2014 Social Media Advocacy Month: "We are...MUSIC THERAPISTS!"

As part of Social Media Music Therapy Advocacy Month of 2014, we offer you this guest blog post written by Judy Simpson, MT-BC, Director of Government Relations for the American Music Therapy Association.

“We are…MUSIC THERAPISTS!” 

     When I started my career as a music therapist in 1983, it was not uncommon for me to describe my profession by comparing it to other professions which were more well-known. If people gave me a puzzled look after I proudly stated, “I use music to change behaviors,” I would add, “Music therapy is like physical therapy and occupational therapy, but we use music as the tool to help our patients.” Over the years as I gained more knowledge and experience, I obviously made changes and improvements to my response when asked, “What is music therapy?” My enhanced explanations took into consideration not only the audience but also growth of the profession and progress made in a variety of research and clinical practice areas. The best revisions to my description of music therapy, however, have grown out of government relations and advocacy work. The need to clearly define the profession for state legislators and state agency officials as part of the AMTA and CBMT State Recognition Operational Plan has forced a serious review of the language we use to describe music therapy. The process of seeking legislative and regulatory recognition of the profession and national credential provides an exceptional opportunity to finally be specific about who we are and what we do as music therapists. For far too long we have tried to fit music therapy into a pre-existing description of professions that address similar treatment needs. What we need to do is provide a clear, distinct, and very specific narrative of music therapy so that all stakeholders and decision-makers “get it.”

     Included below are a few initial examples that support our efforts in defining music therapy separate from our peers that work in other healthcare and education professions:

 • Music therapists' qualifications are unique due to the requirements to be a professionally trained musician in addition to training and clinical experience in practical applications of biology, anatomy, psychology, and the social and behavioral sciences.

 • Music therapists actively create, apply, and manipulate various music elements through live, improvised, adapted, individualized, or recorded music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages.

 • Music therapists structure the use of both instrumental and vocal music strategies to facilitate change and to assist clients achieve functional outcomes related to health and education needs.

     In contrast, when OTs, Audiologists, and SLPs report using music as a part of treatment, it involves specific, isolated techniques within a pre-determined protocol, using one pre-arranged aspect of music to address specific and limited issues. This differs from music therapists’ qualifications to provide interventions that utilize all music elements in real-time to address issues across multiple developmental domains concurrently.

     As we “celebrate” 2014’s Social Media Advocacy Month, I invite you to join us in the acknowledgement of music therapy as a unique profession. Focused on the ultimate goal of improved state recognition with increased awareness of benefits and increased access to services, we have an exciting adventure ahead of us. Please join us on this advocacy journey as we proudly declare, “We are Music Therapists!” About the Author: Judy Simpson is the Director of Government Relations for the American Music Therapy Association. She can be reached at simpson@musictherapy.org
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 For more information about the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Music Therapy Programs, please contact Sharon R. Boyle at sboyle@smwc.edu or Tracy Richardson at trichardson@smwc.edu.

Considering Music Therapy as a Career? Consider Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College!

Music Therapy Student Spotlight Featuring: Nathan Mensah



Nathan Mensah

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College welcomes Nathan Mensah as a new campus music therapy equivalency student this semester! While our Master of Arts in Music Therapy (MAMT) and Music Therapy Equivalency Distance (MTED) programs routinely have both female and male students, Nathan is only the second male equivalency student to be part of the campus program in the history of the 30-year-old program. Equivalency students typically have a bachelor’s degree in music or a related area and then are able to complete the coursework and clinical training as part of this special non-degree program. The students can then sit for the Music Therapy Board Certification Examination (see Certification Board for Music Therapists for more information) when all other criteria are met.

Originally from Fort Wayne, IN, Nathan attended Indiana University (IU) for his undergraduate studies and completed a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree in psychology with a minor in music in 2010.

Music has always been a constant presence in Nathan’s life. His earliest musical memory was when he was four-years-old and was near a piano. After playing around “until there was a four note melody,” Nathan remembers thinking,  “this is my song, I created it!” During his early years, he wanted to pursue drumming, but was recommended by a teacher to take another instrument in addition to the drums. Being the youngest child with three older sisters, Nathan wanted “something really, really loud” and so he chose the trumpet. The trumpet has remained his principle instrument and he also enjoys playing an assortment of other instruments, including the drums and ukulele. Ever the musician, Nathan has remained an active member of a Ska and rock group, You & All The Blind People, who perform throughout Indiana.

After pursuing further educational opportunities and being employed in the Indianapolis area for several years, Nathan was looking for a career in which he would be happy in his job. When reflecting on past experiences, Nathan knew that he needed to enter a career in which he would look forward to it and music emerged as the common factor that he had enjoyed and still does today. After encouragement from several family members and friends to “find something that you like doing and that meets the greatest need in the world,” Nathan came across music therapy.

