AAMT/NAMT Split

The latest listserve flap is that there is a difference between old AAMT and NAMT. Shocker! You mean, there are different ways to be a music therapist???!??? What a shocker! Seriously, the time has come to bury the hatchet, so to speak, in the old crap that has taken place.

There is a mystery that folks do not want to talk about, but the hurt still exists. I find that I can be carrying on a wonderful conversation with a person, centered around competency-based training, experiential learning, qualitative research - all things that I am passionate about - when the person asks me where I live. I state that I live in Kansas, and the other person states, "oh." They then walk away from me. I actually had one person say that she was glad that she talked to me before knowing that I live in the bastion of "those people," because she would not have spoken to me otherwise.

What a mess.

There were certainly disagreements in the sixties and seventies about training, curriculum, and competence, but half of the folks involved in the original dispute (this is what I have gleaned from conversations and some research, so it is not definite or fact, so consider the source and interpret as you feel you need to...) are now dead. The argument should also be dead.

The worst thing (again, in my humble opinion) is that we are still rehashing this topic. I am sorry that there are hard feelings, but is it fair for future generations for us to continue the argument? After 10 years as a united organization, we really do need to compromise in a way that allows for folks from each tradition to heal. How will that happen?

I have no clue.

I really want the bickering to stop. I am tired of being discounted and pooh-poohed because of my geographical location and educational background. I am blissfully unaware of the educational backgrounds of the folks that I speak to at conference, but I still want to hear the opinions of all therapists.

Whoo - I am really taking advantage of this personal type of communication to organize my thoughts on this topic. I love blogging. If you don't like my viewpoint, please let me know. I would appreciate it.

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