Environmental Music Therapy (EMT) is a live music intervention by music therapists meant to modify perception of potentially stressful environments through constructing dynamic soundscapes to provide enhanced comfort and safety. EMT has been shown to reduce state anxiety, distress, and regulate distortion of waiting time, ultimately changing overall perception and response to the hospital environment. In the bigger picture, EMT may be an affective therapeutic modality of prophylaxis for medically induced trauma and post traumatic stress. This lecture will explore the supporting theories, history, and praxis of EMT in contexts where potentially detrimental or toxic unwanted sound is a concern, and areas, such as hospital waiting rooms and common areas, where it is not. We will discuss two published studies on the subject. Guidelines for application will be presented, and numerous experientials will be provided to elucidate concepts.

Andrew Rossetti PhD, LCAT, MT-BC 

The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Mount Sinai Healthcare System; New York, USA 

Andrew Rossetti PhD, MT-BC, LCAT, is a clinician, educator, researcher, solicited international speaker, and director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine’s multi-site Music Therapy Program in Oncology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center. His clinical practice in medical music psychotherapy is grounded in oncology, and includes procedural support for surgery, symptom management in infusion suites and radiation oncology, and the treatment of trauma and post-traumatic stress. His practice extends to intensive care in fragile areas, such as neonatal ICUs and oncology waiting rooms where he specializes in Environmental Music Therapy. His current research includes grant funded projects from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Institute of Health. His work as a consultant has led him to help design and implement music therapy programs in a number of hospitals in Europe. Dr. Rossetti is an international lecturer and has been a frequent invited and keynote speaker at conferences and universities in the US, Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, and Canada. He is the Executive Committee Secretary for the International Association for Music & Medicine, and chair of its ethics committee. Dr. Rossetti is on the faculty of Montclair State University, and the University of Barcelona. His work has been featured in the NY Times, NPR’s Science Friday, and the NBC and CBS national television networks.