The use of music in psychotherapeutic treatment is typically thought of as a recent practice whose roots are incorrectly attributed to ancient Greek and European medicine. The present article provides an overview of Ottoman music therapy (OMT) for the mentally ill, which was examined in relation to pre-modern European medical understanding and also modern music therapy. We argue that the systematic and pragmatic use of music for the medical treatment of the mentally ill in Ottoman hospitals provided a state-of-the-art model whose relevance is still palpable today. Moreover, OMT offers an example of the exceptional contributions advanced by the Islamic civilization in regards to music therapy. In the Muslim world, music was prescribed and used for medicinal, psychiatric purposes centuries before it gained traction in the Western medical field. Appreciation of the Ottoman model — advanced even by modern standards — is essential not only in accurately understanding the historical origins of music therapy but also to enhance its current-day practice. We also discuss the likelihood of knowledge transmission between Ottoman and European medical traditions and the possibility that OMT might have influenced the use of music therapy for psychiatric disorders in European medical institutions centuries later.

在心理治疗中使用音乐通常被认为是一种新近出现的做法，其根源被错误地归因于古希腊和欧洲医学。本文概述了针对精神病患者的奥斯曼音乐疗法（OMT），并结合前现代欧洲医学理解和现代音乐疗法进行了研究。我们认为，奥斯曼医院系统而务实地使用音乐来治疗精神病患者提供了一种最先进的模式，其相关性在今天仍然显而易见。此外，OMT 还提供了伊斯兰文明在音乐治疗方面做出的杰出贡献的一个例子。在穆斯林世界，音乐在西方医学领域获得关注之前几个世纪就被用于医疗、精神治疗目的。对奥斯曼模式的欣赏——即使按照现代标准来看也是先进的——不仅对于准确理解音乐治疗的历史起源至关重要，而且对于加强其当前的实践也至关重要。我们还讨论了奥斯曼医学传统和欧洲医学传统之间知识传播的可能性，以及几个世纪后欧洲医疗机构使用音乐疗法治疗精神疾病的可能性。