Alum | Music therapist | Parents of students | Family of clients | Retired faculty & Professors | Supervisors of Students | Physician
Letters
To whom it may concern:
It has been brought to my attention that the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will possible discontinue their Music Therapy program. I do not personally know Lee Anna Rasar, a Music Therapy Professor at UWEC, but her positive influence on her students and with other Music Therapy programs nation wide has sparked my interest and concern regarding this matter.
Our agency provides Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Music Therapy. Occupational and Speech therapy are recognized by the federal government as appropriate therapies. Unfortunately, Music Therapy is not. As you are well aware, Music Therapists often advocate for their profession for two reasons: one being their profession is continually being challenged, and the other reason is that Music Therapists are dedicated, passionate, and loyal to their profession and the clients that they serve.
Music Therapy is initially not the most sought after therapy once a child has been diagnosed with having a developmental disability. Speech Therapy is generally the most sought after therapy, followed by Occupational and Physically Therapy. HOWEVER, once a family receives Music Therapy, they typically state that Music Therapy is the only motivating and productive therapy that they have received. After receiving and then losing Music Therapy, it is generally the most sought after therapy! I wish we could say this about Speech and Occupational Therapy!
Our agency provides approximately 20,000 sessions of therapy a year to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Of these 20,000 treatment session, 15,000 of these sessions are provided by Music Therapists. Our lead Music Therapist Amanda Klinger (previously Johnson) was a 2002 graduate of your program and she is not only a great representative and advocate for Music Therapy, but also a great representative of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Music Therapy program and a prime example of why the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire needs to keep their Music Therapy program!
I sincerely hope that the decision makers in this situation look at the big picture and the greater good that this program offers. The discontinuation of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Music Therapy program will not only effect your community, but will also have devastating effects on a national level.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this email, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Sincerely,
Scot M. Sidener, President
Heartland Therapy, Inc.
Phone 602.206.8577
Fax 480.288.4864
To Whom It May Concern:
I am Director of Expressive Arts Therapies in the Day Services program at the Milwaukee Center for Independence in Wisconsin. I am also a music therapist and soon will be accepting interns, hopefully from UW-Eau Claire, where I know I will receive quality students prepared musically, professionally, and personally. While I find the idea of cutting the program extremely disappointing, I believe the slew of letters touting the merits of such a program will turn that tide. I am also encouraged that the committee is willing to hear about the wealth of vocational opportunities that await music therapy graduates at the top of their class, such as your students at UWEC.
While many specific instances of expanding music therapy programs come to mind, I ask the committee to consider broader points of the profession.
1. The largest area of increase in our profession's service in recent years has been in private practice. So one may perceive that as saying there are no jobs, and thus students are graduating and "piecing" together livelihood as they can. That is simply not true in the overwhelming majority of the cases. In only two weeks, our state chapter is hosting a conference dedicated solely to providing information on building a private practice. This trend means music therapy students are taught not just how to find a job at an agency, clinic, or school and live there for 30-40 years, but how to be responsible business people, civic-minded, and entrepreneurial. It is an exciting contribution that private practice music therapists are adding to professional development in music therapy.
2. As an employer, I can attest to the process of hiring music therapists, and have done so for over ten years in Milwaukee. Our human resources department has difficulty finding enough applicants to fill our needs. One of our journals published an article entitled: Wanted: Music Therapists: A Study of the Need for Music Therapists in the Coming Decade, published in June, 2003. Results confirmed an intense need for additional music therapists in the workforce both presently and in the future. It's a sign that music therapy is recognized as part of the marketplace, especially in the last five years.
3. Another issue we tend to face is our desire to expand programs with new business and innovation in our field. We constantly discuss how we can position ourselves to be in the forefront of the market place and how MT will be a critical factor in these visionary plans. Current trends include expanding older adult services where at least another position will be necessary as well as an expanding children's area of treatment concepts to include children with special needs. The private pay option for MT is widely sought out in our community. In addition, huge increases in funds have been made available for MT for individual or small group through the CIP and Family Care programs, which have produced much more inquiry into music therapy. Our own therapy dept is looking for ways to expand and I propose utilizing co-treatment options for further revenue production and visibility for our discipline and agency.
