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