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Career Exploration

Career Research Paper: Music Therapy


    Music Therapy is the use of music to accomplish individual goals in the development and mental health of people of all ages. For example Elizabeth Huss ,an active music therapist at the Columbus Music Therapy Center in Ohio, works with children who have been abused or have certain disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression or even something as simple as ADHD. A particular client of hers had had a bad day at school and was very agitated that day. He asked to use one of her drums that she had with her and when she gave it to him he began to play very angrily just beating up the drum and not creating much of a musical pattern. She then began to play the piano along with him supporting his angry beat but then gradually began to bring it down to a calmer and softer form of music which in turn he did also and he began to smile for the first time so far during the lesson! He then afterward even told her how he felt better after their session! Music therapy allows for a positive outlet to bad feelings and helps support emotional health in patients of all types. 


    As a music therapist you can work in a variety of locations but the most consistent working condition is that it will be in a private solitary room so the client and therapist can work. A music therapist will constantly bring many different instruments to sessions with clients or the client will have an instrument at the location. For example, a client may have a piano in their home that they use for sessions as well as the instruments that the therapist brings. A music therapist might bring drums, maracas, recorders, a guitar, xylophone, bells, chimes and many other types of instruments to a session; But this all depends on what the client wants or what works for the client.  Many music therapists usually work a standard 40 hour week but can also sometimes work part time or sign contracts with specific businesses where they work for an hourly fee. Some music therapists also open their own practice in order to reap the benefits of self-employment. Music therapists make on average 40,000-50,000 dollars a year. 


To become a music therapist you must have a Bachelor’s degree in music therapy, and you must have a professional certification. To become certified you have to go through a clinical internship and training period for at least six months. Then you take the certification exam to become a Board Certified Music Therapist or MT-BC. But nevertheless you can always take this career further and get a Master’s degree or Ph.D. There are also equivalency programs for musicians and psychologist who want to become music therapists. Once they complete an equivalency program then all they have to do is the internship and they can become certified. 


    Besides the amount of schooling and certifications needed to become a music therapist there are also mental strengths and skills a person should have. To be a music therapist you have to have patience with people. Sometimes you are helping them find parts of themselves previously never seen by people before. For example in an interview with Elizabeth Huss she was asked, “What’s the best thing about being a music therapist?” Huss replied with a story about a client who was severely retarded. She said, “You could go in her room and talk to her and touch her and it will have no effect at all. But once you start playing the music she'll start smiling and shaking her head to the beat of the music. Just having that connection - bringing her out of herself - is amazing.” This is what makes the career so rewarding! Huss also stated that this career is under recognized because it is hard to prove the success of it. It’s hard to measure the success of a patient through a number when really it is an experience where you truly get to see the success right in the moment. For example, she worked with a group of patients who each had Alzheimer’s some were very responsive, some were slightly responsive, and some were very irritated and would barely respond to anything. Huss said, “I brought out some drums and we played along with a song. I saw changes in every single person's level of involvement. The agitated people calmed down, the non-responders started tapping their fingers, the person who would previously only interact with me turned and began to interact with someone else in the group.” 


    However aside from being under-recognized, the biggest struggle for music therapists is the emotional toll that it takes on them. They have to be very strong and understanding of each person’s unique situation. But most importantly music therapists build relationships with their clients. They build a bond with clients and care deeply about them. Many of these patients are near the end of their life, and it is extremely difficult to lose a patient when you spend either multiple days or at least one day a week with them for what could be years! 
 

    Jobs in music therapy can be found in various locations such as retirement centers, in-home services, hospice care, children’s hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and even schools. The job outlook for music therapy is 13% which is the average rate. To get a job in this field you have to have the necessary schooling and certifications because this will grant you the ability to hit the ground running as a music therapist. Through the certification you will already have done a six month internship prior and thus once you are certified you begin working as a music therapist. There are no definite promotions available in this career unless you were working on a contract or for a company and you quit to open your own practice where then you could enjoy self-employment. Careers related to music therapy are counselors, and psychologists, and also health specialists for special needs children. 
    Music therapy helps give people a way to express themselves and deal with their own feelings whether they realize they are or not. It can bring people out of themselves and help them interact again. Music therapy is a very strong force of therapy and can give people of all ages a positive outlet for their emotions whether they are frustrated, angry, sad, excited, nervous or even happy. Music can help them express that! Elizabeth Huss believes in the successes of music therapy even if they are under-recognized because each day she gets to see someone enjoy life and express themselves and sometimes come out of their shell for the first time! These experiences are incredibly unique and make a difference in not only the lives of the people participating in the therapy but also the lives of the family involved that goes through life with the patients each day. It’s a one of a kind experience with each client and it can mean the world to the client and their family.

 

Sources:

http://performingartsschools.com/resources/interview-with-music-therapist-elizabeth-huss 
http://www.musictherapy.org/about/quotes/ 
http://www.musictherapy.org/faq/
http://careersinpsychology.org/getting-started-with-a-music-therapist-career/ 
http://www.myfuture.com/careers/overview/music-therapists_29-1125.02 

 

 

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