Advocating for Music Therapy
Fun fact: When I began my practice in 2011, I was the only music therapist practicing in Southern Maine.
So educating others and advocating for music therapy has always been a part of what I do. My advocacy work is something I’m proud of, so I wanted to tell you a little more about it as part of my 10-year anniversary celebration.
I began the Maine Music Therapy Task Force in 2015 when I was running the Creative Health Conference. I realized another way of advocating for arts therapies would be to do an educational day in Augusta – so I set up in the hall of flags for a whole day sharing information about music therapy. A few other music therapists who had just moved to Maine got involved too and then the American Music Therapy Association reached out to formalize us into a task force.
We held a second “hill day” in Augusta with three of us (myself, Patricia Mulholland, and Carla Tanguay) in 2016.
In 2017, we tried to pass LD 688: An Act to Provide MaineCare Coverage for Music Therapy, which would allow clients to pay for music therapy services using Mainecare. Several people testified in favor of it, both clients and healthcare professionals, and we were able to raise the profile of this important issue, but it ultimately did not pass.
We took a break during the previous administration but we’re now reorganizing and taking a different approach to our goals. We are now focused on:
Researching how music therapy services are currently paid for in all our various settings and what this means for access for people with disabilities or illnesses who might benefit from the service.
Thinking of new ways to educate folks about what music therapy is and what our training entails.
Navigating how best to engage in billing practicing, learning from our experience co-treating with other forms of therapy.
Surveying board-certified music therapists around the state to find out what their biggest concerns are in order to better guide our work.
Right now, we’re finding the biggest concerns of Maine music therapists are needing recognition and protection of our certification and job title, Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC), to differentiate from those practicing music therapy but not certified; lack of jobs; and issues around reimbursement. For example, according to the national Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), music therapy is a related service for students on the IEP – but Maine is choosing not to follow this. Even within the same school district, response to our services varies from school to school.
While we have made gains in the state, there are still a lot of issues that prevent music therapists from trying to work here and clients from accessing services, which is why it is vital to continue our advocacy work. You can learn more here.