant health. Music therapy has been shown to decrease stress for mothers of hospitalized infants. Implementing music therapy as an approach to decrease parent-caregiver stress m...

Self-stigma often functions as a treatment barrier for adults with mental health conditions and can hinder recovery. Blues-based stigma songwriting may constitute an empowering and engaging medium to educate people with mental health conditions about self-stigma, identify it as an oppressive social construct, and encourage treatments to augment the...

The music therapy internship represents the culmination of students’ clinical training. Currently, most music therapy internships are unpaid while other healthcare professions offer paid internship options or do not require an internship. The purpose of this position paper was to conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) an...

The Journal of Music Therapy (JMT) authors’ and editorial review board members’ (ERBM) affiliation locations represent an aspect of diversity through differing cultures and political, healthcare, and educational systems. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the countries of JMT authors’ and ERBM’s institutional affiliations from 1998...

Although there is literature exploring burnout and music therapists who have left the profession, there is a lack of research exploring the lived experience of music therapists who have remained in the profession for their careers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience of music therapy clinicians in the United...

Introduction Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) constitutes a major societal problem with devastating neuropsychiatric involvement in over 90% of those diagnosed. The large spectrum of AD neuropsychiatric symptoms leads to polypharmacological prescribing that, in turn, poses a major risk for increased side effects. Non-pharmacological interventions such as m...

Background: Music therapy can positively impact craving, treatment readiness, and motivation in adults with substance use disorder (SUD) on a detoxification unit. However, the existing research is primarily comprised of studies with a single pre- or posttest and there is a need for randomized controlled studies that compare within-session changes r...

By championing the strengths, resources, and resilience of service users and increasing treatment access while limiting costs, single-session therapy (SST) represents a collaborative, direct, and transparent approach to providing treatment. In SST, service users have active and empowered roles in determining the focus, solutions, and extent of the...

Single-session therapy (SST) is a collaborative, direct, and transparent approach to providing treatment that emphasizes service users having active and empowered roles in determining the focus, solutions, and extent of the therapy. Clinicians developed SST as many adult mental health service users only receive a single session of therapy. Service...

Music therapists may have strategic advantages for collaborative and interdisciplinary research. As such, there is a need to analyze authorship teams as well as funding in the premiere United States-based music therapy research journal. The purpose of this descriptive study was to analyze independent, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and funded re...

Autistic children (AC) can demonstrate varying abilities of comprehending spoken and written information. Although information is often paired with music to facilitate recall and learning, there is limited research investigating if sung short stories influence the listening and reading comprehension (LRC) of AC. The purpose of this study was to com...

People in rural communities often encounter unique circumstances when accessing healthcare services and there is a lack of literature investigating music therapy in rural areas. Since nearly 20% of the United States population lives in rural areas, it is imperative to understand not only barriers in providing and accessing music therapy but potenti...

Sleep has an essential role in the health, wellbeing, and ability to learn of undergraduate college and university students (UCUS). Due to high credit loads, the music curriculum, and music therapy competencies, music therapy students may experience difficulties obtaining adequate sleep. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand factor...

Despite evidence linking social connectedness (SC) and substance use disorders (SUD) treatment outcomes, there remains a gap in the literature about how people with SUD experience SC during music therapy. The purpose of this study was to understand how adults with SUD on an inpatient detoxification unit experienced SC during group-based songwriting...

Although changing industries is common for many professionals, there is a lack of research regarding why music therapists have left the profession. The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to explore why music therapists in the United States left the profession and understand how music therapy academic and clinical training might be a...

Background As the accurate and sensitive measurement of withdrawal constitutes a crucial component of detoxification, there is a need to apply a recovery-oriented lens and critical review to substance withdrawal tools. Methods Adhering to PRISMA guidelines and applying a recovery-oriented lens, I conducted a critical interpretive synthesis on arti...

Through attaining a small university grant, I was able to fund a studio recording project of original compositions written in music therapy sessions at a local mental health organization and then provide members with a CD release party to showcase their work. I was interested in exploring the members’ experiences of songwriting, recording in a prof...

This first chapter provides readers with a general orientation to mental health conditions. Topics covered include prevalence, costs, and how adults with mental health conditions represent a marginalized and disenfranchised group. The chapter also highlights physical health problems that adults with mental health problems may experience. For a vari...