Because he already had an undergraduate degree, Nathan was looking for an equivalency program where his previous educational experience and classes would be accounted for and allow him to complete everything in a timely fashion. Nathan recalls being won over by such aspects as the welcoming faculty of the SMWC Music and Theatre Department, the centralized location of the campus, ease of the transfer process, and the flexibility found within the program.

 

Nathan recently responded to a few questions:

How has your view of music expanded since being in the program?
"There are so many songs I don't know! I now actively seek out different types of music in order to become familiar with everything. Also, as a side note, I'm used to improvising with jazz and soul bands, but not with percussion instruments, so it is a fun change of pace."

What would you tell someone who is thinking about enrolling at SMWC as a Music Therapy student?
"This is a wonderful campus full of equally wonderful people! The professors excel at preparing us for the real world (I've been there, it's not easy, we can use all the help we can get!) and pushing us to become great at what we do. This school offers smaller classes which allow individualized attention which is fantastic! I'd also tell them to get ready to work hard, and also to try new things! It is school after all."

While the SMWC undergraduate campus programs remain all-female, equivalency programs, distance programs, and graduate programs are open to students regardless of gender. As a male student on an all-female campus, Nathan has been greeted with some questions, but primarily friendly faces, as the Woods remains an inviting and convivial place in which one can pursue educational goals.

SMWC music therapy students improvising together

Outside of school, Nathan enjoys engaging in hobbies such as martial arts, theatre, traveling (he says that “everyone should go to Paris”), and watching movies that can make him laugh. Some of his favorite pieces of music are Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and September by Earth, Wind, and Fire. When asked what piece of advice he would give to someone who might be looking into music therapy, he says to “Go into something you really love.” As far as considering an equivalency program, Nathan recommends to “Be open to trying new things and learning new things.”

  

 

-Feature authored by Sherry Bube, senior music therapy student, and Sharon R. Boyle, music therapy faculty.

For more information about the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College campus music therapy program, contact Sharon R. Boyle, Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Therapy (sboyle@smwc.edu or 812-535-5145)

 

Music Therapy Student Drumming Workshop with Carolyn Koebel at SMWC

SMWC Hosts Music Therapy Cooperative Learning Student Workshop

Presenter: Carolyn Koebel

Approximately 80 music therapy students and faculty from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, IPFW, U. Of Evansville, and U. Of Dayton participated in a student workshop focused on drumming techniques and clinical applications of percussion. Renowned as both a percussionist and a music therapy presenter, Carolyn Koebel facilitated the day-long event in Cecilian Auditorium in SMWC's Conservatory of Music. Koebel led students and faculty in hand drumming (djembes, tubanos, etc), frame drumming, and body percussion. The event kicks off a series of events planned to celebrate 30 years of music therapy at SMWC this year.

Lunch was provided for all students and during breaks, students were able to explore the campus. SMWC music therapy students took some on impromptu tours of the campus, explaining the history of the school, as well as showing them the Alpaca farm and Equine Stables.

It was a wonderful day of music-making, collaboration between different school programs, and sharing the beautiful campus of SMWC.

 

A few announcements...

We begin a new year with a brand new Student MTC Executive Board 2013-14 President --Beth Allard; Vice-President -- Paige Fath; Secretary -- Mallory Tanis; Treasurer -- Kaitlyn Wainscott; Parliamentarian -- Sherry Bube

At the start of the school year, we celebrated the 100th birthday of our beloved Conservatory building (along with Guerin Hall) and are preparing many events ahead for the 30th Anniversary of Music Therapy at the Woods! Watch for announcements for special events in the next few weeks. We will also feature a new campus equivalency student, in addition to a Guest blog post.

2013-14 will be a busy and exciting year so stay tuned!

Senior Music Therapy Student Reflection: Embracing the Journey Ahead

Each semester, SMWC music therapy students write self-reflection papers, looking back at their practicum experiences and how they have been impacted. Seniors , though, are asked to reflect on their entire four years in the program as they stand between the coursework just completed and their internship ahead. Cathleen Flynn, senior, has been my student assistant (and contributer to this blog) for several years and I asked if she would like to write a reflective post. I hope you'll take in the full range of experiences she has chosen to touch on, the connections she has made between gaining knowledge and application of that learning, as well as the changes she has experienced throughout her time at SMWC while in the music therapy program. This is a challenging major and students find they transform in many ways by the time they complete pre-internship hours, music study/performances, and coursework. As an educator and advisor, when students are heading off to internship, I feel immense gratitude that I was even a small part of their journey.

-Sharon R. Boyle, SMWC Associate Professor of Music Therapy

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Photo courtesy of Nora Dalipi

What does it mean to spend four years in the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College undergraduate music therapy program? In an attempt to quantify what I’ve put into my music therapy coursework, ensembles, private voice study, and practica, I tried to calculate the number of hours I’ve spent in the Conservatory of Music. I stopped doing the math, though, because I don’t think a sum of time really captures all I gave and received in those hours. Also, I don’t think my development as a music therapy student took place solely in an educational or clinical context – my self-awareness developed through dorm life and relationships, my leadership skills advanced through co-curricular involvement, and my spirituality grew through experiencing the sacred grounds of this campus and those who call it home.

