Program Overview
This HCPC-approved program trains students to become qualified music therapists who use music to enhance well-being and support individuals with various challenges. The program emphasizes emotional development, clinical exploration, and interdisciplinary learning through placements in diverse clinical settings. Graduates are prepared to work with people of all ages in a wide range of healthcare and social service contexts.
Program Outline
Approved by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC), this training leads to a nationally recognised professional qualification as a music therapist.
Outline:
Modules
Level 7
Compulsory modules (Year 1)
- Theory and Practice in the Arts and Play Therapies: This module will introduce students to contemporary theories of human development and growth. Theories of development, creativity, play and cultural competence will be explored. The module will provide students with a deep and systematic understanding of human development. To this end, students will be introduced to human development, verbal and pre verbal communication in development, the formation of symbolism and play, and experiences of service users with developmental delays and psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. The module provides a consideration of the different theoretical and clinical perspectives and current research concerning human development: embodied, psychological, social, cultural and biological. Study of these topics allows for a deep understanding of the experiences and needs of the service users with whom students will work on placement. Professional skills such as formulation, an understanding of the centrality of diversity and consideration of power, and the key concepts of the knowledge base are also included within this module. Independent study will further embed knowledge about the health and care landscape of the experiences of service users in a range of different settings. Additionally, students will engage with a creative project that allows opportunities for reflection and exploration of their own relationship to well being and a consideration of their culture. All these topics provide a framework for practice that introduces a critical view of health and health promotion, the idea of power and encourages a focus on the interests of the service user in therapeutic work. The learning on this module will allow students to progress into the placement environment with a critical understanding of the health and care landscape, of different approaches to mental health and wellbeing and with an understanding of the centrality of issues relating to diversity within healthcare.
- Music Therapy Theory and Practice: Music Therapy is essentially an active, participatory, process in which the art medium (music) is used to support service users in their increased wellbeing. Through the introduction of key concepts and theories, the presentation of video and audio material and engagement in practical workshops, students examine and practice ways in which music may be used interactively to establish a therapeutic relationship. From the start of this Spring and Summer term module students contribute their own observations and make judgements as to the effectiveness of techniques and the place of these music therapy in different settings. Interactive seminars examine techniques, processes and effects of Music Therapy, drawing on relevant literature and analysis of clinical material. The emphasis is on observation and analysis of musical interactions in therapy sessions and the nature of the therapeutic relationship. Students will be introduced to models/theories of music therapy and historical concepts from psychotherapy which are particularly relevant to Music Therapy practice. This enables students to develop appropriate skills in music therapy to meet the needs of service users. Students will already have a professional standard of instrumental or vocal competence and a strong musical background. Studies in this module are planned to help them apply these skills most effectively in the context of music therapy theory and practice. Students will formulate their own views on the use of a wide range of music within a therapeutic relationship and on the ways in which this might be adapted to meet the needs of service users. These seminars and workshops ensure that students will have a secure theoretical base, together with the clinical skills required for their own practice, and they are familiar with the way in which service users with a wide range of experiences use music therapy. Through this module students become aware of the development of the Music Therapy profession in Britain and the place of the Roehampton training within this. The distinctive emphasis of the programme as a contemporary psychodynamic music therapy training is thus placed in context.
- Music Therapy Placement 1: Working with Service Users in Music Therapy: Practice-based learning lies at the heart of the Music Therapy programme and the experience gained will prepare students for professional employment as a Music Therapist. Students will gain a placement in a professional music therapy setting, where there is a qualified Music Therapist working as Placement Educator. This industry experience will support students in understanding the work and role of the Music Therapist. Through leading individual or group music therapy work with service users, students have the opportunity to establish a significant therapeutic relationship and have multiple opportunities to lead and engage in a therapeutic process beneficial for service users. With sufficient clinical supervision provided by the Placement Educator in the placement setting, and additional support provided by reflective practice groups within the programme, including the opportunity to share in the experiences of those students working in different settings, students are prepared for future work as a professional Music Therapist.
