{"id":4954,"date":"2016-09-23T18:01:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T22:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/groups.etown.edu\/news\/?p=4954"},"modified":"2016-09-23T18:05:59","modified_gmt":"2016-09-23T22:05:59","slug":"elizabethtown-college-music-therapy-program-celebrates-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2016\/09\/23\/elizabethtown-college-music-therapy-program-celebrates-40-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethtown College Music Therapy Program celebrates 40 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mt\"<\/a>Some of our strongest memories are connected to music heard over and over throughout our lives.\u00a0 Have you ever been transported back in time to an important event in your life when a certain song comes on the radio? This experience is used by music therapists to help their clients. Music can distract from or block pain during childbirth, positively impact the brain of a trauma patient and provide a timing cue to a client with Parkinson\u2019s to improve balance while walking.<\/p>\n

Gene Anne Behrens, professor of music and director of music therapy at Elizabethtown College<\/a>, feels that music therapy is a misunderstood practice, with a significant part of society not knowing what the therapists do. \u201cIt is still healthcare\u2019s best kept secret,\u201d she said. Behrens defines music therapy as \u201cthe means by which we \u2026 interact and respond to our clients.\u201d Music is not only the means, she said, but also the message. From pre-birth to the process of dying, music therapists work with a wide range of populations. As more research is documented, more people are coming to know about music therapy\u2019s benefits.<\/p>\n

As a profession, music therapy, began in the 1950s, and the program at Elizabethtown College was formally adopted in 1975. The size of the program, according to Behrens, has essentially doubled since 2002. She took over as the program\u2019s director in 2004 and, although there is no formal history of the program, she said the field has changed over the years, as has the College program.<\/p>\n

\n

It is still healthcare\u2019s best kept secret.”<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One of the most significant changes is the emphasis on research. Since 2002, students have completed more than 70 research projects which Behrens feels is a good amount for the size of the program.\u00a0 Students are presenting these projects at the regional and national levels alongside professionals and graduates. \u201cThey\u2019re doing a phenomenal job,\u201d Behrens said. \u201cOur students won the undergraduate research award two out of the three times it\u2019s been available.\u201d This sets a focus for all students to interact with research and continue doing so after they graduate, she said.<\/p>\n

Another change is the experiential part of the program. Behrens implemented a platform using developmental spiral curriculum theory. \u201cYou introduce them and re-introduce them to skills and goals,\u201d Behrens explained. \u201cYou don\u2019t just teach it once but \u2026 in a developmental sequence.\u201d\u00a0 In order to accomplish this, Elizabethtown College music therapy students begin observations within their first two semesters, which leads to the beginning of five semesters of clinical work. Behrens said this exposes E-town students in a progressive way; students at other colleges, she said, don\u2019t get this experience until their junior year.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Ghiorzi, Elizabethtown College Class of 2000 music therapy graduate, is familiar with other music therapy programs, and she agrees that they are nowhere near as comprehensive or intensive as the program at Elizabethtown. \u201cIt\u2019s almost something you don\u2019t really appreciate until you\u2019re out,\u201d she said. \u201cYou feel so much more prepared.\u201d\u00a0 Since graduating, Ghiorzi has worked with a variety of populations and is now an independent contractor for Tempo Music Therapy Services in West Chester, Pennsylvania.\u00a0 In addition, she supervises students at E-town two nights a week and teaches piano lessons adapted for the autistic spectrum. \u201cI think that supervision has been one of the best [experiences] \u2026 being able to come back and use what I learned here,\u201d Ghiorzi said.<\/p>\n

In order to fully celebrate 40 years at Elizabethtown, the program is sponsoring an anniversary event Saturday, Sept. 24, at the College. A majority of the current music therapy students and 54 alumni will attend, Behrens said. The big part of this event, she noted, is a gift back to the alumni of seven free Continuing Music Therapy Education Credits (CMTE). The CMTE credits would normally cost $300 to $400.<\/p>\n

Ghiorzi said she likes this opportunity to reconnect with other alum and earn the credits. \u201cThe program has grown so much [and] the amount of work Dr. Behrens does is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behrens, herself, said she could not pick a portion of the day she was most excited for. There will be a skit about the history of the program, a drum circle, speed-dating style networking, a photo booth, and the day will end with an open mic pick-up band, which Behrens feels is a fitting closure to the event. \u201cIn the long run we all love to make music,\u201d Behrens said. \u201c[And as music therapists] we get to use this very wonderful tool \u2026 [and] be able to change people in a variety of different ways. It\u2019s a great gig.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of our strongest memories are connected to music heard over and over throughout our lives.\u00a0 Have you ever been transported back in time to an important event in your life when a certain song comes on the radio? This experience is used by music therapists to help their clients. Music can distract from or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":4956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4954"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4958,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4954\/revisions\/4958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}