My college experience was eclectic, and I was well-supported by faculty, staff, and Providence in each endeavor. Only at a small college (and, in my opinion, a small women’s college) could I have explored my diverse interests so fully and felt such care from the campus community. This encouragement of self-directed learning and nurturance of the whole student (not mind alone, but heart and values and body) was fully present in my music therapy classes with Sharon Boyle, Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Therapy, and it made all the difference in my education. The music my peers and I created together in class moved me to laughter and to tears. I experienced periods of profound self-assurance and profound self-doubt. And I became comfortable with vulnerability, in myself and in others.

My practicum experiences made a profound impact on me, allowing me to explore therapeutic presence, clinical musicianship, and my personal responses to people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities. During my participation in the Jamaica FieldService Project, I sang “Amazing Grace” to a woman while she wept and cried out for God; I will never again hear that song without thinking of her. The following semester, I experienced authentic “groove” for the first time with a man who was nonverbal and whose primary means for communication and interpersonal interaction was the blues. We stumbled together and laughed together and challenged each other through our musical exchanges; we came to know one another without the security of words. During my time on a memory care unit and in an acute psychiatric facility, the patients I served expanded my perception of what constitutes reality and helped me to understand the value and wisdom within from our intuitions and uncertainties. Somehow, being a part of others’ healing processes changed me, helped me integrate and validate my own experiences, and urged me onward in life’s journey.

As someone who hopes to be an agent of positive change through music therapy, I often ponder the impact that one individual can make in the world. When I reflect on the impact that each of these individuals has had in my life, I am convinced of the power of one. I am confident that by promoting music as therapy, as a community building modality, and as a shared cross-cultural experience, we can form more peaceful social systems, more inclusive communities, and a more nonviolent world in which holistic wellbeing is possible and individuals have freedom to create and to be heard.

Photo courtesy of Nora Dalipi

For eight semesters at The Woods, I got to experience and cultivate the linking of musical development and personal development, in myself and in the clients I served. Sometimes it feels like my musical self develops first and the rest of me follows, and other times my musical self develops as a result of personal growth. But I’ve learned that one thing is inevitable - my music will change and I will change and the world will change. Sometimes it will happen quickly, with excitement; and sometimes it will happen slowly, with the pains of stretching. But I’ll keep singing and playing and dancing, honoring the changes of my past and embracing the transformations to come.

-written by Cathleen Flynn, SMWC senior music therapy student

Music Therapists Giving Back to Students

This post is the second in a series featuring the extensive network of individuals who support the undergraduate music therapy program at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College through special guest lectures! Skype allows us to connect with professionals from around the country, some of whom teach in our graduate (MAMT) and/or distance equivalency (MTED) programs. These engaging lecturers come from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and it is our pleasure to introduce three more dynamic individuals who contribute to our curriculum – Bonnie Hayhurst, who spoke about the use of the iPad in music therapy, Rachelle Norman, who spoke about her work with adults with developmental disabilities, and Ann Hannan, who spoke about music therapy in pediatric intensive care and family-centered care in pediatric hospitals!

Bonnie Hayhurst, MT-BC

Bonnie Hayhurst, MT-BC is a board certified music therapist, neurologic music therapist and owner of The Groovy Garfoose. Bonnie shares her love for technology and the iPad in music therapy through her blog, groovygarfoose.com, and as an instructor of the online CMTE course "There's An App For That" on musictherapyed.com. You can follow Bonnie on Twitter and Facebook.






Rachelle Norman, MA, MT-BC

                                                                Rachelle Norman is a board-certified music therapist, with bachelor and master degrees in music therapy. She owns Soundscape Music Therapy, a private practice serving older adults and their caregivers in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She also has a weekly blog and monthly e-newsletter filled with information about using music to improve your own health and well-being and to take care of the people you love. Rachelle also created Soundscaping Source, an online community and resource for eldercare professionals who use music in their work. Find Rachelle on the web at soundscapemusictherapy.com and soundscapingsource.com.









Ann Hannan, MT-BC

Ann Hannan, MT-BC has provided music therapy services at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health since 2000. She has served patients and families throughout the entire inpatient hospital and currently focuses on critical care and medically fragile infants. Ann is specifically interested in how the family unit is affected by the intensive care environment and utilizes a Family Centered Care approach to address areas such as pain management, support for agitation, sibling/parent support, and ongoing developmental support. Ann is also currently exploring evidenced-based ways to support infants suffering from neurological devastation and distress.

--Authored by Cathleen Flynn, Music Therapy Assistant