Music Therapy MA

Anglia Ruskin University

Qualify to work as a music therapist in the UK and overseas, and become eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK.

•Get first-hand experience of music therapy practice on supervised clinical placements •Work in our purpose-built therapy centre, used for all our professional therapy consultations •Get support from our team of internationally-renowned music therapists

Our MA Music Therapy degree will show you how you can use your music to support the health and well-being of patients and clients. You will discover the principles of music therapy in the UK and internationally, and through lectures, practical workshops, case discussions and theoretical studies, we’ll introduce you to the most recent, effective music therapy approaches.

You will then try out these approaches in your own clinical practice on at least two clinical placements. These placements will take place in locations such as schools, hospitals, hospices and other community settings, under the supervision of qualified music therapists. This will give you invaluable experience of working in a multidisciplinary team, as well as providing important preparation for your future career.

In the UK there are two central elements of music therapy: the use of improvised and pre-composed music; and the significance given to the relationship between client and therapist. These principles will underpin your training. Our experiential teaching includes: development of your improvisation skills; focused work on your first instrument; keyboard, single line instrument and voice; music therapy theory and links to practice.

Throughout the course, you will reflect on and develop your clinical practice through group discussions, tutorials and supervisions. You will also work alongside students from our MA Dramatherapy course on more generic subjects, such as psychiatry and psychology.

Your studies will be supported by our team of qualified music therapists, who have a strong reputation for world-leading research (Research Excellence Framework 2014). These include Jörg Fachner, (Professor of Music, Mind and the Brain), Professor Amelia Oldfield, (awarded the first ever Clinical Impact Award by the World Federation of Music Therapists) and Professor Helen Odell-Miller (awarded an OBE in the January 2015 honours list).

Our links with other health professions and practitioners, including the British Association for Music Therapy, will help you make important contacts in the profession. When you graduate, you will be eligible to register with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK, and ready to work as a professional music therapist.

Course Leader: Dr Helen Loth.