New to the second edition of this book, Chapter 6 describes how to approach and deliver illness management and recovery interventions. The chapter describes 11 illness management and recovery topics: recovery, practical facts about mental health conditions, the stress-vulnerability model, building social support, using medication effectively, drugs...

This chapter describes factors that influence therapeutic outcome related to attendance and participation, as well as characteristics of both the service user and therapist. While researchers and clinicians have developed numerous taxonomies to describe mechanisms responsible for therapeutic change, understanding mechanisms of therapeutic change ca...

This chapter applies transdiagnostic theory to group-based music therapy in adult mental health settings. While the concept of transdiagnostic theory may be relatively simple to conceptualize, the reasons supporting implementation of this theory into contemporary clinical practice are just as important—if not more important—than the theory itself....

This chapter provides readers with an overview of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice is a philosophy of care integrating (i) the best research available; (ii) the service user’s culture, identities, values, and preferences; and (iii) the practitioner’s expertise. The chapter describes the importance and weaknesses of randomized contro...

New to the second edition of this book, this chapter describes the therapeutic relationship and alliance, as well as ways to facilitate them. The therapeutic relationship and alliance represent integral components of successful therapy and often lead to augmented therapeutic outcomes. Because of the use of music as a medium for initiating therapeut...

Innovative models of music therapy, including community, resource, wellness, and neurological models, are evolving and shaping new directions for contemporary treatment. Music therapists can be activists for people with mental health conditions and work to reduce public stigma through education and advocacy. This chapter describes future issues for...

This purpose of this text is to describe the who, what, when, where, why, and how of music therapy for illness management and recovery for adults with mental health conditions specific to clinical group-based practice within the United States. Other goals of this monograph include informing administrators of music therapy, providing theory-based ap...

There has been a shift in the perception of psychological interventions in the treatment of adults with mental health conditions. These interventions are now recognized as a crucial component of a comprehensive treatment approach. Music therapy is a healthcare profession with tremendous breadth. As defined by the American Music Therapy Association,...

There are numerous potential interventions available for music therapists to help adults with mental health conditions reach their clinical objectives. This chapter describes different music therapy interventions that can be used in adult mental health settings and how to deliver them using an illness management and recovery approach. Focusing on l...

In-services can represent efficient and effective presentations to educate other professionals about music therapy while referral and assessment constitute vital parts of the treatment process. The totality of the treatment process constitutes an essential component of contemporary clinical music therapy practice and can be used as a framework for...

By definition, every research study involving humans who voluntarily consent to participate is inherently biased and blemished. There can also be additional difficulties in designing and conducting research with people who have mental health conditions. This chapter describes the complexities of music therapy and mental health research. While table...

A singular or uniform approach to providing effective and efficient treatment for people with mental health conditions does not exist. Even with advances in genetics, neurology, etiology, and psychopharmacology, scientists have yet to identify or develop a “one-size-fits-all” intervention or treatment milieu for persons with mental health condition...

Addiction is a chronic and complex medical disease characterized by uncontrollable craving, compulsive substance seeking, continued use despite known consequences, tolerance, and withdrawal. Stressors related to work, relationships, loneliness, mental health conditions, pain, and social and environmental cues can function as antecedents for substan...

This chapter describes music therapy for diverse service users in adult mental health settings. Highlighting intersectionality, the chapter notes that there are numerous types of diversity, including but not limited to age, ethnic background, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, medical condition, geographic location, and s...

This chapter introduces readers to a model of music therapy for illness management and recovery specific to adult mental health. Although there is growing consensus that mental health conditions are chronic and incurable, people with mental health conditions can manage their illnesses and recover to live a life of purpose, hope, and meaning. The ch...

What is music therapy? How does it work? What does a typical session look like? These questions are difficult to answer because of the breadth of populations music therapists serve and the various interventions music therapists use to address the idiosyncratic clinical objectives of the service users they are privileged to treat. This chapter intro...

Background: Craving and withdrawal can contribute to the development and maintenance of substance use disorder (SUD), relapse, and overdose. Although music therapy can positively impact craving and withdrawal in adults with SUD on a detoxification unit, there is a lack of randomized research comparing different music therapy interventions as well...

