Personal Therapy for Undergraduate Music Therapy Students: A Survey of AMTA Program Coordinators

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to gather information in order to understand if and how various modalities of personal therapy are employed with undergraduate music therapy students in the United States. AMTA degree program coordinators were asked about 3 therapy modalities, in particular: verbal therapy, music therapy, and expressive arts therapy (excluding music therapy). It was predicted that less than a quarter of the respondents would indicate that personal therapy of any modality was required in their undergraduate curricula, but that a larger percentage would indicate that it was encouraged. Both hypotheses were supported, with just over 14% of the respondents indicating that they require some form of personal therapy and 32% indicating that they encourage it, with 73% of this latter subgroup encouraging verbal therapy and 46% encouraging music therapy. It was further predicted that, when therapy was required or encouraged, it was most often provided by an individual who was associated with the college/university and that therapy was usually provided in a group format. Respondent comments related to these 2 questions revealed considerable confusion between experiential exercises and personal therapy, leading to dubious validity of some of the numerical data. Qualitative treatment of narrative responses illuminated 4 salient issues regarding personal therapy for undergraduate music therapy students, as follows: (a) the legal and ethical feasibility of making personal therapy a requirement; (b) the cost and availability of qualified professionals; (c) the benefits of personal therapy as an integral facet of undergraduate music therapy training and education; and (d) the appropriateness of personal therapy at the undergraduate level of training.

“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

“…• Trainees undertaking background reading on personal therapy, with guidance from tutors (e.g., Gardstrom & Jackson, 2011;Murphy et al, 2018;Yalom, 2009).…”

Becoming a Reflexive Practitioner: Exploring Music Therapy Students’ Learning Experiences with Participatory Role-Play in a Norwegian Context

“…In general, there are few empirical attempts to understand the professional development of students trained in art therapy, music therapy or dance movement therapy (Orkibi, 2013). Educational research in the field of music therapy has specifically included focus on the use of musical instruments and musical skills (Kennedy, 2001;Silverman, 2011), supervision (Forinash, 2001;Tanguay, 2008), clinical practice development (Madsen & Kaiser, 1999;Wheeler, 2002), models for self-experiential learning and psychotherapy in education (Gardstrom & Jackson, 2011;Murphy, 2007;Scheiby & Pedersen, 1999), reflexive journaling (Barry & O'Callaghan, 2008) and research on feminist pedagogy in music therapy (Hahna & Schwantes, 2011). Role-play as a form of learning in music therapy education is associated with various domains, such as preparation for practicum placements or in the supervision of practice (Goodman, 2011;Murphy, 2007;Tims, 1989).…”

Korean Music Therapy Students’ Experience of Group Music Therapy: A Qualitative Case Study

“…The results of the present study could therefore promote the importance of including personal therapy and experiential learning in Korean music therapy training programs, especially for programs oriented toward a psychodynamic approach. Like Gardstrom and Jackson’s (2011) survey of American Music Therapy Association program coordinators, in which participants shared ethical concerns regarding requiring personal therapy, the present study invites questions regarding the ethicality of requiring personal therapy in Korean music therapy training programs.…”

“…The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) does not mandate that trainees receive personal therapy as a client, leaving this option up to the directors of individual programs (Jackson and Gardstrom, 2012). Gardstrom and Jackson (2011) reported that most of 41 music therapy directors in their study avoided mandating personal therapy for students, except when students manifested serious personal crises or mental illnesses that interrupted or compromised their training experience. Although multiple studies have emphasized the importance of personal therapy as a client, none examine students’ actual experience of personal therapy as a client.…”