MU508
Music Psychotherapy Placement II
0.5 Credit
MU508
In this full-time clinical placement course, students gain experience facilitating music therapy and music psychotherapy sessions with groups and individual clients, depending on the clients' needs. Dependent on the clinical setting they may have the opportunity to practice independently or learn how to sustain collaborative and respectful working relationships with interdisciplinary health care professionals. While demonstrating personal and professional integrity, students learn methods of clinical documentation, how to practice ethically according to relevant professional standards and participate in professional development activities. Students continue to integrate clinical musicianship within a music psychotherapy framework to structure and facilitate the psychotherapeutic process and to apply the safe and effective use of self with clients. They engage clients according to their demonstrated level of commitment to therapy, facilitate exploration of issues and patterns of behaviour, and support exploration of a range of emotions. Students adapt their approaches to a diverse clientele - communicating in a manner respectful of the intersectionality of the individual's identities (race, gender, culture, age, disability, sexuality, etc.). Students respond appropriately to clients' strengths, vulnerabilities, resilience, and resources, and recognize and address possible conflict in a constructive manner. Weekly supervision is provided by Laurier faculty who are qualified and experienced music therapists in both group and individual settings. Through this clinical supervision, students learn to respond professionally to anger, hostility, criticism, inappropriate attachment or expression of intense emotions from the client, foster autonomy, recognize barriers that may affect access to therapeutic services, assume a non-judgmental stance, and identify culturally relevant resources. Instructional scaffolding affords students the opportunity to integrate academic concepts into real world application, models reflective practices in clinical situation, and progressively guides towards greater understanding and independence within the learning process. Scaffolding bridges gaps in student learning and supports demonstration of knowledge and/or skills in a supportive clinical environment. The supervisor encourages independence in required learning by gradually escalating the complexity of plcement experiences and activities. Constructive feedback obtained from peers and supervisors assists in practice review and identifies strengths and areas of growth as a developing therapist. The course is closely linked and integrated with the concepts learned in the prerequisite courses MU505 - Music Psychotherapy Foundations II: Theories, Approaches, Models, Techniques and Interventions, MU506 - Clinical Music Psychotherapy Skills II, and MU507 - Safe and Effective Use of Self in Music Psychotherapy I.
