Music Therapist Trainings and Certificates
Every music therapist on our team has gone through the process of earning their MT-BC (Board Certified Music Therapist) credential. To do this, we complete 4 years of music therapy coursework, a six month internship, and pass a board exam. But you may have noticed that in addition to MT-BC and Masters degrees, some of our team members have other acronyms or distinctions listed by their names.
There are a wide variety of trainings and certifications that a music therapist can pursue as part of their continued education. While not required, these courses often specialize in a specific music therapy approach or clinical population, which allows us to learn skills that are most applicable for the clients we work with. Additionally, taking such courses often allows a music therapist to earn Continuing Education credits (CMTEs) which are required for MT-BC recertification every 5 years. Here are 4 common distinctions you might see in a music therapist’s bio!
1. Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT)
NMT is a music therapy approach that utilizes standardized assessment tools and interventions to achieve therapeutic goals. Each of the 20 NMT techniques is driven by neuroscience to address relevant sensorimotor, cognitive, and/or speech and language goals. These are often most applicable in work with clients in medical or rehabilitative care settings, such as individuals who are recovering from brain injuries or strokes, or those with neurodegenerative diagnoses. In this course, participants will learn about each of the techniques and their applications in clinical practice.
Music therapists who hold and wish to maintain their Neurologic Music Therapist certification must recertify every 5 years by earning 50 Professional Development credits, or paying a fee to retake the NMT course.
Keynote team members Katie Kotteman, Carolyn Beck, McKenna Selissen, and Kristi McNellis are NMT certified!
Details:
36 CMTE credits
Price varies depending on location, typically ~$650-950
To learn more or register: https://nmtacademy.co/training-opportunities/
2. NICU Music Therapy
The NICU Music Therapy certification, developed by Florida State University, prepares music therapists for treatment and care of premature infants and their families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This course consists of virtual classes, reading assignments, in-person clinical fieldwork, and a final exam.
Participants will learn foundations of neonatal development, considerations for safe stimulation, and procedures for NICU specific music interventions. This training will best prepare music therapists who work in a medical setting, especially those who provide services in infant units.
Keynote team members Carolyn Beck, Kayla Shafer, and Abby Metcalf are NICU Music Therapists!
Details:
30 CMTE credits
8 hrs virtual courses, 16 hrs in-person clinical work, 6 hrs reading and assignments
Roughly $650 in total plus travel/lodging costs during in-person portion of course
For more information, or to apply: https://music.fsu.edu/music-research-centers/nicu-mt/nicu-mt-certificate/
3. Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapy (HPMT)
The HPMT designation is earned through completion of a series of four courses facilitated by the Center for Music Therapy in End of Life Care. These courses include, Counseling Skills for Music Therapists, Hospice & Palliative Care Music Therapy, Adult and Seniors Grief and Loss, and Child and Adolescent Grief and Loss.
The HPMT training is most applicable to music therapists who work directly in Hospice care, or those who work with older adults or clients at end of life.
Keynote team member Jennifer Blair has her Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapist certificate!
Details:
19 CMTE credits per course (76 for the certificate in total!)
Each course costs roughly $450
For more information or registration details, visit https://www.hospicemusictherapy.org/about/certificate/
4. Trauma-Informed Music Therapy (TIMT)
The Trauma-Informed Music Therapy certificate, facilitated through EnlightenCE, is granted through completion of 10 courses. While this training does not earn you any extra letters after your name, it does provide a wealth of information about working with clients who have experienced trauma, and how to approach music therapy work in a safe, non-retraumatizing way.
TIMT is widely applicable in the sense that all sessions can and should be approached with a trauma-informed mindset, but is likely most relevant for music therapists working in mental or behavioral settings.
Details:
50 CMTEs for the entire certificate (or 5 CMTEs per individual course)
$125 per course, or $1125 if you register for the whole certificate at once
For details about each course, or to register, visit https://www.enlighten-ce.org/timt-certificate
Earning and maintaining your MT-BC certificate is an accomplishment in itself, and each and every member of the Keynote team wears those letters proudly. That being said, we are also committed to continuing to grow and better ourselves and our music therapy practices. I am proud to be part of a team with such a wide variety of expertise and experience, and it is a joy to be able to collaborate and learn from them each day!
