Discovering community music therapy in practice: Case reports from two Ontario hospitals

Music therapy holds a particularly valuable place in providing holistic health care, and medical settings are well suited to a community music therapy (CoMT) model of practice. As medicine continues to shift its focus to become preventative, health-promoting and patient-centred, the presence of live music in hospital environments can contribute to valuable collaborative relationships between members of the community who might not otherwise meet, while impacting and addressing patient wellness as well as patient illness. CoMT is a model music therapists are practicing within to focus on improving quality of life in a variety of domains for patients and families in various healthcare settings. This article explores two distinct community case reports from Ontario, Canada, in which an emerging CoMT practice fostered therapeutic collaborative relationships. Background information is provided on music therapy, performing, interdisciplinary health care and CoMT in context and action.