Music Therapist Interview Question:

Tell us how do you use research to inform your music therapy practices?

Submitted by: Muhammad

I use research to further expand my knowledge that I then take into a session with my clients. I will generally use research and journal articles when I do not fully understand something related to a client and their diagnosis. For example, when I started working with kiddos and cystic fibrosis, I researched information so I understood more about the disease itself, what challenges need to be overcome by the people who have it, what benefits them, and how I can implement music therapy in their treatments. I did a lot of research when I worked in the rehabilitation setting. There was a lot of information that I was receiving from my site supervisor, but not understanding fully. I had heard the terms and concepts before, but that was about it. An example, I had a client who had a stroke. She had aphasia and I had learned briefly about the aphasias, but I had never experienced it first hand. I learned that she had Broca's aphasia and I researched everything I could because I did not full understand what it mean in comparison to Wernicke's aphasia. I use research a lot when I need to understand concepts and ideas better and to understand how those concepts and ideas are treated, tested, and effective for clients.
Submitted by: Muhammad