What’s happening?

There is a lot happening in the world of music therapy: new book publications, more international conferences looming, changing practices, social media. Since I enjoy writing, I have decided to create a Wednesday blog every week. So here is the first and please stay tuned.

I start with book publication. With second revisions of books that appear related but are not, I mention, The Handbook of Music Therapy (edited by Bunt, Hoskyns and Swamy; Routledge, February 2024) and another Music Therapy Handbook (edited by Viega, Dos Santos and Wheeler; Guildford, May 2025). It appears from the Table of Contents that both of these books might even have been published under different titles rather than revisions because they each introduce very different material compared to original renditions. So if you are curious about different ways of publishing a book, start by looking up practice for revised editions. Then, while you are at it, read about edited volumes. What do they really involve for the editor (s)?

On another note, earlier last month, Barcelona (The publisher we all identify with Dr Kenneth Bruscia, who recently stepped down from his primary role in the company) published Music Therapy Educator: Roles, Responsibilities and Resources (edited by Gardstrom and Belt, 2025). Naturally, this book caught my attention because I have published three books on music therapy education and training (2011, 2015,2023). But a distinctive feature of this book is its sole attention to undergraduate training, something we see in the United States but not, for example, in Europe. The primary editor, Susan Gardstrom, recently retired at University of Dayton, in Ohio, writes to me: “ Your book on the subject figured in the development of our outline for this book, as our aim was to augment existing literature on the topic rather than replace it. Your publications are cited by multiple authors.” So it should be interesting to read this book even as I continue to craft academic programs as part of my educational outreach (see Services) services.

Upcoming conferences? With Covid largely behind us, many are eager to be part of a face to face conference. That means the 13th European Music Therapy Conference, ‘Bridges”, to be held in Hamburg, Germany this July 2025 (https://www.emtc2025.de/). To me, it looks very good, with a wide variety of topics and panels.

But if you are not able to travel to Hamburg and you are interested in my developing Lifespan Developmental Stage Model for Music Therapy Supervision (Goodman, 2023), check out my online training, July 23, 12-4:30, Hamburg time (https://www.emtc2025.de/programme/pre-conferences.html) which, to my surprise, does not require conference registration and even meets continuing education credits (both in the United States and in Germany). More on that later.

If you are interested in even more exotic conference sites, mark your calendar for June 23-26 2027 when the 12th Nordic Music Therapy Conference is held in Iceland.

Changing practices? With the ongoing sophistication of digital technology, how might music therapy practice be impacted? I was interested in the MATCH practice, Music Attuned Technology- Care via eHealth (https://www.aea.gov.au/news/transforming-dementia-care-music-our-ears) which is government funded in Australia.

Social media: Along with music therapists announcing and advertising their work and publication, the ‘elephant in the room’ social media includes frank discussions about making a living being a music therapist in the United States, the difficulty and frustration regarding the Board Certification Test in the United States, the concerns in Australia about recent changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which have the possibility of impacting music therapy practice Ii.e., with some participants losing access to funded therapy) and more, some of which, frankly, I am glad I am not privy to!

So, how do you, if at all, fit into this mix and what should we discuss in the next Wednesday blog?

Take care,

Karen Goodman, PhD

Professor, Music Therapy

May 21, 2025

Well, I promised you all Wednesday blogs, so here we go with number two!. It’s so easy to get distracted, isn’t it? You have regular obligations and then others crop up. This blog post will introduce you to my role as the only Associate Editor for music therapy with Psychology of Music, my thoughts about the intersection of politics and music therapy, the role of advocacy for our field and generational relatedness.

With respect to Psychology of Music ( https://journals.sagepub.com/home/pom), the venerable 50+ years journal based in the UK which celebrates the interdisciplinary science of music, I am the only Associate Editor for music therapy. Recently, I have had several submissions to share with reviewers and frankly, those who would be best suited to the minutiae of these articles, primarily submitted by authors outside of the United States, are always busy. So I continue to seek those who might find the time to contribute to these reviews. The review system has a software system which uses a database of recently published publication related to the articles I need reviewers for. This is an ingenious way of locating professionals. Hence my strategy at this point.

Serving as Associate Editor on this journal as well as a reader of other coming publication related to music and music therapy has made me increasingly aware that there are more and more journals popping up for both junior and senior clinicians and researchers to submit to. While this is a positive trend, I am also aware that the editorial and review process may need to be more stringent. Have those submitting new work done an adequate review of literature to ensure that their work is original? Is the writing clear? Are the references in order?

Should journals introduce or avoid bias in terms of the intersection of politics and music therapy? I cite, for example, the guidelines for Voices.. Voices suggests the following: “Voices is an open access, online music therapy forum that was created in 2001 to centralise the values of inclusion and diversity in a music therapy journal, particularly in relation to culture and social justice. “ However in March of 2024, with Dr Claire Ghetti on leave, Hadley and Honig write: “This editorial discusses the roles and meaning of the “political” in music therapy journals and publication processes and calls into question the value and expectation of political neutrality.” So, readers, to what end is this attitude useful? It seems to me that we owe our clients and students political neutrality as they navigate their own personal journeys. Even in this difficult political environment isn’t it reasonable to conduct one’s professional life in this manner? I remember one year in years past when I mentioned my own bias in terms of the current President of the United States. One student was very upset and told me he did not come to school to have a professor insinuate that he should adopt any political bias I had. I agreed with him at the time and now, so many years later, continue to agree. It is only when professional life takes on an attitude that is personally offensive to me that I speak out.

The issue of advocacy continues to be front and center in our field. Some will say that we are a ‘young’ field, having formally started in the United States, for example, in 1950. To me, coming into 75 years is not young! While the field has generated support throughout the entire world in terms of education, training and practice, it remains financially unstable and in need of grassroots advocacy. My advocacy, lately, has been for professional supervision, an area of practice I am dedicated to, writing about (Goodman, 2023) and suggesting to the CBMT (Certification Board for Music Therapy) that they prominently support for continuing education. Please consider applying for continuing education (5 CE) if you sign up with me for my workshop on professional supervision (https://www.emtc2025.de/programme/pre-conferences.html) through the EMTC ‘Bridges’ conference.

The conference will include the work of many professionals, including that of Dr. Monika Smetana from Vienna, who recently published with her colleagues on generational relatedness (Wie können Übergänge gestaltet und moderiert werden? Generationenwechsel in Der Musiktherapieausbildung/ How can transitions be shaped and facilitated? Generational change in music therapy training). This was a matter of curiosity to me as I had transitioned from my 40 years of teaching at Montclair State University to starting my own business, which you see on this website. Was it important for me to maintain professional connection with both entering and senior colleagues? Why? How?

Soon after, in fact this past week, I came across the work of Dr Kate Aitchison, a clinician and researcher from Melbourne, Australia who, along with Dr Katrina McFerran, had published an article in the Spring 2025 Journal of Music Therapy, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Music Therapy Assessment: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis. My own tool on music therapy assessment with emotionally disturbed children (Goodman, 1989) was included in the article. In the course of email discussion regarding the article, Kate writes: “ I hold you in the highest regard and value the foundational role you have played in the practice of music therapy with children and adolescents experiencing mental health challenges.” This is yet another example of generational relatedness.

Have a good week and look for me next Wednesday.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.