摘要
近年「另類療法」之風在全世界興起，音樂療法作為另類療法之一支，也受到各方關注。不僅一般民眾對之充滿好奇，諸多人才亦紛紛投入實施或研究的行列。然而音樂的結構及其內含之訊息具有複雜的層次，人亦為複雜之身心靈組成，故而音樂與人的互動關係絶非字面上「音樂療法」四字能夠說盡，亦非單一專業領域能夠涵蓋。音樂療法不論在應用或原理上，有待更多跨領域人才以開放的心態向深處挖掘其精髓與奧妙。本文將先說明音樂療法中，音樂與人發生互動關係的作用原理，包括聲音的物理性振動、經聆聽接收音樂性訊息、引導表達、作為語言的載體、藉以運用肢體、幫助個體專注、喚起記憶、引起動機、作為非語言溝通、透靈心理狀態、觸發其他感官感覺及邁向修身養性/天人合一。接著據此說明音樂療法在實施及研究上之挑戰，包括本領域所需人才專業之多元性、目前研究議題方面待開發之處，以及音樂療法所不能忽視的音樂與靈性之關係。
並列摘要
Since the demand of ＂alternative therapy＂ has been risen around the world, music therapy, as a branch of it, also acquires much attention, including people's devotion of practice and research in this field. However, not only music has a complex structure and information content, human beings are also an intricate composition of body, mind and spirit. Thus, the interaction between human and music can not be covered by single discipline. This essay first explains the principles of the interaction of music and human, including the physical vibration of sound, the musical information received by listening, the expression, being a carrier of language, the participation in body movement, helping concentration, the arousal of memories, the leading of motivation, as non-verbal communication, revealing the state of mind, triggering other perceptions, and the cultivation to reach oneness of heaven and humanity. Subsequently, it explains the challenges, including the interdisciplinary professional demand of the field, the issues that await to be discovered, and the necessity to be aware of the relationship between music and spirituality.