HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THE PRACTICE OF MUSIC THERAPY IN HONG KONG

By LAM HOI YAN

April, 2007

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to examine the development of music therapy in Hong Kong. Specifically, a number of related issues were studied including

definition of music therapy, the origin of music therapy, the recent developments in music therapy in China, establishment of a music therapy session, and the setting of therapeutic goals and the use of techniques in the professional practices of music therapy. Data were obtained by interviewing local music therapists, focusing on the

current professional status and practice of music therapy in Hong Kong.
With reference to Poh’s thesis, this paper will assess the growth and application of music therapy over the past 10 years in Hong Kong.

Definition of Music Therapy
Defining music therapy is very difficult as music therapy only has a few decades of history. In fact, it is still developing into a discipline and a profession. Although there are many definitions published by music therapy associations and individual therapists in different areas, none of them is thought as a universal definition. According to Brusica (1998), music therapy has different meanings to different people. The term “music” is difficult to define by philosophers, The interdisciplinary

psychologists and musicologists due to cultural differences.

nature of music therapy blurs the boundaries of music therapy. As an art, a science, and an interpersonal process, music therapy can be both objective and subjective, individual and universal, creatively unique and replicable, intrapersonal and

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interpersonal, collective and transpersonal. Due to the challenges in defining music therapy, Brusica proposed a working definition which implies that the process of defining is undergone. This working

definition is a theoretical one for professionals and students to examine conceptual issues involved in defining music therapy: Music therapy is a