Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Describe a Music Therapist's career opportunities and professional practice.
• Identify how music therapy techniques relate to various populations.
• Use an understanding of music therapy to describe its techniques, modalities, and therapeutic goals.
• Locate, review, and identify resources and professional organizations related to music therapy.

Demonstrate presentation skills such as speaking to a class and/or preparing a power point presentation on a  topic related to music therapy

Communicate through academic writing

Work within a group setting to prepare materials to present to the large group

Complete a music therapy website review

Progress in this course will be assessed through the evaluation of written work and the quality of class participation.  Evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

            All assignments will be completed in a timely manner.

            Completion of all written assignments

            Completion of all reading assignments

            Completion of all quizzes and exams

            Professional quality of group presentation

            Self- Evaluation of group work

            Demonstration of satisfactory professional/personal behavior

            Class Attendance - consistent

Class Routine

Class will begin at the advertised time and will consist of a combination of experiential, didactic and discursive activities.  Students are expected to participate in all the activities of the class.

Assignments:

All assignments must be typed, double-spaced and follow the guidelines provided for each assignment.  Unless otherwise noted, papers should adhere to guidelines as identified by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) unless otherwise advised. Below is a general assignment list subject to change as needed.

1. Class participation

Part of the class will involve experiential activities to aid in understanding music therapy interventions. Students are expected to participate in class activities.

2. Music Therapy transfer majors must observe at least 1 music therapy session during the semester. Contact the instructor to schedule your observation.

3. Readings

Weekly readings from the text including some assigned journal articles (TBA) on reserve in the library.

4. Website Review

Please visit four or more music therapy websites and choose one to review. In your review, give a description of the website and its purpose. You may include the overall visual appeal and format, any video or music that is included, and the music therapist(s) who are featured. If the website is describing a particular type of music therapy, explain what approach is being used. Include your opinion: did the website increase your understanding of music therapy? What information was presented and how well was it presented?

5. Article Analysis to include within 2-3 pages:

1] Summarize main points of article; 2] Discuss specific the use of music in the article;

3] Discuss results; 4] Discuss your personal reactions to the author’s viewpoint and implications. Citation in APA style, double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12.

6. Quizzes (5)

Each quiz will consist of 3 questions pertaining to the assigned readings and easily answered by one word or short sentence. Open book and study notes will be allowed. The quizzes will serve as a guide for retaining important material of this course and to help you “stay on track” with the readings. 

7. Soundscape 

Choose three different situations where you have NO specific obligation and may sit for 5-10 minutes simply to listen to the environment.  Create a written record of all sounds and rate them as pleasant/unpleasant, intermittent/continuous, and loud/quiet. 

(Suggestion: You may want to make a chart ahead of time.)

8. Exams  

There will be one mid-term exam and a final exam. Decision about the format and content of the final exam TBD by the class participants.

9. Group Presentations

Groups of two to three students will work together to design and create a presentation around a preferred topic. Presentations may consist of a variety of formats, including, but not limited to ppt. and video presentation.

Possible topics for presentation: Music & Sound//Rhythm & Drum Circles //EFT//Neuroplasticity//Mindfulness//Songwriting//Music & Performance Anxiety//Tomatis Method//Shamanic Healing// Improvisation Music Therapy//Music Medicine//

MusicTherapy in Corrections//Music in Hospitals//Music Therapy and Addictions, etc.

Format for citing a web reference:

Contributor’s names (Last edited date).Title of resource.

Retrieved from http://Web address

Example of a web citation in APA Format:        

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Moore, L., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, August 8). General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Required Text

Wheeler, B.(2015).ed. The Music Therapy Handbook. NY: The Guilford Press.

Korb, C. (2014).The music therapy profession: Inspiring health, wellness, and joy.Bloomington, Ind: Xlibris Press.

Recommended reading:

Bruscia, K.E. (1998).  Defining Music Therapy, 3rd Ed.  Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.

Articles:  TBD on library reserve in CD format of the Journal of Music Therapy (JMT), Music Therapy Perspectives, and Music Therapy

A student who successfully completes this course has made progress in developing the following Professional Competencies as set forth by the American Music Therapy Association, Inc.:

CLINICAL FOUNDATIONS:

            Exceptionality  11.1, 11.2, 11.3

            Principles of Therapy  12.1, 12.2, 12.3

            Therapeutic Relationship  13.1

MUSIC THERAPY:

            Foundations & Principles 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, 14.5, 14.6              

Professional Role/Ethics 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 21.5, 21.6, 21.7, 21.8, 21.9,                                                                        21.10, 21.11, 21.12

            Interdisciplinary Collaboration 22.1

            Research Methods 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, 24.4