Your experience in Music Therapy

[catherine-mcandrew]

Hello!

As a student harpist, I’m starting to plan for my future as a musician and look around at the different options for working in the music world. I’m most interested by music therapy, but I’ve noticed that there seem to be so many different paths to enter the field! Of course, there is the most obvious option of majoring in music therapy in college, but I was wondering if any of you could share your personal experience ‘getting started’ in music therapy and if you have any advice, cautions, or encouragement.

Thank you so much!

[randal]

Catherine-

I do hope folks will post to your thread–I’ve been watching expectedly. I spent a few years working with folks in LTR/palliative care using music informally but quite successfully, and have always been interested in the field

(have you ever seen the film “In the Garden of Sounds”?)

[jennifer-buehler]

I would suggest learning more about the different organizations and their philosophies and how that fits in with your personal values, strengths and interests. For example, if you just really want to play music for people, the *field* of music therapy may not be the thing for you. Music therapy protocol involves assessment, planning and follow up evaluations. That ends up being a lot of paper work. There are differing lengths of training as well.

My degree is in music therapy but I am not currently practicing. For me personally, I found it difficult to balance the needs of my family, marketing, and continuing ed. On the other hand, I know someone who has a similarly sized family and maintains a busy private practice in addition to serving on professional boards.

However, I do not regret my training. I bought my first harp as a music therapy intern! My children are also on the autism spectrum and knowing the language of special ed has been really helpful in getting services for them. Music is also a big part of all of our lives!

Jennifer

[randal]

I too have two children with similar special needs (my wife is also a provider, so we’re very much immersed in the therapeutic milieu in several capacities). Some kids–particularly those on the spectrum, and with spectrum-like challenges–tend to really respond to music

With all the research (and diagnosing) now involving spectrum-type issues, broader intervention strategies (such as music) are becoming more common in the therapeutic milieu. I would think opportunities in the field are burgeoning. (But as Jennifer mentions–any involvement in professional health care practice requires much consideration of many factors)

[catherine-mcandrew]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I’m interested in both music therapy as a health-care career and using those skills in a palliative care setting (maybe not for pay, but just as a helping hand). I’ve also been intrigued by your comments about using music for those on the autistic spectrum- I’m definitely planning on doing more research on that!
As an alternative to the traditional degree in Music Therapy, are there any training organizations that would suggest I take a look at? In other words, organizations that would allow me to follow a similar career path? I’ve been looking around the internet, trying to get a good idea of the different options out there, but there aren’t a lot of specific answers.
Thanks again!

[randal]

Hospice organizations offer free trainings to the public. Some hospice agencies are implementing a broader musical component (than traditional harp protocol) understanding that some folks may have aversion to harp repertoire, or perhaps beneficial associations with a particular musical tradition. The trainings generally are valuable in a variety of ways–from personal insight to practitioner skill development, so whether or not you volunteer for hospice you could benefit from the trainings in your personal and career development

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