Music Therapy Frequently Asked Questions

Music Therapy is available in a number of regions throughout New Zealand, through health practitioners and organisations, education institutions, or by contacting individual Music Therapists. See the Find a Therapist page for registered Music Therapists in New Zealand who are also members of Music Therapy New Zealand. 

This is variable and depends on individual circumstances – whether the Music Therapy session is individual or in a group setting, for example. A Music Therapist will plan with the client or client’s caregiver the number of sessions recommended on a case by case basis. Contact a Music Therapist in your area for further information.

Please let us know. If MThNZ receives enough enquiries from people in an area lacking a Music Therapist, it provides us with information that may lead to job creation for a Music Therapist in that area in the future. In the interim, some Music Therapists are available to travel to an area to provide consultancy services, give an introductory workshop on music therapy in the community, and work alongside other health/ education/ music professionals where there is an interest, for them to then use Music Therapy approaches in their work.

Registered Music Therapists in New Zealand are employed in a variety of health and education settings in areas such as Early Intervention, Children with Special Educational Needs, Adult Learning Disability, Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Adult Mental Health, Rehabilitation via ACC and Aged Care, Palliative Care, amongst others.

There is no standardised pay structure for Music Therapists in New Zealand, but most Registered Music Therapists would expect remuneration in line with other Health Professionals, according to experience.

Qualified Music Therapists may apply for registration with the New Zealand Music Therapy Registration Board and are expected to adhere to the Principles for Ethical Music Therapy Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

There are currently several recognised music therapy Neurological Choirs in New Zealand.   These are therapeutic & social choirs for people with neurological conditions and are led by registered music therapists. Please refer to Lois’ story for a personal account of the difference this choir makes to the lives of those involved. 

You can contact a Music Therapist near you to discuss the possibility of them working with you to develop and/or support (and perhaps facilitate) a music therapy workshop in your community. 

Some music therapists also engage in consultation activities which aim to empower others to use music more effectively in their work – email music therapists to find out who is specialising in this area.

All enquiries regarding training to become a Music Therapist (i.e. gaining the qualification of Master of Music Therapy) must be directed to Associate Professor Sarah Hoskyns at the New Zealand School of Music. For more information, please refer to the Training page. 

The NZ Music Therapy Registration Board recognises the Master of Music Therapy degree (MMusTher) as an appropriate qualification which enables graduates to apply for registration in New Zealand. It is also able to assess applications from international music therapists who wish to practice in this country. It is likely to be easier for the Board to recognise a completed qualification if the applicant is already registered in their own country, but this is not essential – it is possible to evaluate programmes of study from course requirements and transcripts. See the Registration page for further information.

Please contact the Registrar with the NZ Music Therapy Registration Board in the first instance.

Although music therapy is a growing allied health profession in New Zealand most jobs are in the major centres of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hawke’s Bay where some larger organisations exist as well as individual NZ RMThs. There are also individuals in many other areas who have formed their own practice. The best way to find opportunities is to join MThNZ and be aware of what is happening in the music therapy community.
You can view individual NZ RMTh profiles on the MThNZ Find a Therapist page.  

No. Please see the About Us page to see the activities of Music Therapy New Zealand.

Music Therapy in New Zealand is still a relatively young profession and there are no intern opportunities in NZ at the moment. Often volunteering can lead to job creation for registered music therapists, but again there is no formal programme for volunteers.