4. We are also requested to speak at many functions, conferences, county events and research forums regarding the efficacy of MT using its innovation, and power to affect the brain and neurological functions. As these opportunities increase, rapidly recently, the requests for business also increase rapidly.
Sincerely,
John Hartman
John Hartman, MT-BC, WMTR
Manager, Expressive Arts Therapies
Music Jamboree Center Director
Milwaukee Center for Independence
p: (414)-937-2183
f: (414)-937-2021
e: jhartman@mcfi.net
To Whom It May Concern:
It is my understanding that there is discussion about the continuance of the Music Therapy Program at UWEC. It is also my understanding that part of the rationale for the possible discontinuation of the UWEC Music Therapy Program is that there is no demand for music therapists. This is simply not true. As a matter of fact, in my experience, there are more music therapy positions than there are music therapists to fill them. Academic sites need to be graduating more music therapy students, not fewer of them.
For the last several years, I have personally managed an e-mail distribution list that has been used by employers to announce job openings. I receive anywhere from two to five announcements _each_ _week_ regarding available music therapy positions. Additionally, just this week, I received e-mails from two employers asking me to send out their position notices again, as their candidate pool was too limited. Furthermore, I just learned that the Veterans Administration is has fourteen positions open for which music therapists are eligible.
It seems to me that the Music Therapy Program at UWEC brings a great deal to the university and the Eau Claire community-at-large.
I urge that the program be continued.
Sincerely,
Michael G. McGuire, M.M., MT-BC
Professor and Director of Music Therapy Eastern Michigan University,
314 Alexander Bldg, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
voice: 734.487.0292; fax: 734.487.6939
http://www.emich.edu/music/html/music_therapy.html
Candidate, President-Elect, American Music Therapy Association
To The Comity-
I have already written a letter of support for the Music Therapy program at UW-Eau Claire as a UWEC alumni. As a business owner, I would also like to draw your attention to the growing need for Music Therapists in the area.
I own my own small private practice, Harmonious Beginnings Music Therapy Services. I have been for 3 years working in the Racine/Kenosha area. I split my time between my job, and my family- I have 2 small children at home. Up until now, I have worked out of the trunk of my car traveling to clients' homes to provide this unique service. There is quite allot of area for me to cover, and I have had a waiting list of clients for the past year.
Due to this waiting list I have begun to grow my business- renting office space and hiring another therapist contractually to help eliminate my waiting list. Having the office space also has opened up new opportunities for groups and the potential for workshops. My vision for the future of my business is to expand my clientele and hire additional music therapists on a full time basis. At this point, it was a challenge to find one competent Music Therapist in the area to take on the contractual work.
I have made several contacts with several organizations in the area and I have identified the following groups as potential clientele; Head Start day care program, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at All Saints (Wheaton Franciscan), ADRC and Community Care for aging, retired, disabled, and elderly, Family Support Programs, Racine and Kenosha Unified School District, Veterans programs, Out patient/ short term therapy services for recovering Stroke and Brain Injury Patients, Adult Disabled group homes in the area, Youth shelters and group homes for troubled youth.
I currently see children with a variety of disabilities, the majority consisting of Autism Spectrum Disorders. I travel across the boarder to Lake County, IL to see several ASD specific classes, and have had a growing number of families and school organizations in the area inquiring about additional services available. At this time I am unable to expand my practice to service this area, but it to is a potential for future contracts.
I see great potential for the growth of Music Therapy in my community and I feel the students that graduate from the MT program at UWEC are a wonderful source of excellent candidates for the growing number of jobs opening up in this field, due to the high quality of their education.
