Owning Advocacy
Advocacy makes me uncomfortable sometimes. When someone perks up and says, “I know all about music therapy!” I’m inwardly bracing myself. Any music therapy professional or student can relate to this.
Because music is almost universally recognized as beneficial, people are prone to mislabeling any form of music in any setting as “music therapy”. Of course, we know this isn’t the case. I struggle to find a balance between defending the profession I earned (after a degree, internship, and board certification test) and extinguishing the enthusiasm that these people have for music and helping others.
Tracking the #music therapy tag on Tumblr can be hit or miss. It offers great resources and inspiration for my practice as a music therapist, but it also exposes the misunderstandings about the field. Some examples:
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be involved in #musictherapy via Musicians on Call”
“An experienced musician, Jeff Davis volunteers for The Rock Club’s “Rock for Vets” Music Therapy Program”
“Every time you sing along to a happy song on a sunny day in the car, you’re using music therapy. After a breakup if you listen to the same sad song over and over, you’re using music therapy. During childbirth if you use music as a focal point – that’s music therapy.” –from Jodi Picoult’s website
This is the part that makes my skin crawl. Just to be clear, Music therapists are not volunteers. Our training makes for a valuable skill set that deserves much more financial compensation than we often earn. (Not to mention that music therapists are best prepared to prevent the music from having adverse side effects on our patients). Music therapy cannot be achieved by just anyone. You’re not “using music therapy” when you listen to your favorite song in the car.
I’m sure that if pressed, the above examples would admit that they are not music therapists or that their definitions of music therapy are incomplete. But such mislabeling has real-life consequences. Many music therapists struggle to find enough work to support themselves (ex. I was unemployed for 6 months), although there are millions of potential clients. This will only end when the public respects the different qualifications of a music therapist vs. a volunteer. Then the true demand for music therapists will be felt by the market.
Takeaway: Music is powerful. The words and labels we use are powerful. We should be mindful of both when speaking about music therapy.