Editorial

Abstract

Change exacts a price and raises the question as to what the repercussions will be for the rest of the system'. (Papp, 1994: 11) This quotation was included in a paper given by Ann Bruce (nee Woodward, 2004) entitled 'A change will do you good?' One of her clients explained, 'I don't want to change'. For many years, music therapists have been grappling with the challenges that arise when change is required. Bruce wrote that change will impact entire systems, be that a family or an organisation. All in all change is risky.In 2020, BAMT published its Diversity Report (Langford et al. 2020). It concluded by stating something which feels important to repeat here:BAMT acknowledges that those within the profession have suffered racism, discrimination, inequality, ageism and ableism, and that these issues are not exclusively historical: they are continuing today. This is unacceptable, and the BAMT does not condone any such behaviour. It is clear that vital change is needed to ensure the safety and well-being of all who access and practice Music Therapy.

“Surprisingly helpful”: An exploration of trainee and registered music therapists’ perspectives on the current role of personal therapy in music therapy training in the United Kingdom

“…As Barrington (2005) outlined, in the 1980s, when there were just three music therapy training programmes in the UK, course leaders collaborated to present the Government with information about the profession to help make a case for state registration. A Basic Module of Training was established by the Courses Liaison Committee (CLC) of the Association of Professional Music Therapists (APMT) in order to demonstrate that similar professional standards were evident across the three training programmes.…”

“…A Basic Module of Training was established by the Courses Liaison Committee (CLC) of the Association of Professional Music Therapists (APMT) in order to demonstrate that similar professional standards were evident across the three training programmes. In this document, there was a clear emphasis on the importance of "personal development" within training (Barrington, 2005). During this time, there was also a growing recognition of the importance of assessing and evaluating music therapy clinical work as the profession moved towards achieving State Registration with the Councils Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) (Barrington, 2005).…”

“…In this document, there was a clear emphasis on the importance of "personal development" within training (Barrington, 2005). During this time, there was also a growing recognition of the importance of assessing and evaluating music therapy clinical work as the profession moved towards achieving State Registration with the Councils Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) (Barrington, 2005). This did not appear to be extended to the direct evaluation of the efficacy of personal therapy in training.…”

“…This did not appear to be extended to the direct evaluation of the efficacy of personal therapy in training. In the 1990s, three arts therapies (music, art and drama) joined to form the Joint Validation Board, the function of which was to define the levels of expertise offered by training courses (Barrington, 2005). Personal therapy for trainees was also an established, but not always mandatory, practice in art and drama therapy so this may have further strengthened the inclusion of personal therapy within music therapy training.…”