In January 2013, almost four dozen music therapy bloggers and podcasters are working with the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) as they spread the word about music therapy advocacy and the State Recognition Operational Plan through the social media airwaves.
AMTA and CBMT have collaborated on the State Recognition Operational Plan since 2005. The primary purpose of this plan is to get music therapy and the MT-BC credential recognized by individual states so that citizens can more easily access our services. The AMTA Government Relations staff and CBMT Regulatory Affairs staff provide guidance and technical support to state task forces throughout the country as they work towards state recognition. To date, their work has resulted in over 35 active state task forces, 2 licensure bills passed in 2011, 1 licensure bill passed in 2012, and up to 10 bills being filed in 2013 that seek to create either title protection or a license for music therapy. This month, our focus is on YOU and on getting you excited about advocacy.
Throughout the month of January, music therapy bloggers and podcasters will be sharing their tips, thoughts, and ideas on advocacy, on being an advocate, and on the importance of storytelling in the advocacy process. We would like to thank the following blogs and podcasts for supporting this project:
In addition, we want to thank musician Ben Folds for his support of our advocacy month through creating the #FollowMTWeek hashtag on Twitter and for his daily social media updates and shares.