Social Welfare and Music Therapy-Music Therapy Activities at Social Welfare Institutions-

摘要

Although music therapy has not been fully recognized in Japan, activities that can be broadly defined as a form of music therapy have been conducted at social welfare institutions. However, with the advent of a certification system for music therapists, a survey was conducted on the type of music therapy activities that are currently practiced in Japan. The survey covered 514 institutions for the mentally handicapped nationwide (response ratio of 62.7 percent) and information was collected on the type of music activities that were conducted, the content and benefits derived from these activities, the problems related to implementing these activities, and the technical knowledge of facility staff members about music therapy. The findings have shown that several impeding factors had to be resolved before music therapy activities could be implemented, despite the expectations of many of the institutions regarding the introduction of music therapy and the acknowledged significance of music therapy activities.