E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

Wheeler, Barbara: WMFT Proceedings of the Education Symposium
a subtle but very important shift. It was suggested that in North American
academia, faculty are not given the freedom to do what is needed.
It was also suggested that there needs to be a balance between personal
issues and what is private. The program at New York University has
personal groups for 2 years.
It was questioned whether there is tension between the idea that trainers
have responsibility for students’ welfare, and knowing that the student has
another place to go for help as a therapist, and how students cope with not
having private place for their training. In the UK, they can say that
everyone needs to be in individual therapy in order to train as a music
therapist. How does it feel for the student if their training institution is so
involved in their personal life? Inge responded that students feel as though
it is a private place because they have three people doing only that
training. It was then asked if students can choose their own therapist?
It was pointed out that it needed to be clear what kind of therapy was
being talked about. There is a need to be clear when saying that 100 hours
of therapy are required. This area needs more clarification.
It was reemphasized that confidential information is not shared in the
Aalborg system. It is very unusual that a student gets into such difficulties
in their work that the study leader is confronted with personal
information. It was also questioned how people in the UK can require
students to do something that is not paid for. Is it written into the
requirements? Helen Odell Miller responded that it is very clear to people
entering the training. This is done in all of the UK now, and is written into
the JVC document that was presented previously. It was, however, pointed
out that this is a new system whereby therapy is compulsory. It is delivered
in different ways in the various systems within the UK. Nordoff-Robbins
trainees know that they will have music therapy throughout 2 years with
same person, and that they do not have to pay for this therapy.
This cannot be required in the U.S.
The question was raised as to how students experience the ETMT therapy. A
student at Temple University did a thesis on what students experienced in
various types of experiential training (this has been done at Temple for 15
years). She called people from different phases of the program. The thing
that concerned them most was the GRADE, although all had been told that
they were not going to get marked. This was thought to have been a fear of
an academic evaluation, retribution for what happened academically.
Reference was made to articles on training analysis for psychoanalysis,
which is not really considered an analysis because it is part of the training.
This is done with Guided Imagery and Music. There is a level at which
people know that it is part of the training. So if people go back to what the
objectives are, and they really want personal growth and to look at
themselves without deeper levels of concerns, maybe the music therapy
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