Background Although substance craving represents an important construct in the diagnosis of, treatment for, and recovery from substance use disorders, craving can be challenging to measure. Based on the relevance and importance of substance craving in addiction, there is a need to apply a recovery-informed lens and critical review to measures of su...

According to the Stress Vulnerability Model, affect regulation is crucial to manage stressors and promote recovery for adults with mental health conditions. Education regarding music-based affect regulation can be delivered in group formats using a transdiagnostic approach to increase access to services and vicarious learning. Therefore, the purpos...

Music therapy can decrease illness- and treatment-related symptoms for adults in medical settings. In these environments, service users often decide to accept or decline music therapy after a brief introduction by the music therapist. As there is limited literature exploring the challenges related to these introductions, the purpose of this interpr...

Background Conditioning- and cue-induced craving theories indicate that music has the potential to induce substance craving. A better understanding of this phenomenon could enhance treatment and prevent misuse, relapse, and overdose. Objective The purpose of this systematic review was to locate and examine studies using music to induce substance c...

Although music therapists are often members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team in educational settings, there is a lack of research exploring IEP members’ perceptions of music therapy. The purpose of this interpretivist study was to understand the perceptions IEP team members have of music therapy in educational settings; 8 professi...

Although there is empirical support for patient-preferred live music (PPLM) in addressing affective states and pain for adults in medical settings, there is a lack of data regarding why PPLM might be effective. Identifying the underlying processes and events of change mechanisms within PPLM has the potential to improve education and clinical traini...

Surgery is often the first treatment following a cancer diagnosis. In accordance with recommendations from the American Cancer Society related to emotional wellbeing, engaging post-operative oncology inpatients in psychosocial interventions may alleviate symptoms and elevate affective states. Therefore, the purpose of this single-session randomized...

Background: Motivation represents a core concept in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment while commitment constitutes a compelling construct lacking empirical investigation. Although music therapy can positively impact motivation in people with SUD, randomized research measuring the effects of specific interventions on commitment is warranted. Pu...

Identifying and critically analyzing the most frequently used social skills psychometric instruments (SSPI) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can inform future music therapy research and clinical practice. Therefore, the initial purpose of this critical interpretive synthesis was to identify the SSPI most frequently used as dependent...

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most persistent and commonly occurring side effect of cancer and its treatments. CRF can negatively impact recovery and there is a lack of music intervention research addressing CRF. The purpose of this randomized study was to determine the effects of a single patient-preferred live music (PPLM) session on fatigu...

The Stress Vulnerability Model describes how stressors can function as a precursor for mental health episodes that may result in hospitalization. As such, it is crucial for people with mental health conditions to be able to anticipate and tolerate distress. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effects of a group therapeutic songwrit...

Music therapists frequently use lyric analysis interventions in adult mental health settings. As clinical decision making (CDM) represents an important process in providing effective and quality care, it is crucial to gain an understanding of music therapists’ experiences and expertise to establish best practices. Therefore, the purpose of this exp...

The existing literature indicates that motivation is an important predictor of treatment outcome for people with substance use disorders (SUD). Although researchers have found that music therapy can positively impact motivation for people with SUD, the music therapy and SUD literature base lack a theoretical understanding of motivation. Vroom’s exp...

Although patient-preferred live music (PPLM) can be an effective music therapy intervention for addressing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in adult oncology patients, there is a gap in the literature specific to patients’ experiences of how PPLM impacts CRF. The primary purpose of this interpretivist study was to understand the mechanisms by which PPL...

While literature exists supporting the use of music for health promotion, scholars have also noted the potential for music-induced harm and other maladaptive effects of music. Harm is a multifaceted construct that can include affective, behavioral, cognitive, identity, interpersonal, physical, and spiritual aspects. As music also represents a multi...

Although information is frequently paired with music to enhance recall, there is a lack of basic research investigating how aspects of recorded music, as well as how it is presented, facilitate working memory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of visual and aural presentation styles, rhythm, and participant major on...

Millions of people in the United States seek treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) each year, highlighting the importance of effective treatments for this social dilemma. SUD are characterized by long-term neurological changes and continued consumption of substances despite negative consequences. We conducted a narrative review of research hi...

