Creative Music Therapy - Let’s Go Musicing

On 8 April 2010, Dr. Clive Robbins, CMT/RMT, DHL, DMM, Founding Director of the Nordoff-Robbins Centre for Music Therapy at New York University, where he now holds the appointment of Research Scientist, was invited to share with music therapists, art practitioners and special needs officers on: living in the delights and pleasures, stimulations and interests, benefits and enrichments of musicing. The lecture presented a diversity of illustrative examples to highlight the importance of interactively improvised music in meeting the individual needs of vastly disabled clients, followed by a workshop on the effects of specially-composed songs and the roles of instrumental activities in group music therapy.

Dr. Clive Robbins, CMT/RMT, is a co-originator of Creative Music Therapy and has worked with developmentally and multiply disabled children for over fifty years – children presenting a wide range of disabling conditions: mild to profound developmental disabilities, autism, emotional disturbance, schizophrenia, aphasia, learning disabilities, visual and auditory impairments, and physical and multiple handicaps. In 1954, Dr Robbins began his work in special education and arts therapy, and with American composer and pianist, Paul Nordoff, D.Mus., founded the Nordoff-Robbins approach to creative music therapy in 1959, pioneering the application of improvisational and compositional techniques in music therapy. Dr Robbins holds honorary doctorates from Combs College of Music, Philadelphia; Universität Witten/Herdecke, Germany, and the State University of New York. His innovative clinical work, writings, musical compositions, and teaching have earned him international recognition in his field, notably for his commitment to high standards of clinical practice, creativity and musicianship in music therapy. He is the author of A Journey into Creative Music Therapy, and co-author with Paul Nordoff of Therapy in Music for Handicapped Children; Music Therapy in Special Education; Creative Music Therapy; and co-author with Carol Robbins of Music for the Hearing Impaired—and other Special Groups.