American Music Therapy Association

Music Therapy Perspectives Appoints Associate Editors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Barbara A. Else

Business Manager, AMTA Journals

301-589-3300 ext. 114 / Else@musictherapy.org

Music Therapy Perspectives Appoints Associate Editors

Ronna Kaplan and Melody Schwantes Appointed as Associate Editors, Music Therapy Perspectives

October 30, 2018—SILVER SPRING, MD—The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is pleased to announce two appointments to the position of Associate Editor with Music Therapy Perspectives (MTP). Ronna Kaplan and Melody Schwantes join the editorial team of MTP to support the peer review process. 

Ronna Kaplan, MA, MT-BC, is Chair, Center for Music Therapy at The Music Settlement in Cleveland, Ohio. Ronna also serves as clinical music therapist and intern supervisor. Ronna has distinguished herself in professional leadership and service, including having served as President of the AMTA (2010-2011) as well as on dozens of special projects, committees, and task force initiatives in AMTA and with the Certification Board for Music Therapists. She is presently the chair of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations (NCCATA). Ronna is committed to bridging scholarly published work and research recommendations to the practice setting through her active engagement in presentations, workshops, and writing. Ronna is a member of the Editorial Board for Music Therapy Perspectives. She has published articles and book chapters, written music therapy columns for the Huffington Post, guest lectured at colleges and universities, and presented nationally and internationally. She is recipient of the AMTA Professional Practice Award and Great Lakes Region Service Award and is an honorary life member of the Great Lakes Region of the American Music Therapy Association. Ronna is a consumer advocate and active in community-based civic activity. She is a member of the Cuyahoga County Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities and serves on their Social Issues and Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities subcommittees.

Melody Schwantes, PhD, MT-BC is Assistant Professor of Music Therapy in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. Dr. Schwantes has been a faculty member at Appalachian State University in a variety of capacities since 2007. She completed her doctorate in Music Therapy at Aalborg University in Denmark. Her research concentrated on Mexican migrant farmworkers and their mental health needs. Melody is interested in learning how music therapy can be used as a force for change both individually and communally. Dr. Schwantes has published and presented her culture-centered music therapy research nationally and internationally. She also maintains a private practice, Joie de Vivre Music Therapy where she specializes in providing music therapy services for children with autism and other disabilities. Her clinical experience includes work with older adults, adults with mental illness, children with special needs, and adults with medical needs in a variety of settings in the U.S., as well as in the Czech Republic. Melody serves as co-chair for the International Relations Committee of the American Music Therapy Association. She is on the Editorial Board of Music Therapy Perspectives and has extensive experience in editorial work with Voices: A Forum for Music Therapy.

Please join AMTA in congratulating Ronna and Melody on their appointments. We encourage you to follow MTP, sign up for complimentary electronic Table of Content alerts via email, and follow the journal online through the social media hashtags #MTResearch and #AMTA_MTP.

About the American Music Therapy Association and Music Therapy Perspectives

Headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, the American Music Therapy Association is a nonprofit educational organization representing music therapists.  AMTA’s purpose is the progressive development of the therapeutic use of music in rehabilitation, special education, and community settings. The mission of the American Music Therapy Association is to advance public awareness of the benefits of music therapy and increase access to quality music therapy services in a rapidly changing world. Published in partnership with Oxford University Press, Music Therapy Perspectives seeks to promote the development of music therapy clinical practice through the dissemination of scholarly work.

For more information on this topic please visit the American Music Therapy Association at www.musictherapy.org.

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