AMTA Seeks Associate Editor

Music Therapy Perspectives (MTP) Expands its Editorial Team

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) invites applicants for one open position as Associate Editor (AE) for manuscript reviews. 

Information and details about the position may be found in the description below and call for interested applicants. The deadline for applications is 5:00pm Eastern, December 22, 2020. Persons interested in joining the editorial team may direct questions to the journal Editor, Dr. Laura Beer.

Music Therapy Perspectives (MTP) (https://academic.oup.com/mtp) promotes the development of music therapy clinical practice through the dissemination of scholarly work that explores innovations in clinical benefits, implications, education, and training. MTP supports a vision of music therapy founded upon ethical and culturally responsive practices advancing social justice principles and serves as a resource and forum for music therapy clinicians, students, educators, and related professionals to engage in essential critical discourses. MTP publishes all forms of reports regarding music therapy practice including, but not limited to, clinically focused research reports, clinical portraits, case studies, educational research, and theoretical articles. The journal is published in partnership with Oxford University Press.

Job Description and Announcement: Associate Editor, Music Therapy Perspectives

Music Therapy Perspectives expands its editorial team

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) invites applicants for one open position as Associate Editor (AE) for manuscript reviews.

Mission Statement

Music Therapy Perspectives (MTP) promotes the development of music therapy clinical practice through the dissemination of scholarly work that explores innovations in clinical benefits, implications, education, and training. MTP supports a vision of music therapy founded upon ethical and culturally responsive practices advancing social justice principles and serves as a resource and forum for music therapy clinicians, students, educators, and related professionals to engage in essential critical discourses. MTP publishes all forms of reports regarding music therapy practice including, but not limited to, clinically focused research reports, clinical portraits, case studies, educational research, and theoretical articles. The journal is published in partnership with Oxford University Press.

MTP’s objectives:

• Speak to the direct clinical and professional experiences of practicing music therapists, and in so doing advance the profession.
• Include information useful to music therapists, music therapy students, and professionals interested in the therapeutic uses of music.
• Address issues related to the supervision of music therapy students and the supervision of music therapists in both professional and advanced practice.
• Include articles addressing the education and training of music therapists.
• Address ethical concepts and issues as they pertain to music therapy education, training, research and professional practice.

Each AE is responsible for managing the peer review process for manuscripts assigned by the Editor. Applicants for one open position are sought to join the team along with Editor Laura Beer; Associate Editors/Manuscripts, Jennifer Jones, Ronna Kaplan, and Melody Schwantes; and Associate Editor/Communications Noah Potvin.

The AE is a volunteer position. The AE selects and assigns reviewers, manages the review process, recommends review decisions, and supports authors. A central requirement is the ability to edit and work with authors on manuscripts, understand both clinical and research perspectives, assure methodological integrity, and promote the overall writing quality of each submission. Associate Editors meet periodically with the Editor and other AEs (via Zoom) and attend the annual Editorial Board meetings held during the AMTA national conference.

Term of Service

The term of Service is four years. The AE position is slated to begin the orientation process January, 2021.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reviewing Manuscripts: The Associate Editor -

• receives manuscripts for review from the editor;
• reads manuscripts and sends them for review to selected members of the Editorial Board or to outside reviewers, as deemed appropriate to topic of article;
• uses ScholarOne platform to manage manuscripts and communications with authors;
• collects reviewer comments and makes editorial suggestions about submitted manuscripts in a timely fashion;
• makes recommendations in cooperation with the Editor for assigned manuscripts regarding decisions to accept, reject, or revise manuscripts;
• in cooperation with the editor, checks assigned manuscripts for completeness of content, proper format, permission to use copyrighted material, and any other requirements for publication;
• ensures reviews are impartial, fair, and adhere to principles endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE);
• preserves the confidentiality of the review process; and
• actively participates as a member of the editorial team.

Corresponding with Authors: The Associate Editor -

• maintains all professional communications with assigned authors and reviewers within ScholarOne;
• serves as the point of contact for assigned authors; and

• answers author inquiries about the status of a submission.

Production: The Associate Editor -

• checks the final manuscript making sure all information is included before moving the document to the editor for production processing.

Teamwork: The AE participates as a member of the editorial team consisting of the editor, AEs, Business Manager, and publisher (Oxford University Press contacts).

Applicant Qualifications

• Evidence of an active publication record;
• Clinical experience as a music therapist;
• Strong understanding of issues related to social justice, equity, and inclusion;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Experience with a peer review process;
• Demonstrated ability to work on a team;
• Desire and ability to dedicate allocated time to Associate Editor responsibilities;
• Ability to participate in ad hoc editorial team working conference calls;
• Desire to serve as an ambassador for AMTA and the music therapy profession;
• Prior service on the MTP or other Editorial Board (preferred, but not required);
• Experience in an editorial role (e.g., journal editor, book editor, thesis/doctoral supervision is preferred but not required).

Professional Membership

Current professional membership in the American Music Therapy Association is provided gratis as a benefit of service to the journal and the mission of AMTA.

Deadline for Application

5:00 PM ET on December 22, 2020.

Electronic letters of interest and a CV should be submitted to:

lbeer@maryville.edu

Interested applicants are welcome to contact Dr. Laura Beer, Editor (lbeer@maryville.edu) for more detailed information regarding these positions.

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