American Music Therapy Association

The Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA-AUS) urgently needs support from the worldwide music therapy community. Regional representative to WFMT - Australia and New Zealand, Alison Short’s blog post this week brought to worldwide attention a decision in Australia that would discontinue music therapy services for thousands of Australians.

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth L Stegemöller, PhD, MT-BC 2024 Arthur Flagler Fultz Research Award winning proposal “Virtual Group Therapeutic Singing for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease in Rural Areas” The Fultz Fund is an annual research grant awarded by AMTA and generously supported by David’s Fund for 24 years by Tom & Lucy Ott. Fultz Fund Chair, Dr. Michele Forinash, led the submission review process. We are grateful to the reviewers and those who submitted a research proposal.

We have received reports of emails, Facebook and text messages that are impersonating our president and requesting your cell number so that you can connect or text. The message states it is from Angela Snell and is from a number in her area code but not her number. This is a SCAM. Thanks to one of our member’s sleuthing abilities we know that engaging with the impersonator results in a request for the recipient to purchase gift cards to serve as incentives for members. The impersonator will ask you to get gift cards from a local pharmacy or other such entity. Do not engage with the sender. Report, delete and block the sender. We have reported as best we can and security precautions have been taken with the president’s accounts. However, expect that these may continue.

The AMTA Board of Directors, members and staff extend heartfelt concern for all those affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. The AMTA BoD supports the fundraising and coordination efforts of the Southeast Region of AMTA to support music therapists, colleagues and students affected by the storm. SER is actively reaching out to music therapists and music therapy students to assess and evaluate how best to help.

As many know the AMTA Archives is housed at Colorado State University. A scrapbook with mold damage was donated to CSU as part of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) special archive collection. The donor received the scrapbook from Florence Tyson (a music therapist in New York from 1958 and 1995).

Online Scam & Phishing Awareness Online scams and attempts at phishing continue to skyrocket. Be wary of online requests for money, gift cards, personal information, to open an attachment, or respond to a healthcare alert, etc. We have received reports of emails that impersonate leaders of AMTA, offers of free grand pianos and phishing attempts to initiate contacts for private music therapy services.

Join us for the AMTA Community Update on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 from 7:00-8:00pm Eastern time. We also invite you to join Board members for a follow up discussion from 8:15-9:00pm Eastern time. You are welcome to submit questions for the discussion by noon Eastern time on October 24.

In conjunction with the 2023 AMTA Symposium, all books in the AMTA Bookstore have been marked down 25%, starting October 9, 2023 through January 31, 2024.

Greetings Members of the Music Therapy Community! Please see links to several updates from AMTA Leadership

The Board of Directors, staff, and other volunteer leadership continue to work to reorganize AMTA operations. Through our work, it has become increasingly clear that we need the right knowledge and expertise to move us forward as we restructure operations and ultimately work to become a more equitable and inclusive organization. To address immediate needs, we have engaged two advisory groups who will guide us over the coming weeks and months.

The American Music Therapy Association is profoundly disappointed and concerned with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, eliminating the federal right to abortion and self-determined reproductive care for those we serve.

A message from the AMTA Board of Directors.

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) are excited to announce that on Friday, May 27, 2022 Governor J. B. Pritzker signed into law SB 2243. This bill creates a music therapy license within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and establishes a Music Therapy Advisory Board to assist the Department in matters concerning the license.

On behalf of the American Music Therapy Association and the music therapy community, we are, again, mourning senseless and tragic loss of life, this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Members of our music therapy community, along with people across the United States, are once again grieving the loss of life due to mass shootings.To our music therapy students, professionals, and clients of color, we see you. We mourn with you. We stand with you as you navigate the trauma, stress, and fear of being targets of events such as this.