American Music Therapy Association

Music therapists seeking work in end-of-life care are confronted with the increasingly difficult challenge of establishing and maintaining both employment and clinical practice that meets both patient and organizational needs. This presentation will explore how the prospective hospice music therapist can successfully propose and sustain a new music therapy program that will satisfy administrators without sacrificing the quality or rigor of a music-centered music therapy practice. Clinical philosophy and practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, hospice documentation, and marketing acumen are some of the central concepts to be explored both didactically and experientially. The presenter’s experiences of proposing and developing a music therapy program will be used as reference and punctuated with case vignettes, including recordings.