What IS Music Therapy???

I've been thinking a lot recently about what really distinguishes music therapy from other uses of music in the therapeutic setting. During my internship, I have come across nurses who believe that volunteer musicians are "music therapists," chaplains who use music in their practice to facilitate spiritual comfort, and residents of nursing homes who constantly ask if I am the entertainment.

I am used to people being unfamiliar with music therapy and I have grown accustomed to having to explain what I do on a daily basis, but when I was presented with the idea of chaplains using music in the hospice setting to further facilitate a patient's spiritual comfort, I was forced to evaluate exactly what it is that I am providing that is different. What can I offer that a chaplain playing the guitar to help a patient express their spirituality cannot? What is it about what I do that cannot be done by a volunteer musician or by a recording?

Music therapy is so much more than just providing music experiences. Certified music therapists have completed a six-month clinical internship in addition to a four year degree program from an accredited university. Throughout our schooling, we take courses in psychology, counseling, abnormal psychology, anatomy and physiology, and applied music, in addition to our specialized music therapy classes. This comprehensive education provides us with the skills necessary to be more than just entertainers. We are therapists who use music as a tool to arrive at non-musical goals. We as music therapists do not "own" music, therefore, we can keep those who are not certified music therapists from claiming to be; however, we cannot prevent the use of music by other professionals. What we are trained to do that differs from what a chaplain does with their guitar when addressing spirituality specifically is assist patients in processing their feelings evoked by music, use song-writing experiences to elicit spirituality, conduct lyric analyses to engage the patient in discussion of spirituality, and allow the patient to participate in active music making in order to facilitate spiritual expression.

With music therapy making appearances in the media, awareness of the field is continuing to grow; however, we all have to do our part and advocate! Hopefully, one day, with all of our hard work, the term "music therapy" will be as well recognized  and understood as "occupational therapy" and "speech therapy."

Perseverance in Times of Adversity

Yesterday, my professor informed our class that a local hospice was forced to lay off twenty percent of its staff due to recent budget cuts. Among those who lost their jobs were four music therapists. Today in a session at the NICU, a patient's grandmother questioned the need for music therapy and referred to it as "new age." With all of this negativity surrounding me, I began to brainstorm ways to use these opportunities as a chance to further educate the pubic about music therapy. Advocacy. We hear that word all the time, but do the majority of us actually take matters into our own hands to advocate for our field? Sadly, no. Now more than ever we need to increase awareness of the benefits that music therapy can have for an enormous range of people. We need to educate legislators and medical professionals and even our hair-stylists and our neighbors about it! Do you want to be more involved in music therapy advocacy, but don't know how to get started? Email me at ema09e@fsu.edu and I will be happy to help you think of ways to increase awareness. For those who are already involved in advocacy, what have you all done recently to promote the incredibly rewarding field of music therapy? 

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it.  The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.  
- Earl Nightingale