Do you take music therapy students?
The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) Music Therapy service offers a Clinical Placement Program which is connected to accredited Music Therapy courses within the Australian Music Therapy Association. For further information see Paediatric Music Therapy Clinical Training Program under Services.
Can I observe your work?
No. Due to the complex and unpredictable nature of the work it is difficult and sometimes inappropriate to observe the Music Therapists working with critically ill patients. The Music Therapy team offers introductory sessions to people interested in seeing and hearing about their work. The morning runs from 9am–12.30pm and includes an introduction to Music Therapy in the paediatric hospital setting, followed by short presentations from some RCH Music Therapists which will include video footage of their work. The areas covered include Newborn Intensive Care, Rehabilitation, Adolescents and Cancer. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions contact music.therapy@rch.org.au
Do you take high school students for work experience?
No. Because of the intensive nature of the work, it is mostly inappropriate for secondary level students to complete work experience with our team. Each State Branch of the Australian Music Therapy Association has a list of Music Therapists available for work experience. Visit the www.austmta.org.au website and follow the links to state branches from the 'Contact Us' on the menu.
Can you send me information on how music therapy helps hospitalised children?
We receive many requests for information. This webpage is our attempt to offer broad information to many people. For general information about Music Therapy please contact the Australian Music Therapy Association, or search databases for the major research journals – 'Journal of Music Therapy', 'Nordic Journal of Music Therapy', 'Australian Journal of Music Therapy', 'Music Therapy Perspectives' and 'Arts in Psychotherapy'.
What are your qualifications for this work?
The entry level qualification is the successful completion of a post graduate university course accredited with the Australian Music Therapy Association. For details of training courses, see AMTA's webpage at www.austmta.org.au. On completion, Music Therapists are registered with the Australian Music Therapy Association Inc., and bound by their Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.
Can you speak at our meeting?
Members of the Music Therapy team are available to speak to community groups and professional organisations for a fee. Please contact Music Therapy Manager Beth Dun, (03) 9345 5421.