Abstract

The purpose of this survey was to investigate the extent to which professional music therapists in North America are working with family caregivers of adults with an intellectual disability (ID), the nature of the work they are doing, and their perspectives on the types of music therapy services that would best serve this population. The survey was sent to 6083 Canadian and American music therapists. A total of 309 music therapists who fit the criteria for inclusion responded. Eighty-three percent of respondents had some kind of contact with family caregivers. More specifically, 190 respondents reported family caregivers were present during sessions but not as clients, 40 indicated that they provided services where family members and adults with an ID were in sessions together as clients, and 19 indicated that they provided services that focused solely on the needs of these family caregivers. Behavioral music therapy was the approach being used most often in most contexts. However, when providing direct services for family caregivers, the music therapy approaches being used and recommended music experiences often fell outside of a behavioral model. Participants’ written comments and quantitative responses indicate that there is potential and desire to provide more formalized music therapy services and supports to family caregivers. Limitations of the study as well as implications for music therapy research and practice are presented.