music, therapy, and me

I did not register for the AMTA Symposium which happened this week. I didn't register because I was not interested in the topics presented. While I continue to support the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) with my membership dues and attendance at some events, I have become much more finicky when it comes to paying money for continuing education and conferences. I feel like I have become a crusty old music therapist - someone who has seen it all and feels like there is nothing new out there to learn. Now, I know that is not the case, but I am just tired of hearing the same old things from the same old people. I am tired of spending tons of money to not take anything back with me to my music therapy job. So, I haven't been to an AMTA conference in a long time - even before the pandemic happened. (Wait, that's not true - I "went" to conference either last year or the year before that...) I am in the middle of my professional development days right now. Yeste...

This post may come across as a bit ranty - mainly because I am always surprised at what my interns do and do not know about the Certification Board for Music Therapists and also because I am continually confused by some of the things that happen with CBMT as a certificant and a pre-approved provider. Here is a list of things that I wish interns knew about CBMT before they become interns (Ahem, I'm looking at you, music therapy professors...): There are more costs to being board certified than just the cost for the examination. This goes back to my own foray into the world of board certification. I wondered why I was getting a bill for maintenance fees. No one had mentioned that there was an annual cost to being a MT-BC. No one seems to mention that to current students, either. I understand why this happens, but I was not prepared for those costs. I try my best to tell interns about this extra cost. Almost everyone is surprised by this additional financial requirement. Why? It is n...

I was offered an interesting opportunity recently that has made me start to think a bit about our Board Certification examination. No details about the opportunity, but I am thinking again... Before I get too far into this particular topic, let me tell you a bit about myself and where I come from as a board certified music therapist. I took the examination in November 1993. In those days, back in the last century, the test was administered once per year. You had to go to the closest examination center where you sat in a room full of people taking all sorts of certification tests. There weren't many music therapists in the large auditorium that my test was held, but all of the seats were full of people taking all sorts of tests. I am a fast test taker, and I finished my test in 20 minutes. I was terrified that I had failed because it did not take me any time at all to finish, but I passed. I have no idea if I passed well, but I passed and that is all that matters for this examinatio...

I am so happy to see the start of a new month. I am hoping that it will be an easier month than the one before it, and I am renewing my dedication to my goals and desired outcomes for the rest of this year right here, right now. Of course, this post is happening at the beginning of the month, during a full moon period (where I tend to be happier than in other moon phases), after recovering from a nasty infection that was fed by the wrong medication for a week and then finally responded to the right medication, and after an hour of extra time between waking up and actually having to do anything. We will see what my energy and interest levels are during the new moon phase, during my hormonal surges, and around the holidays when my clients and co-workers are stressed to the maximum and I get to soak up all that extra angst coming from all corners. Right now, though, in this moment, I am feeling good about all sorts of things. Of course, if I went back to the first post in October, I bet I...

Yesterday morning, I was inspired to make a short video (I call them "Music Therapy Morsels") about something I realized about the Board Certification Examination. This video doesn't take much time, but if you are a student who is wondering about this exam, please take a look at this and let me know what you think about what I think about this important part of our music therapy lives! If you are a professional and are interested, please feel free to watch this as well. I'd be interested to see if you agree with my interpretation of the examination's purpose... I post these Music Therapy Morsels occasionally on my YouTube channel - if you'd like to be notified when I do, subscribe and click on the bell to receive notifications! See you all tomorrow, I'm off to a 12-hour work day and my part-time job!!