The Use of Music Therapy in the Development of Socio-Emotional Skills in Children: A Literature Review

Author

Kathryn CoolidgeFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-21-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

E. Kellogg, PhD

Abstract

Socio-emotional development is an important domain of childhood development. Research indicates that the development of socio-emotional skills can have both short-term and long-term outcomes in other areas of a child’s life (Jones et al., 2015; Hammer at el., 2018). The most widely used approach in teaching social and emotional skills in children currently is through a social emotional learning (SEL) program. Music therapy is a commonly used modality with children to reach a variety of different goals. This paper explores current ways music is being implemented for improving socio-emotional skills, both within social emotional learning and in music therapy contexts. The implications of these findings support the inclusion of music therapy within SEL programs to increase engagement and effectiveness and the development of a music therapy-based SEL program.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Coolidge, Kathryn, "The Use of Music Therapy in the Development of Socio-Emotional Skills in Children: A Literature Review" (2022). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 526.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/526