Background Although people self-administer music for affect enhancement and self-regulation, there is a dearth of empirical inquiry investigating whether music-based regulatory factors and healthy and unhealthy music use explain coping strategies in adults hospitalized with cancer. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether music-b...

Background: Although patient preferred live music (PPLM) can improve mood and pain with hospitalized adult medical patients, there is a lack of literature concerning therapist positioning within PPLM interventions. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of therapist positioning within PPLM on positive and negative affect,...

While people can use music for affect enhancement and self-regulation, there is a dearth of empirical inquiry investigating if music-based affect self-regulatory factors explain coping strategies in adults with mental health conditions (MHC). Due to the relevance of coping strategies for illness management and recovery, the purpose of this study wa...

Background: Due to negative societal stereotypes associated with substance use disorder (SUD), many people with addictions experience perceived stigma and lack perceived social support. Perceived stigma can prevent people with SUD from seeking treatment while perceived social support can facilitate recovery. Objective: The purpose of this study was...

Introduction: While a recent randomized feasibility study concerning patient-preferred live music (PPLM) with patients on a cardiovascular unit demonstrated it can be effective for reducing pain, anxiety, and depression, there is a dearth of research regarding service user perspectives of PPLM. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory interpretiv...

The purpose of this investigation was to study the frequency of service user MT technique choices and their resultant effects on mood and pain in adults receiving music therapy (MT) offered for the first time on a neuroscience unit. Participants (N = 29) self-selected into one of three pre-determined single-session techniques: 1) Listening to prefe...

While many people use music for emotion regulation, there is a dearth of empirical inquiry investigating if music-based self-regulatory factors correlate with and predict coping in adults with substance use disorder (SUD). The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore music-based emotion regulation, healthy and unhealthy music use, and c...

There is a lack of empirical inquiry concerning the effect of the therapist’s gender and aspects of visual and auditory melodic instruction on working memory recall in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of instructor gender and visual and auditory melodic instruction on working memo...

For adults with mental illness, coping skills represent an integral component of illness management and recovery (IMR) programs. Music therapy can be used to target IMR but empirical research specific to coping is needed. The purpose of this study was to determine if educational music therapy can influence coping self-efficacy in acute care mental...

Background: Service users’ values and preferences are components of evidence-based practice and recovery. Methods: Adults (N = 113) with substance use disorder (SUD) on a detoxification unit were cluster-randomized to one of three group-based single-session conditions: Recreational music therapy (RMT), educational lyric analysis for illness managem...

Background: Resultant of engaging in behaviors outside of their value systems to maintain addiction, many people with substance use disorder (SUD) feel shame and guilt. Although shame, guilt, and pride do not represent traditional dependent measures in SUD research, experimental studies targeting these constructs are warranted. Objective: The pu...

The purpose of this cluster-randomized pilot effectiveness study was to compare two different group-based educational music therapy interventions with a control condition as measured by the stage model of recovery in adults on an acute care mental health unit. Participants (N = 69) were cluster-randomized to one of three single-session conditions:...

Therapeutic alliance has been consistently linked to therapeutic outcome. Although music therapists often emphasize the role of music for developing therapeutic alliance when treating adults in mental health settings, there is a lack of research into how the therapeutic alliance is developed. The purpose of this exploratory interpretivist investiga...

Introduction: Acute care mental health inpatients have the expertise to evaluate different group-based music therapy interventions. Moreover, from an objectivist worldview, there is a need for data concerning non-symptom measures that are specific to group-based music therapy experiences using randomized designs. The purpose of this posttest-only s...

Introduction: There is a lack of randomized research measuring how music therapy might influence fatigue in oncology patients. Objective: The purpose of this randomized pilot study was to evaluate the effects of music therapy in the form of patient-preferred live music (PPLM) on fatigue, energy and pain in adults hospitalized on a blood and marrow...

Due to the creative and purposeful applications of music in a therapeutic context, music therapists may be uniquely able to foster flow-based experiences for the people who access their services – herein “users”. As flow has been linked with a number of positive factors, it may be ideal for encouraging and enhancing learning and therapeutic encount...

