The Story Main points: Clarification and Gentle Education One thing the profession is trying to do is clarify the role of music therapy in the various treatment populations. Some may say, "Music is music. Who cares who is providing it?" There may be some truth to this. How is a music therapist providing music in a nursing home any different than a performer who comes in? At its most basic level, there really is no difference. Music therapists play notes, they play notes. The difference is how MT's use the…
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The Story The link here is to a story about one of the sessions that took place at the AMTA (American Music Therapy Association) Conference 2009. The session was about the application of rap music in therapy. His description of the setting is appreciated: "Instead of being silly, the sight of mostly middle-aged white women rapping without judging each other seemed empowering, energizing, awesome even." It is inspiring that therapists who may very well pre-date the development of rap are willing to learn its history and culture. With their open-mindedness,…
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The story This is an interesting article about a non-profit that provides services to war veterans in the form of guitar lessons. It doesn't really consult a music therapist or refer to Music Therapy as an independent field, but I like the concept of providing instruments to veterans who may then learn an instrument and develop coping skills. SO, maybe an MT-BC could offer some consult services or direction to help the organization reach its goals? Or find some way to get involved? Just an idea... I searched for research…
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The Link: Good work, Ms. Coviak I found this article and wanted to make a couple comments about it. First, what a great example of advocacy. Kellee represented the field of music therapy at a local school's career fair, which is a great way to get kids interested early. Some know when they graduate high school that they want to go into music therapy. On the other hand, I know many who did not discover the degree program until well into or even after their undergraduate coursework. Perhaps if they…
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