A decade ago, our first international workforce survey offered a snapshot of a profession still defining its global identity. Today, the findings from our newly published Global Music Therapy Survey 2025: Developments and Trends a Decade Later reveal a field that has evolved significantly—expanding across healthcare, education, community practice, digital innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration worldwide.
Published in the Journal of Music Therapy by Oxford University Press, this study represents the most comprehensive repeated global workforce analysis conducted in music therapy to date. Drawing on responses from 1,183 practitioners across eight world regions, the research offers a rare longitudinal perspective on how the profession has developed over the past decade.
The findings reveal a profession that is increasingly innovative, highly educated, and globally connected. Music therapists are expanding their work across healthcare, education, private practice, and community systems, while integrating digital and telehealth approaches alongside relational, in-person care. Across the globe, practitioners continue supporting individuals throughout the lifespan, particularly in developmental disabilities, mental health, and neurological care. At the same time, the study highlights ongoing challenges related to funding, institutional recognition, workforce sustainability, and equitable access to services. While professional confidence and research capacity continue to grow, stronger policy support and long-term investment remain essential for the field’s continued advancement.
For me, this research reflects something larger than professional growth alone. It signals a broader international movement toward more human-centered, interdisciplinary, and evidence-informed systems of care—where creativity, connection, wellbeing, and participation are increasingly recognized as essential dimensions of health and community life.
I am deeply grateful to the international collaborators, regional coordinators, my co-author, and music therapists worldwide whose contributions made this project possible. Their shared commitment continue to shape the future of the profession and strengthen global dialogue across research, practice, and education.