MA Music Therapy

This highly experiential course provides students with training comprising of theoretical, clinical and musical experiences. Using an integrative approach that draws from contemporary music therapy work, you will be supported to develop your own therapeutic persona during the three years of the course. 

Clinical placements are at the heart of your music therapy training. Additionally, you will explore group processes and relate them to clinical practice, as well as work alongside students from other courses to boost your learning experience. 

What you will study?

Year One: MA Music Therapy

In your first year of Music Therapy training, you will be provided with a strong grounding in human development and observational skills. Understanding how we develop relationships with others and how music therapy links to these experiences will support you in your clinical work. 50% of placement experience in this year is observational, enabling you to link these skills to music therapy work before undertaking a short piece of clinical work yourself. You will benefit from the use of the bespoke facilities on campus to support your learning and further develop your therapeutic music skills. Experiential groups, supervision groups and other course components such as talks and discussions will provide an insight into the principles, practices and application of Music Therapy.

• Theory and Practice of Music Therapy
  This module contains seminars and workshops with experiential and participatory content relating to theories and concepts relevant to Music Therapy practice. Experiential groups and supervision will also form part of the teaching. You will also study the diverse needs and abilities of different client groups. You will undertake a placement of 15 weeks for one day a week that starts in January of the teaching year. The placement will be in a USW approved setting

• Music Therapy Skills 1
  This module covers the development of music therapy-specific skills; role play, skill-sharing and peer learning as well as repertoire development. We celebrate and value the diversity of skills our students bring to the course and utilise these in our teaching.

Year Two: MA Music Therapy

In the second year of your training, you will begin to explore evidence-based Music Therapy practice and therapeutic approaches to meet the needs of diverse populations, client groups and settings. You will further develop your specialist Music Therapy skills and continue to learn through placement, experiential groups, supervision groups, workshops, lectures, and participatory teaching.

• Therapeutic Approaches and Evidence-Based Practice
  This module incorporates lectures, seminars and workshops pertaining to specialist Music Therapy practice. There will be group supervision and other experiential groups as well as an introduction to research methods. You will also undertake a placement for one day a week for 20 weeks in a University-approved clinical setting.
• Music Therapy Skills 2
  This module incorporates analysing clinical music therapy material and the development of further specialist music therapy skills. There is a strong focus on personal musical and professional development.