Music Therapy

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Music Therapy is a growing and rapidly developing field that provides opportunities for an exciting and rewarding career.

“Music therapy is the specialized use of music in the service of individuals with needs in mental health, physical health, habilitation, rehabilitation, special education, self-care or personal growth. Services are rendered to individuals of every chronological age, mental age, and adaptive level of functioning  in a variety of health care, habilitative, rehabilitative, educational, community, and private practice settings. In each instance, the purpose is to help individuals attain and maintain their maximum levels of functioning.” (AMTA Standards of Clinical Practice, 1999)

Music therapists use their music skills and interests to realize therapeutic goals. They work with a wide variety of populations, such as adult psychiatric patients, autistic children, chemically dependent clients and persons with impairments in mobility, vision, hearing or development. From music therapy assisted childbirth to professional work in hospitals, prisons, hospice settings, schools and nursing homes, music therapists play a significant role in the health care field.

By emphasizing traditional as well as innovative approaches to the exciting and growing field of music therapy, Maryville’s Music Therapy program encourages students to pursue their own special interests. The curriculum also is well supported by coursework in applied and theoretical music skills, as well as by studies in psychology, anatomy, special education and the humanities.

Students have excellent opportunities to obtain a wide variety of supervised clinical experiences throughout the greater St. Louis area. Students can observe and work directly in all the representative clinical populations under the guidance of faculty and board-certified music therapists.

Health and Other Special Requirements

The following requirements must be met prior to participating in required clinicals:

• Physical Examination
• Documentation of Immunization or Titer Immunity
  • Measles/Rubeola, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
  • Tetanus, Diphtheria and acellular Pertusis (Tdap)
  • Polio series completed
  • Varicella titer or Varicella vaccinations
  • Hepatitis B Vaccine Series or Declination
  • Flu Vaccine annual
  • TB-Tuberculin PPD test (documented 2-step initially, then annual)
• Health insurance (copy of card required annually)
• CPR Certification-American Heart Association Basic Life Support for the Health Care Provider required
• Urine Drug Screen (from the Maryville authorized lab)
• Criminal Record Background checks from Maryville University’s authorized agency and signed release to clinical sites (possible checks include: state criminal checks, disqualification lists, sex offender lists, social security number, address and alias)
• Fitting for a respiratory isolation device (i.e. N95 Mask) may be required by some clinical sites.
• A few hospitals in Missouri now require nicotine screenings for all new employees.  Therefore it is anticipated that students may be excluded from some clinical sites based upon their use of nicotine.

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