A Career In Music Therapy

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Music is an essential part of daily life. Music has the ability to communicate a message without using a single word. Music has been used to build bonds between nations, generate new thinking, and empower individuals. Music activates many regions of the brain. Over the past years, music has been found to reduce depression and anxiety, strengthen the heartbeat, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and generally make a person feel happier. Everyone has different reaction to music physiologically. Many people seek out individuals that to help them with their problems through music. These people are called music therapists.
Music therapists work with many different types of people with substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical
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A bachelor’s degree in music therapy is divided into four parts: music foundations, clinical foundations, music therapy, general education courses, and electives. The majority of the degree is music foundations. These includes: Music theory, composition and arranging, music history, applied primary instrument lessons, functional training in guitar, piano and voice. Clinical foundations portion studies the major principle of therapy, the develop of humans through the lifespan, and psychopathology. The music therapy portion consists assessment and evaluation of patients, methods and techniques, the psychology of music, directed research, and an internship. General education courses are the standard English, Mathematics, History etc. Electives are up to the student’s choice. Some courses that would be helpful would be sign language, sociology, and studio recording. The degree is four or more years in length and includes 1,200 hours of clinical training, which is a combination of fieldwork experience embedded in music therapy courses and an internship after the completion of all coursework. Those who have earned a degree in a related field like music or psychology maybe eligible for the music therapy equivalency. This lets student gain a master’s in music therapy. for Graduate school is …show more content…
According to Holland’s personality types, people who are Artistic, Intrapersonal, and Social are best suited for this career. Music therapists need excellent communication skills. They need to be able to speak clearly information to their patients and parents if needed. They also need to have the ability to empathize with children and adults. All therapists need a high level of emotional maturity. They need to be in control of their emotions to be able to deal with someone else’s. Most importantly, psychologists need to be able to have patience. Helping someone through means of therapy is a long process. The progress of the patient depends on how well you set them up to

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