Lisa Friedrich MT-BC, NMT Fellow
Owner of Harmonious Beginnings Music Therapy Services
www.harmoniousbeginnings.com
Dear Music Therapy Colleagues
Faith Hospice in Irving, Texas (a city of almost 200,000 which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) is looking to hire a second full-time music therapist. This new position will appear on the AMTA jobs site soon, but this is an advance call. Faith Hospice is looking for an MT-BC, and the salary/benefits should be competitive. There are also ties to the SMU Music Therapy program for clinical placements, research, and university-affiliated internship. The hospice is interested in establishing an AMTA National Roster internship in the future. The DFW Metroplex is home to 6 million residents, and Dallas is a vibrant center for the arts.
If you are interested, please contact Carol Weaver at Faith Hospice - cweaver@faithhospice.org in advance of the job positing. You can also learn more about Faith Hospice at http://www.faithhospice.org You are also welcome to contact Robert Krout <rkrout@smu.edu> directly with any other questions you may have. Music therapy in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and elsewhere in Texas is very active, and this should be a great new position.
-----
Michael G. McGuire, M.M., MT-BC
Professor and Director of Music Therapy
Eastern Michigan University, 314 Alexander Bldg, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
voice: 734.487.0292; fax: 734.487.6939
http://www.emich.edu/music/html/music_therapy.html
Hi,
I am the owner of Cadenza Music Therapy, Inc. in southeastern Florida. I wanted to write a brief note to let you know how much in demand the music therapy profession is. I have had tremendous difficulty in finding qualified music therapists for the past 7 years that my company has been in existance. In my effort to meet the increasing demand for music therapy services in my community, I have had to run the business with at least one to two fewer music therapists than I need to fill requests for services. For the past two years alone, I have had continuous advertisements and numerous job postings in an attempt to fill the open positions I have. Sadly, I have had no applicants, not even one, for much of this past year since there are so few new graduates to fill the open positions around the country.
I do hope that you will seriously reexamine your view of music therapy. Music therapy is indeed a strong and vibrant profession with a growing legitimacy, demand, and clinical relevance. The loss of even one highly-regarded music therapy program such as yours makes my task of finding qualified music therapists unimaginably more difficult.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have questions or require further information.
Sincerely,
Michelle Reitman, PsyD, LMHC, MT-BC
Licensed Psychologist
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Board-Certified Music Therapist (for 17 years!!)
Cadenza Music Therapy, Inc.
210 S. Federal Hwy, #400-A
Hollywood, FL 33020
954-925-3191 F:954-925-3193
www.CadenzaMusicTherapy.com
To Whom It May Concern,
I own a music therapy agency about 20 minutes west of Milwaukee which employs 3 full time and 8 part time music therapists. We see approximately 450 people each week in our clinic, schools, assisted living facilities, adult day programs, community recreational programs and private homes. I have been searching for another full time music therapists since June of 2007 and have not been able to find a qualified person to fill the position. The proposal to close the UWEC music therapy degree program is detrimental to the thousands of people in our state who are in need of music therapy services. With increasing diagnostic rates in autism, Alzheimer's disease and other disorders, the need for music therapists will continue to rise. With many of these people, music therapy - in many cases - is the only modality which makes a connection, opening the person to benefit from other more traditional therapeutic approaches. If your program closes, there will only be one music therapy degree program left in our state, which is insufficient for a state of our size. I strongly urge you to reconsider this proposal to close the UWEC music therapy program. Thank you for your consideration.
Nancy A. Dexter - Schabow, MMT, MT-BC, WMTR Music Therapist, Owner, & Director Music Therapy Services of Waukesha County, LLC
1125 James Dr., Hartland WI 53029
phone: 262/367-6663
fax: 262/367-3056
e-mail: ndexschabow@hotmail.com
Hello,
I wrote a letter previously in support of the music therapy program at UW Eau Claire. It has come to my attention for the request of information of current available jobs and also for interns being placed in jobs.
I am a University Affiliated Internship Supervisor in my full time music therapy position at St. Ann Center, a large Intergenerational Day Facility.
