MA Music Therapy

This programme provides a contemporary psychodynamic music therapy training.

The programme delivers learning and teaching that equips students with a contemporary framework for practice in music therapy and the ability to gain employment and practice in all health and care settings.

Along with profession specific learning and teaching there is engagement in interprofessional learning across the Arts and Play Therapies programmes.

The curriculum uses central historical psychoanalytic concepts viewed through the lens of contemporary practice to provide a flexible and up to date framework for music therapy practice. A driving principle of interrogation of power and equality is embedded throughout the training and influences learning and teaching about theory, clinical skills and placement work. This approach supports students in understanding the centrality of the service user experience within all their work.

A unique aspect of the training programme is the shared teaching with other Arts and Play Therapies programmes which not only provides a rich learning environment but gives students critical perspectives and experience of interdisciplinary approaches.

The course encompasses theoretical, practical and experiential learning. With our holistic approach to teaching, you will be provided with thorough and systematic knowledge, experience, skills and the confidence to work as a professionally qualified Music Therapist.

The programme delivers the learning and teaching needed for students to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and delivery of the therapeutic techniques and approaches required for professional registration purposes.

You will be taught by leading experts with years of teaching experience who will equip you with the skills, experience, and confidence to work as a Music Therapist in challenging, yet rewarding environments. Lecturers use a diverse range of learning and teaching approaches and assignment methods including lecture seminars, discussion groups, reflective practice groups, and experiential, music skills based and problem based learning.

The approach taught gives students a solid grounding in principles for safe and effective music therapy practice, alongside an ability to adapt, lead and innovate as required by the service users and settings within which they work. The training pathway follows a logical sequence that allows students to gain the skills and abilities that they need to integrate theory and practice, demonstrate clinical skills, develop innovation and evaluation skills and graduate with a high level of employability. In addition students are assisted in understanding and developing their own self-care in order to maintain an ethical, sustainable professional practice.

Work based placement learning and experiential learning is central to this training, particularly in the development of clinical (musical) and reflective therapeutic skills. Clinical placements are a central aspect of the training, embedded in the curriculum. All students complete 2 placements, supervised by Placement Educators who are Music Therapists in the placement setting, and supported at University by Reflective Practice Groups and lecture/seminars which provide additional learning opportunities.

Applicants will normally be required to hold an honours degree, usually in music. Other clinically related disciplines such as psychology, teaching, nursing, or social work, and graduate level professional qualifications in appropriate disciplines such as the performing arts, Occupational Therapy and Social Work are also considered where music skills are demonstrably sufficient.
Applicants need to evidence that they can meet the academic demands of a Masters degree and will be required to prepare and submit a written personal statement to support their application.
A professional standard of proficiency on an instrument (including voice).
Keyboard/piano skills of approximately grade 5 (where piano is not the preferred instrument) or equivalent ability on another harmony instrument, and confidence with voice. The potential to use musical skills in professional Music Therapy practice and the ability to communicate musically.
It is expected that applicants will have extensive experience either having worked professionally or having practiced extensively within their specific arts modality.
An understanding of the nature of music therapy as a distinctive discipline (in particular as practised in the UK).
Applicants should demonstrate a maturity of personality and self-awareness compatible with training as a therapist. Applicants need an appropriate degree of psychological mindfulness including the capacity to form and maintain appropriate empathic relationships with clients. They should also demonstrate emotional literacy, robustness and an ability to be self-reflective. This is addressed through a combination of assessments, including a health screening form, searching questions at interview related to different parts of the training course and experiential work at interview/audition.
Applicants will be expected to have appropriate clinical experience of having worked within a setting and with clients relevant to the programme. This might include working with children, adults or older adults in the areas of learning disabilities, mental health, hospice care, dementia care, neuro-disability, homelessness etc (this is not an exhaustive list). This work can be undertaken either on a voluntary or employed basis.
An International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least 7 with no element below 6.5 for applicants for whom English is not their first language.
Applicants will be required to supply the names of two referees, normally one of these should be able to comment on the applicant's academic suitability and the other the applicant's clinical suitability for the programme. References are always taken up prior to offering a place.
In addition to these requirements, all students must be prepared to enter mandatory individual personal therapy. Payment for therapy is separate to course fees.
All successful applicants will need to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Payment for this is separate to the course fees.
IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with a minimum 5.5 in each component.
Roehampton English Language Test- Mapped to IELTs scores, please refer to IELTS Academic above
TOEFL IBT - 89 overall with a minimum of 17 in Listening and Writing, 18 in Reading and 20 in Speaking