Enriching lives through participation in music
Music Therapy Services of West Music
Music Therapy Certification
08/02/23
As music therapists, we complete 100 hours of continuing education every 5 years to maintain our “Music Therapist-Board Certified” credential. Hayley recently came upon this 5-year milestone from the date when she started practicing as a music therapist, so she shares some insight into the process of accumulating and submitting these hours.
Over the course of the past 5 years, I’ve been privileged to attend many educational opportunities, whether in-person or virtually. Throughout this five-year process, I’ve learned a few take-aways to pass on to other music therapists working towards recertification:
Set yearly/seasonal goals.
Five years can seem like a long time, but it can go by quickly! Staying up-to-date by striving for 20 credits per year will keep you on track to have all requirements met when you reach five years. Pay attention to deals (free or discounted courses are sometimes offered in conjunction with events or holidays), and try to take advantage of them when possible. If there are seasons or months when you know you’ll be busy, plan ahead by taking care of continuing education requirements during other, less busy times.
Seek opportunities that work for you.
There are a variety of ways to obtain continuing education credit. The certification board for music therapists explains them in the document to the right.
A few tips:
- You can receive credit FOR FREE for reading scholarly articles, as long as you right a review of the article.
- You also receive FREE credit for writing original compositions. Keep track of those songs you’re using in your clinical work to receive credit for your efforts!
- Virtual conferences often allow you to watch concurrent sessions for a few months after the conference ends, at your own pace. This means that for the cost of registration, you can receive 5 CMTEs for attending, as well as 1 CMTE for every session watched. When conferences are offering 20+ CMTEs, this can add up to lots of credits for a reasonable price! Recertification requirement
Think outside the box.
Pay attention to workshops or learning opportunities virtually or in your area that are interesting to you. Even if these aren’t explicitly music therapy-related, you can request confirmation from the presenter/organizer, write a brief synopsis of what you learned and how it relates to your music therapy practice, and submit it for credit. Interested in yoga, or world drumming, or DEI topics? Learn about it, explain how it connects, and receive credit!
Stay organized.
It’s easy for things to pile up in our inboxes or get lost in the shuffle of busy life, especially over a five year period. Store all of your certificates in one place (I created a folder on Google drive), then keep an ongoing list of the opportunities you’ve participated in and the credits you’ve received. That way, you’ll know where everything is, and you’ll also have an accurate sense of how close you are to reaching 100 credits at any given time. CBMT also allows you to enter credits as you go on their website, so this can also be an option! I’d just recommend keeping a backup copy of your own, just in case!
Overall, my first experience submitting CMTE credits was quite straightforward and not too stressful. Five years have certainly flown by, and I’m grateful for all the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here’s to the next five years of growing and connecting with others through music!