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of music therapy students working as camp counselors for individuals with ASD. We conducted semi-structured interviews with graduate and undergraduate students (N = 6) and used thematic analysis to analyze data. Three major themes and nine supporting subthemes emerged. The first theme, Var...

Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) experience heightened anxiety and depression, which can negatively impact treatment outcomes. Music therapy is a non-invasive method of care that has helped support psychological health. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether a single-session of music therapy utilizing patient-...

Background Despite pharmacological and psychosocial support, pediatric blood and marrow transplant (BMT) recipients typically experience heightened levels of somatic and psychological distress while undergoing transplant. Although clinicians have used psychosocial interventions to target distress, there are gaps in the literature concerning music t...

Research shows that young people in the mental health sector may use music in ways that support their well-being, and sometimes in ways that result in feeling worse. A Healthy-Unhealthy Uses of Music Scale has been designed and validated to identify uses of music that intensify negative moods or rumination. In this paper we present a practice-based...

As Google Scholar searches yield unpublished papers, it may inadvertently impact the perception of the music therapy literature for clinicians, researchers, and service users. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify and analyze the current literature comprised of unpublished and non-refereed papers regarding music therapy a...

Information is often paired with music to facilitate memory and learning. However, there is a lack of basic research investigating how visual and auditory presentation styles and musical elements might facilitate recall. The purpose of this study is to isolate and determine the effects of visual and auditory presentation styles and musical elements...

A small number of papers indicate that music therapists are interested in how their work is perceived by other healthcare professionals. The research reported in this paper examined assumptions and expectations of music therapy by mental health professionals in order to understand better how music therapists might use effective strategies to empowe...

Background Organ transplantation is a potentially lifesaving intervention for individuals experiencing end-stage organ failure. However, many organ transplant patients experience challenges and stressors throughout the organ transplantation process, which can negatively impact recovery (Olbrisch, Benedict, Ashe, & Levenson, 2002). These challenges...

Although patient-preferred live music (PPLM) is a frequently utilised receptive music therapy intervention, a neurological rationale for this treatment does not yet exist. The current paper reviews existing literature and proposes several potential neurologic rationales for PPLM as a receptive music therapy intervention for neurotypical adult patie...

The Coping-Infused Dialogue through Patient Preferred Live Music (CID-PPLM) protocol was designed to integrate receptive music therapy with a discussion of stressors and coping skills. However, to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of the protocol within the contemporary evidence-based practice framework, investigation with protocol...

Psychosocial methods for reducing craving are essential for people with substance use disorders. Although songwriting is a commonly-used music therapy intervention for people with addictions, there is no randomized controlled music therapy study systematically investigating how songwriting impacts craving in patients on a detoxification unit. The p...

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand staff members’ and administrators’ perceptions of group-based music therapy in an acute care mental health setting. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with six experienced administrators and unit staff who were familiar with music therapy. Using an inductive approach to themati...

Background While information can be encoded and decoded via various channels, there is a lack of basic research investigating how presentation styles and musical elements might impact working memory of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as those who are neuro-typical (NT). Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the...

Background: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) leads to over four million hospitalizations in the USA annually. Clinicians have used music listening and music therapy in hospital settings to improve patients’ physical and affective domains. However, there is scant research on the use of music therapy with cardiovascular inpatients. Objective: The purpose...

During hospitalization for cancer treatment, patients can experience adversities that negatively impact quality of life and hinder recovery. Thus, it is important for patients to develop resilience to help them adapt, cope, and potentially overcome stressors within hospital and home environments. The purpose of this study was to determine if and ho...

To date, the authors are not aware of any researcher who has studied research productivity solely specific to the Journal of Music Therapy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine research productivity within the Journal of Music Therapy by descriptively analysing the first authors and their respective institutional affiliations of re...

While music therapists have worked with families experiencing poverty, little literature exists concerning music therapy with this clinical population. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of board-certified music therapists who work with families experiencing poverty. Five board-certified music...

Background Patients undergoing Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) are particularly susceptible to psychological distress due to the demanding nature of BMT procedures. Hope is a malleable (Weis & Speridakos, 2011) and multidimensional construct (Kim, Schwartz-Barcott, & Zucker, 2006) that can impact a patient’s psychological health. Extant rese...