January 13, 2012 - Music Therapy Advocacy

We're back!

Introduction: Advocacy --> Recognition --> Access

Since 2005, the American Music Therapy Association and the Certification Board for Music Therapists have collaborated on a State Recognition Operational Plan. The primary purpose of this Plan is to get music therapy and our MT-BC credential recognized by individual states so that citizens can more easily access our services. The AMTA Government Relations staff and CBMT Regulatory Affairs staff provide guidance and technical support to state task forces throughout the country as they work towards state recognition. To date, their work has resulted in 35 active state task forces, 2 licensure bills passed in 2011, and an estimated 10 bills being filed in 2012 that seek to create either a music therapy registry or license for music therapy. This month, our focus is on YOU and on getting you excited about advocacy.

So my guests this week will be Judy Simpson, Dena Register, and Kimberly Sena Moore from the State Recognition Operational Plan to talk about Music Therapy Advocacy and how you can get involved! Join us LIVE at Noon EST/11 am CST/10 am MST/9 am PST or listen to the Archived Show. You can also subscribe to this show through iTunes.

How can you get involved? Click here for more information:
Policy and Advocacy information from AMTA
Advocacy information from CBMT

Judy Simpson is the Director of Government Relations for the American Music Therapy Association. She can be reached at simpson@musictherapy.org

Dr. Dena Register is the Regulatory Affairs Advisor for the Certification Board for Music Therapists and an Associate Professor of Music Therapy at the University of Kansas. She can be reached at dregister@cbmt.org

Kimberly Sena Moore is the Regulatory Affairs Associate for the Certification Board for Music Therapy, the blogger at Music Therapy Maven, and a PhD student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She can be reached at ksmoore@cbmt.org.