Navigating the Path: A Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy Internship Requirements

Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions. These interventions accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship and setting. Music therapists are credentialed professionals who have completed an approved music therapy program. A music therapy internship is a crucial step in becoming a qualified music therapist. It's a professional endeavor required to complete a music therapy undergraduate degree or the equivalency program, including convocation requirements. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the requirements, application process, and key considerations for securing a music therapy internship.

Understanding the Role of a Music Therapy Intern

Music therapy interns are immersed in clinical settings, often pediatric medical environments, under the supervision of a board-certified music therapist. Students are expected to conduct individual and group sessions with patients and families. The student should expect to accumulate professional clinical experience through a diverse spectrum of multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural patient and family care. The intern will work with a broad spectrum of medical professionals throughout the internship. The Music Therapy Program provides patients and families with a creative outlet for the physical and emotional challenges they face in their lives. Research supports music therapy's effectiveness in reducing fear and stress, facilitating movement, providing emotional support for patients and their families, fostering normalization and providing an outlet for expression of feelings.

Interns gain experience providing music therapy services to adults and children in inpatient units. Internships are structured to provide students a variety of opportunities for experience and practice in assessment, treatment, and discharge processes. While completing music therapy student clinical hours, interns will be mentored in: providing procedural support, assisting with pain management, supporting both new diagnoses and bereavement situations, facilitating motor, speech/communication and other developmental goals, and increasing a patient’s compliance with medical care.

Essential Requirements for Application

Before applying for a music therapy internship, several requirements must be met. These typically include:

Academic Prerequisites: Applicants must have completed the academic requirements from a university's music therapy degree plan.
Application Materials: A completed Internship Application is essential.
Letters of Reference: Submission of Two (2) letters of reference is necessary. At least one must be from someone not affiliated with the university. Letters from family members are not accepted. No letter of recommendation will be written by any of the music therapy faculty until authorization of the candidate's eligibility is received from the School of Music Academic Advisor.
Competency Assessment: Successfully passed all MT Competency Assessment requirements.
Eligibility Verification: A letter from your academic director verifying your eligibility for the internship.

Key Skills and Qualities Evaluated

Selection of Music Therapy interns is determined based on a variety of criteria that include: academics, previous experience working with children in or outside of hospital setting, references, and an interview. The entry-level evaluation process considers several factors:

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Interpersonal Skills: Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport and establish therapeutic relationships with children, adolescents and adults.
Experience: Experience working with children and adults - Prior clinical or volunteer experiences in a medical setting are strongly encouraged.
Understanding of Healthcare: Preliminary understanding of mental health, pediatric medical, infant care and adult palliative care.
Musical Competency: Strong music competency skills with voice, guitar and piano in addition to basic-to-intermediate skills with at least one additional instrument (ukulele, primary instrument).
- Guitar skills: The intern is expected to be able to play in a variety of key signatures and to transpose. They should be able to provide various strumming and finger picking styles to elicit the best responses from patients as well as to provide a pleasing therapeutic sound.
- Vocal skills: The intern is expected to demonstrate the ability to sing accurately in a variety of styles while playing guitar and piano as an accompaniment.
Academic Skills: The intern should understand theories related to music therapy treatment, anatomy and biological systems and human development, and possess basic verbal and writing skills.
Therapeutic Skills: The intern should demonstrate understanding of the therapeutic process, including assessment, goal and objective setting, implementation and evaluation.
Emotional Stability: Demonstrated emotional stability and maturity to handle the demands of an internship in this setting. The intern must also be able to receive and implement positive and growth-focused constructive feedback.

The Internship Experience: A Deep Dive

The internship experience is designed to provide comprehensive training and practical application of music therapy principles.

*Hands-on experience providing music therapy to your own patient panel*Assessment and feedback from a clinical supervisor*Opportunities to delve into specialty areas, such as neurologic music therapy, neonatal music therapy and medical music therapy*Personal and professional development exercises*Weekly intensive group supervision experiences

Interns can expect to work in hospitals, outpatient centers, rehabilitation facilities, community organizations, schools, and private mental health clinics.

How to Prepare for Your Internship Application

Timeline: Nine to 12 months before the date you want to begin your internship you should have narrowed your list of potential internship sites to four to six. Only four applications can be active at any time. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in your losing both internship offers. Therefore, choose your internship site with care. If you need to talk over internship concerns, please see the Director of Music Therapy before you decide.
University Support: Your internship will be monitored by the WMU director of music therapy. Please notify the director once you have accepted an internship and determined a starting date.
Site Selection: As you compare the different internship programs, consider the following: With what type of population are you most interested in working? Does this vacility have that population? Are you compatible with the philosophical orientation of the facility? Do you need room and/or board or a stipend?

Internship Program Structures and Opportunities

Internship programs vary in structure and focus. For instance, the music therapy internship at Cook Children's is not full-time. At Lurie Children's, we treat the whole child, practicing family-centered-care. As a music therapy intern, you are part of a team that plays an integral role in a child's healing process. You are directly supervised by board-certified music therapists through the hospital's Children's Services Department. Lurie Children’s and the intern's school will sign a contract defining mutual rights and responsibilities. The contract will be sent upon acceptance to the internship program. The music therapy internship director will work with the intern's school to communicate progress as required. UCLA Health offers a part-time, 1,040-hour clinical internship. Their curriculum focuses on building self-awareness and self-care practices while gaining clinical intervention skills. We value your individual growth and success, helping you become a well-rounded, resilient clinician. They offer an internship stipend generously provided by the Children’s Music Fund.

Academic Program Integration

For students in Master of Arts in Music Therapy programs, the internship is integrated into the curriculum. To meet these requirements, you will complete minimum of 1200 hours of clinical training in pre-internship and internship experiences in a variety of clinical settings, and earn 16 internship credits.

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First Year Practicum and Pre-internship

During your first semester, you will register for MPAMT-GE 2043 Music Therapy Practicum: Children and Adolescents (3 credits) where you will have supervised music therapy clinical practice with children and adolescents with mental, physical and/or emotional challenges in a variety of settings within the New York City area. A weekly seminar covers critical issues pertaining to assessment, treatment, and evaluation of music therapy with these clients. In your second semester, you will take MPAMT-GE 2053 Music Therapy Practicum: Adults and Elderly (3 credits) and continue your clinical training in an adult placement. I had a pre-internship placement at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy.

Clinical Internships

Starting in your second year you will take Internship in Music Therapy MPAMT-GE 2935 (5 credits in the fall semester) and MPAMT-GE 2936 (5 credits in the spring semester) You will choose from a list of pre-approved sites, and interview for internship positions. In conjunction with your clinical internship placement, you will meet weekly for the Music Therapy Internship Seminar. Each section of this course is limited to 8 students, and is run by a faculty member who is in contact with your site supervisor and visiting supervisor.

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