r/musictherapy

hey everyone! I'm posting here because I'm sort of in a unique situation and I need advice from people who know the profession. I graduated in May of last year with my music therapy degree, and I started my internship in October. I completed 352 internship hours before I was let go from my position in January due to ongoing mental health concerns (which was totally fair of my supervisor to do and I really needed a break. not exactly the way I was hoping to get one, but it was needed nonetheless 😅). I had fully intended to only take a short break before jumping back in. but with a combination of mental health difficulties, two different job changes, my car dying, going to the ER twice, and just general fear of failure, I haven't gone back in eight months now.

all that being said, I'm not entirely sure where to proceed from here. I was told that my already completed hours may or may not even count depending on my new supervisor, which is part of the reason I've dreaded going back. I also just can't mentally handle going full time again (because I still have to work full time to afford my bills and working 80 hours a week was a big factor in my mental health decline). so if I were to go back, I would need a position I could work only two days at (Monday/Tuesday as those are my off days at work). I also don't know who to turn to anymore for recommendations when I start the application process, as it's been a year and a half since my last clinical position ended and I seriously doubt my old supervisor would give me a recommendation. I also don't know how to reach back out to the music therapy department head, as she has a history of not being super understanding with personal issues and disability accommodations. and I don't know the other professor in the department as she started immediately after I graduated.

I guess I'm just asking if anyone has any advice of how to proceed, any resources I could look into, or just any words of wisdom or encouragement. I'm just very lost right now and don't really know how to get back on track. thanks in advance ❤️

edit: I am located in Kansas City, MO if that is helpful context

I’m developing a tool for composing repeatable acoustic environments, and I’m trying to understand where this could or could not be useful in professional music therapy.
For practicing music therapists: when you use recorded or designed sound in a session, what matters most clinically, the musical material itself, adaptability in real time, familiarity, reproducibility, the therapist-client interaction, or something else?
I’m particularly interested in where a tool like this would not belong

Hi all.

I’m 34 years old and going back to school for music after earning a BFA in design and working as a marketer for almost ten years. TLDR is I lost my job, then my father passed away, then I lost my house and moved back in with my mom, then I got burned out on job hunting. So I decided I needed a change and now I’m getting an AA in music, because music has always been super important to me.

I originally wanted to get a masters or doctorate and teach ethnomusicology at the college level. I love school and being in school. I’m weird lol. And I still want to do that, but I also recently discovered music therapy and the idea of using music to help people is incredibly appealing. I have ADHD and music has always been a tool I’ve used to help me calm down, focus, ground me, etc and I would love to help people like me using the thing that has always been there for me. So I’ve been looking at Masters programs with equivalency degrees. During my research I’ve also found mixed reports on how easy it is to get a job in the field, and that a lot of the work is part time, which I guess wouldn’t be too much of a problem if I end up pursuing a PHD.

I just don’t know what to do. Do I keep going down the MT path? Go back to being a professor? Do both? After living almost a year and a half without a steady income the thought of having to do that again even after doing the work to get ANOTHER degree makes me want to curl up into a ball and give up on life, as dramatic as that sounds.

Sorry, I know you all probably get this a lot but I could really use some advice. Or perspective. Thank you.

My rep list is looking a bit sparse lately, please give me suggestions for new songs to learn. I work in adult medical, mostly people around age 60ish (but I may see anyone over 18), East Coast USA, North Carolina more specifically. I do a lot of lyric discussion and rewrites. I mostly get requests for Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Motown, classic R&B. Thank you!

Second try, 90 points. Didn't pass 😭

Only thing I can think of right now is how to express it objectively.....

"Music therapy student appeared flat demeanor coupled with verbalized frustration and prolonged withdrawal (staring at the ceiling)"

what is the best way to study for this difficult exam

I’m an MT-BC, and having just completed my second recert cycle am finding that I would really like refer myself to another music therapist to dig deeply and intentionally into my personal growth, musical potential, and self-actualization. I currently work weekly with a general therapist (who I love working with), where we focus largely on IFS and EMDR, peppered with CBT and DBT.

On my own I regularly incorporate improvisation and songwriting into my own self care and expression, but would really like to explore doing so in a more structured setting, within a therapeutic relationship.

Have any other MTs engaged in MT as a client for similar goal areas? What was your experience like? Does anyone have recommendations for a private practice in the Midwest or Great Lakes Region that might be a good place to start?