This book is about looking beyond what music therapists do in the NICU, to examine how they can think about the place of music for infants and families in the NICU. Shoemark and Ettenberger use ecological systems theory to examine the layers of culture, their interplay and the relative influences they exert on music therapy in the NICU. Authors from the cultures of South America, the USA, northern and southern Europe, and Australia provide pivotal insights about music in their society, the models of care in the NICU, the place of family, and within all of these, the models and implementation of music therapy in the NICU. Other issues of culture such as gender, type of NICU, and influences on emerging programs are considered.

This book will be informative to those establishing, expanding or learning about music therapy in the NICU. It is a book for those invested in music therapy, and for those curious about how it could be implemented in their workplace.

Helen Shoemark is a pioneer in music therapy in pediatric NICUs. Since 1996 she has implemented clinical and research programs to illuminate the place of family and voice in the well-being and development of infant in pediatric hospitals. Mark Ettenberger has traversed many cultures to champion the place of parents and particularly fathers in nurturing their preterm infants. In this book they share their common mission to help practitioners and researchers to value the multi-dimensional experiences of music in the NICU.