Blog post # 2: To become a Music Therapist
To become a music therapist and maintain a certification is a lifetime of work and dedication. Becoming a music therapist requires extensive training and schooling in order to maintain and further develop our knowledge to provide informed care for our clients. This reflects my own experience in becoming a board-certified music therapist.
STEP 1: 4-year degree: BA in music therapy and minor in psychology
I went to Berklee College of Music for my undergraduate degree and worked hard for 4 years! Within my education I took classes reflecting psychology of music, abnormal psychology, clinical application of music, introduction to research along with developing my clinical skills with guitar classes, voice lessons, piano classes, and percussion classes. Each semester of my college career delved into a different population that music therapist work with and had classes reflecting each of these populations. These classes were accompanied by a practicum experience. This means, once a week throughout the semester I was in the field, running sessions with real life clients with the supervision of a credentialed professional. Throughout my college career I went through FIVE clinical practicums. Ranging from early childhood, geriatrics, medical, psych setting and a more community-based program.
STEP 2: Proficiency in voice, piano, guitar and percussion
As I said above my schooling consisted of developing clinical skills in each of these areas. These are specific classes you must take and be deemed proficient by your professors by reflecting your skills in performances (performances can mean just performing for your professor) and within clinical experiences with your credentialed professors such as mock sessions.
STEP 3: Minimum of 1200 hrs of clinical training. This is an association approved internship. (Average of 6 months if full time)
Now this step could be an entire blog post!! Internships are competitive and there is usually an application, interview and audition portion to begin this journey. It is extremely important to find an internship that reflects your goals and learning style so that you don’t get burnt out and can get the most out of this experience. I completed my internship with Snohomish County Music Project (SCMP). I had so many opportunities to work with several populations and expand in the areas I was curious and passionate about. I was able to do a special project reflecting a teen grief group that I organized and ran through SCMP. In internship you are under the supervision of a credentialed professional 100% of the time, I had weekly one on one supervision with my supervisor as well as team supervision with all staff. If you decide to dedicate full time for completing internship it is on average 6 months.
STEP 4: Sit for board certification. 150 multiple choice question exam with a 3hr time limit
This is a comprehensive test that reflects different populations, clinical skills, ethics, musicianship, treatment implementation, etc. You complete this test in a designated testing center. This is a 3hr test with 150 questions in which 130 are scored. Out of those 130 scored questions you must get 95 or more correct in order to pass. This is not an easy task, and many music therapists spend months studying before even trying this test. It is common for music therapists to take this test several times as it is so in-depth.
STEP 5: Continuing education: 100 recertification credits per 5 yrs required
This is a common step for many credentialed professionals! You must keep up your competencies whether that is taking a class, workshop, getting continued specialty certifications (such as my NMT certification), or expanding on research for your field.
STEP 6: Encouraged: Masters and/or doctorate in music therapy or specialty
Now, the final step is still an ‘encouraged’ portion of being a music therapist. This is not required as of now in the field of music therapy. In my journey as a music therapist, I would like to get a master’s in counseling. I would like to expand my knowledge and open more access to services through this master’s level education. Eventually, this will happen for me!
Again, these are reflections of my own experiences in becoming a music therapist. If you have questions, please reach out to me. I am always happy to discuss music therapy.