Music and Nature? Perspectives of Music Therapists

Have you ever considered integrating nature into your music therapy practice? A recent study published in The Arts in Psychotherapy found that approximately 10% of music therapists provide music therapy in natural settings and 20% integrate materials from nature into their sessions (Pfeifer et al., 2025). 

Researchers from multiple universities in Germany and Austria analyzed results from an on-line survey completed by 84 music therapists to discover how music therapists perceive potential benefits and risks related to the integration of nature into music therapy. Although a small number of music therapists in this study reported incorporating nature into their practice, 67% of respondents reported feeling that “nature” and “nature connecting” methods have the potential to be beneficial to their practice (Pfeifer et al., 2025, p. 5).

Potential benefits 

• Cyclical aspects of nature may promote awareness of the rhythm of life for goals and questions related to grief and the meaning and purpose of life

• Physically connecting to nature may promote self-discovery and connection to one’s sense of self

• Experiences in nature are viewed as calming and may promote vitality 

•  Sounds in nature may promote wellbeing

• A natural setting may be useful in allowing a client to address fears/challenges and promote self-efficacy

• Observing a client in a natural setting offers an opportunity for the music therapist to assess a client in a different setting, potentially leading to new insights

• A natural setting may promote focus and attention

  
  

Potential risks

• A natural setting may be distracting for some clients

• Maintaining confidentiality may be challenging in an uncontrolled natural environment

• The natural environment may contribute to accidents and physical injury 

• A new environment that is less structured may lead to an unfavorable shift in the therapeutic relationship/dynamics between the client and music therapist 

• Time management may be more challenging

• Unpredictable weather

• Legal considerations

• Conducting sessions outdoors has the potential for the music therapist’s professionalism to be questioned by team members

  
  

This study lays out important potential benefits and risks for incorporating nature-based experiences into music therapy practice. Music and nature both provide multisensory experiences (Franco et al. 2016; Russo, 2019). With careful consideration, integrating nature and music therapy may provide additional options to address a variety of patient goals. 

References

Franco, L.S., Shanahan, D.F., & Fuller, R.A. (2017). A review of the benefits of nature experiences: More than meets the eye. International Journal of Environmental Research and Pubic Health, 14(8), 1-29. 

Pfieffer, E. Aigner, S.A., Stolterfoth, C., Dale, R., Ostermann, T., Probst, T., Humer, E. (2025). Music therapists’ perspectives on nature-connecting methods and the integration of nature in music therapy: Results from a survey among German and Austrian music therapists. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 92, 1-10. 

Russo, F. (2019). Multisensory processing in music. In M.H. Thaut & D.A. Hodges (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music and the brain (pp. 212-234).  Oxford University Press.