Compulsory modules (Year 2)
- Research Informed Arts and Play Therapies and Clinical Work: This module will provide students with an introduction to research practice and a variety of methodological research frameworks in the Arts Therapies, including qualitative, quantitative, embodied and arts based research paradigms. Arts and Play Therapists are required to evaluate their interventions, and when necessary, modify these in the light of evidence. They need to be aware of the requirements of audit and service evaluation, evidence based practice and clinical effectiveness and the way in which research contributes to this body of evidence. Through giving an overview of research approaches, including theoretical research, practice based evidence and evidence based practice, this module will provide students with a framework within which they can gain this understanding and apply it to their work on placement. Through this learning and teaching students will gain the skills to plan and write a research proposal, engage in critical review of literature, employ an appropriate methodological framework, explore a range of research methods, consider the ethical implications of research investigation and focus on an area of research interest.
- Music Therapy Placement 2: Working with Service Users in Music Therapy Final Clinical Project: Practice-based learning lies at the heart of the music therapy programme. Students gain a second placement in a professional music therapy setting, where there is a qualified Music Therapist working as Placement Educator. This continued industry experience supports students in understanding the work and role of the Music Therapist. Through continuing to lead individual or group music therapy work with service users, students continue to develop their sophisticated conceptual and critical understanding of the therapeutic relationship, and consolidate their skills in managing a clinical caseload. With sufficient clinical supervision provided by the Placement Educator in the placement setting, and additional support provided by reflective practice groups within the programme, including the opportunity to share in the experiences of those students working in different settings, students will continue to prepare for future work as a professional Music Therapist. In this second placement, students have the opportunity to consolidate and develop their independent music therapy approach, demonstrating their ability to embark upon professional practice. In addition, students will gain knowledge of and skills in working with interprofessional colleagues, reflecting upon their ability to work with others and to make use of the skills of colleagues. They will also consider how Music Therapists might develop advanced clinical practice skills, and develop and reflect upon their leadership and innovation skills.
- Personal Development and Reflection: This module concerns engagement in therapeutic experience and observation as participant and observer, and the student’s reflection on this. Throughout the programme students will have gained skills in delivering music therapy and this module allows them to further develop a high level of self reflection in their clinical practice. The two core elements of the module that support students in this aim are an experiential group and the student’s own personal therapy. The student will need to show a developing capacity for self-reflexivity and awareness of their own role in the therapeutic relationship. Students need to demonstrate an emotional understanding of their strengths in working with service users and an awareness of areas to address in their future work. Tutors strongly advise that all students keep an ongoing personal log or diary relating to their experiences on this module and in their personal therapy. This will assist with the assignment related to this module and provides a useful vehicle for reflection.
Skills
Music therapists draw on the innate qualities of music in order to support people of all ages and at all stages of life who are facing diverse challenges. Music therapy facilitates positive changes in wellbeing through engagement in musical interaction. Essential to music therapy is the relationship between client and therapist. Supporting theories and ways of working are also studied in order to equip students to meet a range of clinical needs, including an infant observation which assists students in developing their observation and analysis skills.
Your curriculum
Music therapy as practised in Great Britain is largely based upon improvisation, the music being the shared and spontaneous creation of the person in therapy and the Music Therapist. Other styles of music, including song writing, the use of technology and pre-composed music are also used as appropriate to the need of the individual. The programme emphasises your emotional development as a practitioner, together with clinical exploration through critical enquiry. In addition to this, students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy for one year of the training.
Read more
Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings, individual and group work. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music therapy can benefit people with a wide range of difficulties or challenges, including mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism, dementia and neurology, as well as people experiencing serious illness such as cancer or those who have experienced trauma. Placements include work with children and adults in the settings in which Music Therapists commonly work. Key areas of study include human development and growth and the clinical context for music therapy, clinical improvisation, observational studies, music therapy theory, clinical case work and supervision, introduction to research and your dissertation. Some of the core teaching will take place with peers from across the Arts and Play Therapies programmes, giving unique opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Personal development and reflection on this is central throughout the programme.
Careers:
Music Therapists work within a wide range of clinical settings. They work with people of all ages; from infants and young children through to elderly adults. Music Therapists work within statutory services (such as the NHS, education or social services), within charities and private organisations, and in private practice.
Other:
Clinical work is central to the training. After visits to a variety of workplaces which offer music therapy, you will undertake individual and group work in two contrasting settings over six months, January to June (first placement) and September to February/March (second placement). These clinical placements will provide you with music therapy work experience alongside qualified Music Therapists. You will also participate in an experiential group, which gives you an opportunity to develop your own self-awareness and examine personal and group dynamics through verbal and musical processes. In addition, it is a requirement for you to find and fund personal individual therapy outside the course.
September 2024 entry tuition fees UK: £21,000 EU and International: £34,650
