MUSIC THERAPY BOARD
CERTIFICATION EXAM WITH VERIFIED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2025/2026
A young adult client with end-stage cancer is referred for music therapy to address feelings concerning
loss of independence. To BEST encourage choice-making and instill control, the music therapist should
use
A. lyric analysis.
B. heartbeat recording.
C. songwriting.
D. guided imagery. - CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Lyric analysis may encourage the client to express feelings
as well as provide the opportunity to listen to preferred music. However, given that end-stage cancer
often results in metastases, the client will most likely present with confusion and be unable to analyze
lyrics in a truly meaningful way.
B. Heartbeat recordings may be used to create a legacy project at the end of life, but they are not
necessarily focused on choice-making and instilling control for the client.
C. Songwriting encourages both choice-making and control. A client can communicate simply regarding
speed and volume of the music as well as express original words that the therapist may then use to
create lyrics. A client can express control by indicating their preference for the music or desire to change
something. (CORRECT)
D. Guided imagery, while at times comforting, may cause a confused or disoriented client distress.
Guided imagery does not encourage the client to make choices or take control. The therapist is typically
the one manipulating the narration and music.
What term would a music therapist MOST likely use to refer to a client's inability to control their
emotions within a receptive music experience?
,A. dysregulation
B. disorientation
C. disinhibition
D. dysphasia - CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Dysregulation is a state of having difficulty managing one's
experience; in this instance the client is unable to manage their emotional response to the music.
(CORRECT)
B. Disorientation is an impaired cognitive, not emotional, state.
C. Disinhibition is an impaired ability to make measured decisions or choices.
D. Dysphasia is a disorder of language, not emotional processing.
A boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is receiving music therapy services. The mother reports that
each time he watches television, he prefers the volume to be extremely high. This is difficult for the
family to tolerate. Which of the following is the music therapist's BEST response?
A. Establish experiences that provide emotional expression between the mother and child.
B. Develop interventions to address discriminating and manipulating different auditory stimuli.
C. Promote exercises that utilize only quiet, less boisterous instrumentation.
D. Create experiences that allow the music to be loud at all times, as this is preferred by the client. -
CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Facilitating emotional expression does not address the foundational reason for
why the client is preferring loud auditory stimuli.
B. Including opportunities for different stimuli best supports a more appropriate replication of real life
experiences. (CORRECT)
C. This does not provide the client with a varied sensory experience, which is important to address
functional transfer.
, D. See explanation C.
A client is being discharged from an inpatient psychiatric unit because the treatment team has decided
the client no longer poses a danger to self or others, and an appropriate living situation in the
community is available. When preparing the treatment summary, which of the following should the
music therapist consider?
A. The client met treatment goals in music therapy.
B. The client should not be discharged due to limited progress in music therapy.
C. The client should have a follow-up plan that addresses stressors that precipitated hospitalization.
D. The client takes prescribed medications so community reintegration should be successful. - CORRECT
ANSWERS -A. The decision for discharge was a treatment team decision, not a decision based on
meeting music therapy goals. There is nothing in the stem to indicate that the client made progress in
music therapy.
B. The question does not indicate whether or not the client made progress in music therapy. Sometimes
clients are discharged by the treatment team without having met all their music therapy goals.
C. Patients may confront stressors that prompted them to seek inpatient care in the first place. Music
therapists can work to help create a follow-up plan that proactively plans for discharge and takes these
stressors into account (Silverman, 2015). (CORRECT)
D. Although this client may currently take prescribed medication, clients may not continue to adhere to
medication regimens after discharge. This is one of the greatest challenges in working with this
population.
A music therapist is developing expressive communication goals for a 7-year-old child with Down
syndrome. Which of the following documented times of services is MOST appropriate?
CERTIFICATION EXAM WITH VERIFIED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2025/2026
A young adult client with end-stage cancer is referred for music therapy to address feelings concerning
loss of independence. To BEST encourage choice-making and instill control, the music therapist should
use
A. lyric analysis.
B. heartbeat recording.
C. songwriting.
D. guided imagery. - CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Lyric analysis may encourage the client to express feelings
as well as provide the opportunity to listen to preferred music. However, given that end-stage cancer
often results in metastases, the client will most likely present with confusion and be unable to analyze
lyrics in a truly meaningful way.
B. Heartbeat recordings may be used to create a legacy project at the end of life, but they are not
necessarily focused on choice-making and instilling control for the client.
C. Songwriting encourages both choice-making and control. A client can communicate simply regarding
speed and volume of the music as well as express original words that the therapist may then use to
create lyrics. A client can express control by indicating their preference for the music or desire to change
something. (CORRECT)
D. Guided imagery, while at times comforting, may cause a confused or disoriented client distress.
Guided imagery does not encourage the client to make choices or take control. The therapist is typically
the one manipulating the narration and music.
What term would a music therapist MOST likely use to refer to a client's inability to control their
emotions within a receptive music experience?
,A. dysregulation
B. disorientation
C. disinhibition
D. dysphasia - CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Dysregulation is a state of having difficulty managing one's
experience; in this instance the client is unable to manage their emotional response to the music.
(CORRECT)
B. Disorientation is an impaired cognitive, not emotional, state.
C. Disinhibition is an impaired ability to make measured decisions or choices.
D. Dysphasia is a disorder of language, not emotional processing.
A boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is receiving music therapy services. The mother reports that
each time he watches television, he prefers the volume to be extremely high. This is difficult for the
family to tolerate. Which of the following is the music therapist's BEST response?
A. Establish experiences that provide emotional expression between the mother and child.
B. Develop interventions to address discriminating and manipulating different auditory stimuli.
C. Promote exercises that utilize only quiet, less boisterous instrumentation.
D. Create experiences that allow the music to be loud at all times, as this is preferred by the client. -
CORRECT ANSWERS -A. Facilitating emotional expression does not address the foundational reason for
why the client is preferring loud auditory stimuli.
B. Including opportunities for different stimuli best supports a more appropriate replication of real life
experiences. (CORRECT)
C. This does not provide the client with a varied sensory experience, which is important to address
functional transfer.
, D. See explanation C.
A client is being discharged from an inpatient psychiatric unit because the treatment team has decided
the client no longer poses a danger to self or others, and an appropriate living situation in the
community is available. When preparing the treatment summary, which of the following should the
music therapist consider?
A. The client met treatment goals in music therapy.
B. The client should not be discharged due to limited progress in music therapy.
C. The client should have a follow-up plan that addresses stressors that precipitated hospitalization.
D. The client takes prescribed medications so community reintegration should be successful. - CORRECT
ANSWERS -A. The decision for discharge was a treatment team decision, not a decision based on
meeting music therapy goals. There is nothing in the stem to indicate that the client made progress in
music therapy.
B. The question does not indicate whether or not the client made progress in music therapy. Sometimes
clients are discharged by the treatment team without having met all their music therapy goals.
C. Patients may confront stressors that prompted them to seek inpatient care in the first place. Music
therapists can work to help create a follow-up plan that proactively plans for discharge and takes these
stressors into account (Silverman, 2015). (CORRECT)
D. Although this client may currently take prescribed medication, clients may not continue to adhere to
medication regimens after discharge. This is one of the greatest challenges in working with this
population.
A music therapist is developing expressive communication goals for a 7-year-old child with Down
syndrome. Which of the following documented times of services is MOST appropriate?
