Helping People Move Forward with Their Lives.
criteria for board
certification,
development of
music therapy
departments
in healthcare
facilities, and
funding for
clinical research.
To become a
music therapist and to be eligible for
board certification, one must complete
a 4-year undergraduate degree and a
6-month internship, requiring a minimum
of 1200 clinical hours. This training
includes proficiency in voice, guitar, piano,
and percussion, in addition to clinical
experience with diverse populations.
Music therapists are employed in hospitals,
rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes,
schools, drug and alcohol programs,
community mental health centers, and
even private practice.
So what is a typical music therapy
session like? There is no such thing! Each
session is designed to meet the specific
client’s clinical needs.
• If a client with Alzheimer’s disease is
experiencing confusion or withdrawal,
a music therapist may utilize live
music from the big band era to
encourage singing or playing along
with a drum, which promotes social
interaction, expressive language, mood
modification, and long-term memory
recall.
• Perhaps if a hospital patient is
experiencing pain post-surgery, a
music therapist may offer a live music-
making experience using the patient’s
preferred songs as an engaging and
non-pharmacological form of pain
management and a tool for anxiety
reduction.
• If a child with emotional trauma is
displaying disruptive behaviors, he or
she may join a music therapy group
of peers, where a music therapist
could use group songwriting as a tool
to identify effective coping skills for
anxiety.
Just as music is diverse and multi-
faceted, its applications to clinical needs
are equally diverse.
Brittany Barko is a neurologic music
therapist who works for Lake Erie Music
Therapy, LLC. She provides contractual
music therapy services for several medical and
rehabilitation facilities in Erie, in addition
to in-home sessions with private clients. She
received her BA in Music Therapy from
Mercyhurst University and is completing
graduate studies at Western Michigan
University. She is on the music therapy faculty
at Mercyhurst University.
The Niagara Network is a group of business professionals affiliated with the human services
industry. If you would like to join or find out more information about the group and its
members, visit the Niagara Network’s web site at http://www.NiagaraNetwork.net.
MILLCREEK
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SUMMER 2018
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