What is Music Therapy?

Perhaps you’ve heard of music therapy before, but never seen it in action. Well, you’re in luck! This blog has three current music therapy students very excited to tell you all about their future profession! My name is Maggie, and I’m a junior at KU working on applying to internships with a mental health focus.

So, what is a music therapist anyway? Music therapists have completed at least a bachelor’s degree in music therapy, have completed a 6 month internship, and sat for a board exam to earn their MT-BC (music therapist-board certified) credentials. In their training, music therapy students are taught how to assess their client’s strengths and areas of need, and create goals and objectives based off of these assessments. Throughout the treatment process, music therapists take data in each session on how their client progress towards their goals. All of this is supported by research showing how music can impact people’s lives in a positive way.

We will post on this blog daily detailing an intervention or technique used by music therapists to achieve their client’s non-musical goals. Here’s a little bit about our other bloggers:

Hello! My name’s Alyssa. I’m getting ready to finish my coursework at KU and will be shipping off to Phoenix, Arizona! While in Phoenix, I’ll be doing a six-month music therapy internship at Banner University Medical Center. That means my 8-to-5 life will be spent running (supervised) around the hospital, working with clients and learning even more about the profession. I’m incredibly excited to see what this next step has to offer! 

Hi! My name is Bethany. I am a 24 year old undergraduate from Kansas. Although it took me longer to stick with a college (I refer to myself as a seasoned transfer student), I have been sure of my major choice/career path since I heard the words “music therapy”. I am so blessed to be able to use my talents in such a powerful way to help people with many different needs. I graduate next week and get married in July- talk about greatest summer ever. After that, I hope to intern in an adult medical setting. I do not know where life will lead after that, but I know that I couldn’t ask for a more challenging and rewarding profession.