Question

Music therapists can work with clients from every culture because music is universal...

a) as long as the therapists studies the client's culture
b) only if the therapists shares the same culture
c) as long as the therapist speaks the same language as the client
d) only if culture is not a barrier to reaching the health care goals

Answer 1

Music therapists can work effectively with diverse cultural groups as music evokes universal emotions and fosters connections beyond linguistic barriers, emphasizing the universal language of music.

Step-by-step explanation:

Music therapists can work with clients from every culture because music is largely nonverbal and can cross societal boundaries more easily than words, fostering a sense of wholeness within a group.

The research by Thomas Fritz and his team demonstrates that music can evoke basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, and fear, which are recognized by individuals regardless of their cultural background, suggesting that music and the emotions it conveys are cultural universals.

In therapy, while understanding a client's cultural background is beneficial (option a), it is not a prerequisite for therapy to be effective as music's ability to convey emotions transcends cultural barriers and does not necessarily require the therapist to share the same culture (option b), speak the same language (option c), or find culture as an obstacle to health care goals (option d).

Thus, the effectiveness of music therapy lies in its universal language of emotion and its capacity to facilitate connections where language might fail.