Thoughtful Thursday: The Biggest Difficulty in Being a Music Therapist - In My Opinion!

I have been a professional music therapist, board certified, for 33 years now, so I feel like I have earned the title "Vintage Music Therapist." Having a bit of perspective that comes with being something and somewhere in a profession leads me to spend time thinking about all things music, therapy, and me. I spend lots of time thinking about music therapists and clinical interactions with the clients who come before us all. I am also part of many music therapy social media groups, threads, and what have you, so I see all sorts of things that happen in the clinical world outside of my own experience.

One of the biggest difficulties with our profession at this time is one that has challenged us forever.

It is the mismatch between where music therapists want to exist and where jobs are available.

For many years, I have told interns that there are jobs available in this field, but those jobs are not always exactly where the interns want to be located. Professionals either have to move where the jobs are available or start their own businesses. That seems to be what has to happen, and it has been the situation for the 33 years that I have been part of this professional world.

Daily, I see multiple posts wanting music therapists to fill positions. I also see many posts about music therapists wanting positions. I wish there was a matchmaking service for those who need therapists and therapists who need jobs, but there really isn't such a service - yet!

To have a full-time position as a music therapist, you may have to move to where the job exists. In my area of the world, there are many music therapists offering services. It is a college town where there is a robust music therapy program, so there are practicum students who offer free services to clients. There are several music therapists who have businesses here, so it is difficult to find clients as a practitioner who needs to be paid.

At the same time, there are multiple opportunities available in the part of the world where I want to end up. If I want a full-time clinical position, I could move to that part of the world and have more work than I can handle, but I have to go there. Here, there is not much clinical work available. There, more than I can handle.

How can we navigate the world of "I want to be a music therapist here, at this place, with this group of people" when those positions are few and far between?

Are you a "right here, right now" music therapist? Or are you a "go where the job is" therapist? I have always been a "go where the job is" therapist except for my last position when it was "any job will do" right before the "right here, right now" job opened up. I am now in the situation of being between "go" and "right here." As I am staying here for a bit, I will be working on what I will be doing once I move to where I want to be located.

Blech. There are so many things to consider when you are trying to start up a private practice, and it is not something that I can handle at the moment. So, as a result, I will not focus on that...yet. I do want to do these things eventually because I want to go home - I just feel like I have to have my money situation figured out first...

Okay, so how will I navigate the "go" with "right here" situation? Who knows? It is part of the journey of being a music therapist, I guess.