April 9, 2026 | Blogs and News
World Music Therapy Week is a global recognition of Music Therapy and the healing that it brings to people across the globe
Supported by the World Federation of Music Therapy, Children’s Music Fund has been a proud participant in this annual recognition and awareness campaign. We encourage everyone involved with providing the healing benefits of Music Therapy or those who have experienced Music Therapy sessions first-hand, like our CMF Kids and families, to join in on the celebration from April 10-15.
Recognizing World Music Therapy Week is so much more than taking part in a feel-good holiday. It’s a vital part of increasing the awareness for Music Therapy as an evidence-based clinical intervention that so many kids could benefit from – but many don’t realize that it’s an option.
Our Impact Integrates Music with Medicine
Children’s Music Fund is coming up on 25 years of leading the charge in making Music Therapy available to children and young adults living with chronic and life-altering health conditions. In 2002, Children’s Music Fund founder Dr. Raffi Tachdjian was inspired by a patient in his pediatric residency. It was then that Dr. Tachdjian integrated his love of music with the discipline of medicine to start Children’s Music to fulfill the mission of spreading the healing benefits of Music Therapy.
Research is an integral piece in fulfilling this mission. It offers validation by demonstrating the physiological and health benefits that Music Therapy offers; and is vital in equipping families and their medical teams with the data they need to incorporate integrative strategies into their care.
Recently, research sponsored by Children’s Music Fund was featured in Psychology Today. The article, contributed by Dr. Tachdjian, recapped a study that focused on Music Therapy’s impact in neonatal intensive care units, highlighting the clinically meaningful benefits of even a single 15-minute session for a newborn’s health. On average, patient pain scores decreased by 2.2 points on the FACES scale (p<0.05), showing that even brief exposure to music makes a difference. And fascinatingly, results also showed that baby girls had 6 percent greater blood oxygenation than the baby boys in the cohort.
Impressive findings like this one are an example of why Children’s Music Fund also collaborates with respected music institutions to drive research. For example, the Berklee Music and Health Institute Research Collection assembles valuable data points from multiple evidence-based projects on the use of Music Therapy.
Children’s Music Fund is also working to expand access by fueling the next generation of Music Therapists. Last year, Children’s Music Fund made industry history by funding a Music Therapy clinical internship program at UCLA Health. Conventionally, these internships are unpaid, which poses a barrier to entry. The stipend, fully funded by CMF, covered a living wage for two interns.
Music That Heals. A Community That Cares.
One thing we know for certain, Music truly does Make US Better. Does World Music Therapy Week have you inspired and interested in getting involved? Take this week to spread the word about Music Therapy. Whether you take the step to introduce your care team to Children’s Music Fund, share this article with your network, or engage with us on social, your support helps a child heal through music.
Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn this week and help us celebrate magical moments with Music Therapy.
To learn more about Children’s Music Fund and get involved, visit thecmf.org.