If you are seeking music therapy services for your child, or as an addition to your facility’s programs, it is essential that your music therapist be board certified.
Who is a board-certified music therapist?
A board certified music therapist has completed a 4 year undergraduate degree program (or master’s equivalency program) in music therapy. He or she has also completed a 6+ month clinical internship at an approved site. Finally, a board certified music therapist has taken (and passed!) the exam put forth by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.
Why do I need a board-certified music therapist?
Having a board-certified music therapist ensures that the person you are hiring has completed the rigorous education required to practice competently, ethically, and safely. All too often I come across articles or news stories where others claim to offer “music therapy” but they have no training in the field. As music therapists, it is our job to help others understand these requirements and advocate for the best treatment possible for our clients.
Find a Board-Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC)
Watch this video or read on!
STEP 1: Check the American Music Therapy Association website
Go to www.musictherapy.org (Website for the American Music Therapy Associaton).
Click find a music therapist in the left sidebar. pic
You can send an email directly to AMTA (findMT@musictherapy.org) with your request OR search the directory by a variety of parameters.
You will only get the results that exactly match your search so keep it as broad as possible. I recommend you select City, State, and credentials “MTBC.”
For example, I live in Frisco, TX. If I put in Frisco, TX, I will yield exactly one result – me! However since the Dallas area is huge, I might also search nearby cities of Plano, Grapevine, Lewisville, Richardson, etc. The information in this database is based on exactly what each music therapist has submitted. There is a possibility that a music therapist may work in multiple cities, especially when they are so close together.
On my wishlist: Many websites have a feature that will search by zip “within 5, 10, 25, or 50 miles.” Unfortunately, this is not available at this time but would be super helpful…..maybe soon.
STEP 2: Cross check names on the Certification Board for Music Therapist (CBMT) website.
Chances are if you selected “MTBC” during search process that your music therapist is Board Certified. However, since AMTA does not verify information submitted by its members, it is also good to do a quick cross check on the names you came up with.
Go to www.cbmt.org
Click on the right side “find a board certified music therapist” web pic
Here you can search by state or exact name only. Select your state and scroll through to make sure the names you located on the first site are also on this list.
Helpful Hint
If you are having trouble, you can email AMTA directly and they will help! Email: findMT@musictherapy.org
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