Today I very pleased to share a guest blog from Dr. Dena Register as part of the 2014 Music Therapy Social Media Advocacy Month!
Welcome
to 2014: Declaring Our Independence
Dena
Register, PhD, MT-BC
Regulatory
Affairs Advisor, Certification Board for Music Therapists
The end of the year
always brings with it a great deal of reflection. It feels good to
look at the accomplishments of the year at its close, set new
intentions and imagine new heights for the year ahead. My own
professional reflections for this year brought the realization that
over the last eighteen years I have enjoyed a rather diverse career
in music therapy with roles as a clinician, educator, consultant and
professional advocate. One of the most interesting components of
wearing so many different “hats” is trying to imagine how those
you are working with perceive music therapy.
There is a constant
effort to try and imagine how I can best help others understand what
music therapy is and the many benefits for our clients. I feel the
need to have an analogy for every situation, description, and
population. I can’t imagine that I’m alone in this challenge. I
know many music therapists that adapt in this chameleon-like fashion
when it comes to how we describe our life’s work. We build rapport
with our various audiences by searching for some common ground or
understanding to use as a point of departure in hopes that they will
have that magical “A-ha!” about the many benefits of music
therapy. While these experiences help us develop remarkable skills in
story sharing and empathy, we are constantly altering the description
of our professional identity in order to help others understand us.
This task is a complex one for professionals and is one of the
challenges that both students and new professionals find difficult to
navigate early on in their careers.
I get to teach a class
in philosophy and theory of music therapy. Over the last several
offerings of this course the students and I have spent hours
exploring what music therapy has in common with other therapeutic and
creative arts professions. Each semester produces fascinating
discussions, diagrams and reflections on the shared aspects of our
professions and, more importantly, how music therapy is notably
distinct from any other profession or practice. Successful
participation in our profession is reliant upon years of skilled
musicianship, and a balance of both scientific and artistic knowledge
and understanding. It is highly unlikely that an individual who does
not have any prior musical training can make their way through varied
and rigorous coursework of a music therapy degree and successfully
complete the academic, clinical and musical requirements needed.
In the sixty-plus year
development of our profession we have learned to be both flexible and
savvy in our descriptions of music therapy. These well-honed skills
have built a foundation for our profession to grow and expand in ways
we didn’t think possible. And, in most recent years, ouradvocacy efforts have brought us to a place of greater acknowledgment and public
awareness than we have ever experienced before. What comes next? It
is the era of INDEPENDENCE.
With an increased focus
on research about the numerous impacts of music as a therapeutic
medium, greater access to quality services by licensed professionals
and continuously growing clinical offerings music therapy is
positioned for continued, exponential growth. Now is the time for
continued clarification to others regarding who we are as a
profession as well as our unique qualifications. In 2014, it is
imperative that we declare “I am a music therapist”
and
understand how to articulate our unique qualifications and
distinctions from our other therapeutic partners. How will YOU
celebrate your ‘independence’ this year?
About
the Author: Dr. Dena Register is the Regulatory Affairs Advisor for
the Certification
Board for Music Therapists (http://www.cbmt.org)
and an Associate Professor of Music Therapy at the University
of Kansas (http://music.ku.edu/programs/memt/faculty/register/).
She can be reached at dregister@cbmt.org
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