Goals

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Goals and objectives give direction, purpose and focus to music therapy, as they state
what the client is to accomplish if interventions are successful. A music therapy goal is
a broad statement of the desired long-term outcome of treatment, while behavioral
objectives describe smaller, more specific steps in attaining the goal.

Following are examples of goals that may be established with music therapy clients:

Cognitive Goals
Improve cognitive skills
Learning, perception, recognition, discrimination, categorization, memory,
behavior, impulse control
Improve communication
Receptive and expressive language skills
Increase attention span/attention to task
Increase alertness
Improve environmental awareness
Increase reality orientation
Provide sensory stimulation/integration experiences
Reinforce pre-academic and academic skills
Counting, color identification, word recognition, math, etc.)

Motor Development Goals

Improve motor functioning and skills
Movement, range of motion, coordination, muscle control, strength and
flexibility, agility, eye-hand coordination, ear-hand coordination, gross motor
skills, fine motor skills, perceptual motor functioning, balance, locomotion,
laterality and directionality, etc.
Improve general stamina and endurance
Muscle strength, muscle tone, breath capacity, etc.

Sensory Goals
Improve sensory functioning
Auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic
Decrease sensory sensitivity
Decrease pain
Distraction from pain and discomfort, management of pain, stimulation of
neurochemicals as natural pain killers
Improve autonomic nervous system response
Increase relaxation and stress reduction
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 Improve body awareness
Body part identification, placement of body in space, body image, etc.
Improve perceptual motor skills

Psychological/Emotional Goals
Increase emotional awareness
Increase and improve appropriate emotional expression
Elevate mood
Reduce distress, trauma, apprehension and fear of illness or injury
Enhance awareness of self and environment
Increase volition and motivation
Decrease inappropriate behaviors
Improve self-esteem and self-image
Increase impulse control
Increase distress tolerance
Improve decision making skills
Improve problem solving skills
Improve conflict resolution skills
Improve coping skills
Support a sense of hope
Develop personal insight
Promote validation, acceptance, healing and forgiveness
Reinforce empowerment for personal change
Improve self-direction and independence
Promote a sense of security and stability
Provide a sense of accomplishment
Foster creativity and imagination
Promote experiences of transcendence
Promote spiritual exploration

Social Goals
Establish relationships
Increase involvement and participation
Increase peer interaction
Increase eye contact
Increase response to verbal and nonverbal cues
Foster a sense of belonging
Improve and increase appropriate verbal response
Maintain and strengthen interpersonal relationships
Combat isolation and withdrawal
Improve group behaviors (sharing, turn-taking, working in a group)
Promote group cohesion

Communication/Speech Goals
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Change the rate of speech
Building strength and endurance
Facilitate speech production
To trigger non-propositional speech
Patterned and meter – increase fluency
Train voice control
Non-verbal expression of emotions

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