Voices ResourcesA website for the worldwide community around the journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy

According to Norma Sharpe (1977), the first Canadian music therapy conference was organized to unify personnel who were working in music therapy throughout Canada; to become aware of one another's existence; to share techniques, programs and assessment of rehabilitative effectiveness. Successive annual conferences led to the foundation of the Canadian Music Therapy Association (CAMT), incorporated in 1977 (http://www.musictherapy.ca).

Canada is the second largest country in the world, second only to the Russian Federation. With a population 1/10th the size of the United States, maintaining a national music therapy organization is often a challenge. The Board of Directors of CAMT consists of 15 members elected from the general membership for a 2-year term of office. The executive committee of 5 is appointed from amongst these 15 members. All members are required to carry out committee responsibilities, reporting regularly to the president and to the general membership through the newsletter. While this structure has not always been effective because of the difficulty in coming together to meet and the lack of financial resources, CAMT has maintained its leadership in promoting the use and development of music therapy and serving as an organizational agency for its members. In May 1989 the policy was set that all Board members were to have MTA status.

Accreditation

A music therapist is a graduate of a music therapy degree program approved by the CAMT. Training includes extensive academic and experiential coursework, clinical experience, supervised practicums and a 1000-hour supervised internship. The credential of Music Therapist Accredited (MTA) is a registered trademark of CAMT. The title is designated for music therapists who meet the requirements of the CAMT accreditation process and abide by the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the profession.

Publications

The annual publication of the Canadian Journal of Music Therapy is a solid step toward establishing a higher profile for CAMT and the music therapy scene through this quality publication. CAMT also publishes a newsletter three times a year.

Education and Training

There are currently four CAMT approved undergraduate music therapy programs in Canada.

1. Capilano College - British Columbia Open University, N. Vancouver, British Columbia (http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/programs/music_therapy/index.html)




2. Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec (http://www.uqam.ca/)




3. Wilfrid Laurier University, Windsor, Ontario (http://www.wlu.ca/)

A fifth program awaiting CAMT approval is at Acadia University Music Therapy Program, located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia (http://ace.acadiau.ca/arts/home.htm)

Open University in Vancouver, BC was the first institution in Canada to offer a Masters in Music Therapy (MMT), under the creation and inspiration of Carolyn Kenny. Ten graduates from this inaugural program are setting a new trend of music therapists with advanced education. Several Canadian music therapists are now pursuing doctoral studies with a focus on music therapy. The Open University program stalled with the need to maintain a minimum of music therapy students pursuing advanced education.

Wilfrid Laurier University recently announced the exciting news that they would also be offering a Masters in Music Therapy program beginning this September. Students attending the WLU music therapy program can opt for a post-BMT fifth year of study or can transfer in with adequate prerequisites for a two-year Masters program.

Provincial Associations

There are music therapy associations cropping up all across Canada, all of which work closely with the CAMT. Six of the ten provinces in Canada have established a music therapy association, which in turn has led to increased access and awareness of the field. The Music Therapy Association of British Columbia, the longest established provincial association, is at the exciting threshold of becoming a regulated profession through governmental regulation. The Health Professions Act will result in the creation of a college (governing body) of several health care professions tied together with the common thread of counseling. This is apparently similar legislation to that which occurred in the U.K. The possibilities and impact on the music therapy profession for B.C. and the other associations in Canada is just beginning to unfold.

Multicultural Issues in Music Therapy Training

Ten years ago music therapy students were almost exclusively Caucasian. Today we're seeing much more diversity in the ethnic backgrounds of music therapists. We've needed this diversity in order to reach populations whose culture and musical heritage is so unique and intimate that it cannot be adequately represented by another. There continues to be a need for all music therapists to explore the musical genres of other cultures, as well as to have a repertoire of folk songs and national anthems sung in their original tongues in order to make contact with their clients. In Canada, the songs we learn tend to be primarily English/Irish/Scottish in origin, or Canadian and American folk and popular tunes. The challenge lies in believing that learning to play and sing the national anthem of Estonia is enough to know and represent someone from that cultural background. How do we avoid appearing like colonialists? How can we assume that mastering one song from another culture is adequate repertoire for the complexity of human experience? Music, contrary to the old adage, is not a universal language, but it is a language that is universally spoken. We need to be teacher and student, therapist and client, person and person in our interactions with others in this increasingly global village.

References

Alexander, D. (Ed.) (1993). Canadian Association for Music Therapy Accreditation Manual. Canadian Association for Music Therapy: Waterloo, ON.

Canadian Association for Music Therapy (2001). [online]. Available: http://www.musictherapy.ca [Accessed December 2001.]

Canadian Association for Music Therapy (1992). Canadian Association for Music Therapy. CAMT Newsletter: Summer.

Canadian Association for Music Therapy. (1973 to 1993). Minutes of board meetings and minutes of annual general meetings. Unpublished. CAMT(1983-1992): Waterloo, ON.

Ivy, V. (1983). The Canadian Association for Music Therapy: our first decade. In F. Herman & S. Munro (Eds.), Kaleidoscope: Perspectives on music therapy practice in Canada, pp. 1-12.

Munro, S. (1981). Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. CAMT Newsletter, p.2. CAMT: Toronto, ON.

Sharpe, N. (1977). The history of Canadian Association for Music Therapy. The Journal: Canadian Association for Music Therapy, 5(2), 2.

Williams, S. (1992). CAMT National Job Information Survey. CAMT Newsletter: Summer.

How to cite this page

Kirkland, Kevin (2002). Music Therapy in Canada. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=country-of-the-month/2002-music-therapy-canada