In May, I had an intern successfully complete her internship and attain a full time position in Hollywood, Florida, outside of the Miami area. Also, I had an intern successfully complete her internship in August and she has a part time position and private contracts in music therapy in the Wausau area. 100% job placement for both.
Also, I have been given permission to hire a music therapist from the President of my organization in 6-12 months after I complete some grant writing because my caseload has become so large.
Best Regards,
Leslie Henry, MT-BC
Music Therapist and Intergenerational Coordinator
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care
To Whom It May Concern:
As I read that the Music Therapy Program at UW-EC is in jeopardy, please know that I have recently put out an all points bulletin regarding the need to hire 1-2 music therapists immediately. The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music currently employs 7 music therapists and I need more! I have more clients and agencies needing music therapists than I have therapists! If I have the opportunity to hire a male music therapist (and they are desperately needed in our field), my only local hope is UW-EC as Alverno College is a woman's college.
Please do not cut the Music Therapy Program. As an employer, I need UW-EC graduates to come work for me! Please do not rob these clients seeking our professional services. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Earnestly,
Bonnie Jean Barczak, MT-BC, WMTR
Music Therapy Director
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
1584 N. Prospect Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 276-5760, ext. 110
FAX (414) 276-6076
bonniejeanbarczak@wcmusic.org
www.wcmusic.org
New job posting just sent in by Lalene Kay:
Hospice of Knox County (Mount Vernon, OH) Full time with benefits Salary range $35-40K Beginning Jan 2008 This is a new position which is currently a hourly contract position, including patient care, bereavement. Home and hospital visits, there is no residential facility at this time.
Contact the current MT-BC (who is leaving the state):
Lea Mack-Compton, MT-BC
lea@leamack.com
740-485-1137
Facility phone #740-397-5188
Dear Friends and Colleagues: Please see the attached info. Thanks to Ronna Kaplan for sending it.
Position Announcement (doc)
-----
Michael G. McGuire, M.M., MT-BC
Professor and Director of Music Therapy
Eastern Michigan University, 314 Alexander Bldg, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
voice: 734.487.0292; fax: 734.487.6939
http://www.emich.edu/music/html/music_therapy.html
Dear Friends and Colleagues: Please see the attached job announcement from Music Therapy Services of Greater Atlanta.
Position Announcement (doc)
-----
Michael G. McGuire, M.M., MT-BC
Professor and Director of Music Therapy
Eastern Michigan University, 314 Alexander Bldg, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
voice: 734.487.0292; fax: 734.487.6939
http://www.emich.edu/music/html/music_therapy.html
October 8, 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing in enthusiastic support of the profession of music therapy. I have practiced geriatric medicine with a strong emphasis on rehabilitation for over 25 years. During my career, I have personally witnessed countless episodes and clinical encounters where the input of our music therapist and her interns has made the difference in the lives of our patients.
Most of our elderly patients are recovering from serious medical illnesses or from difficult surgical procedures. Many have had stroke or dementia of various types in addition to myriad other physical and emotional problems and functional limitations. Our clinical approach has been based on the interdisciplinary care model. The input of our music therapist and her interns into the care of these patients has provided invaluable benefit in almost every case, providing benefits and measurable improvements that often greatly exceeded the input of other therapeutic modalities that our team provided, including my own. This was most evident in our stroke and dementia patients but was also the case in many many others.
Beyond these measurable achievements, the input and perspectives gained by the music therapists into each patient's unique functional limitations and needs was extremely valuable to me and to other members of our interdisciplinary team, allowing us to better tailor our own therapies to each patient's particular needs.
Rather than close down training programs for this specialty, we should be pro-actively acting on all fronts to increase both the number and the clinical scope of music therapists in all clinical fields. I wholeheartedly support the profession of music therapy and I encourage educators and clinicians of all types to do the same.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary H. Oberlender, MD, FACP
Private Consultant in Geriatric Medicine
Roanoke, Virginia
www.seniorevaluations.com