Music Therapist is a professional who uses music as a therapy to help his mental health patients feel better. Although this kind of treatment is prevalent in the society from the times of Hippocrates who uses music to treat his patient suffering from mental disorder it has started gaining recognition in the last few years. Now, this career of Music Therapist has emerged as an excellent choice for those candidates who are interested in mental health and have a passion for music. The number of students interested in studying Music Therapy has seen a sharp increase in the last few years.
Thanks to the fast pace of life due to urbanisation and modernisation, people are in need of Music Therapist to escape the stress of their everyday life and to be pampered and at times to receive health benefits for them. Thus the need for trained and qualified Music Therapists.
Music Therapist Eligibility
Educational Qualification
To be eligible to become a Music Therapist the minimum desired qualification for the aspiring candidates is the 12th class with music as main subjects followed by some certificate or Diploma course in Music Therapy.
Music Therapist Required Skills
- As a Music Therapist is to deal with people suffering from some kind of mental problem they must have a desire to help and offer emotional support to their clients as well as the families of their clients.
- Healing touch skills like empathy, patience, imagination and creativity are a must to become a successful Music Therapist
- As a Music Therapist is supposed to use only music as his tool to heal he must have a high level of musical instinct and an appreciation for a wide range of music systems.
- A Music Therapist may have to treat various kind of people so he must have excellent communication skills and ability to connect with people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.
- Music Therapist should be aware of health or safety measures, good in managing times, tactful, good listeners and caring attitudes.
- They should also have dedication, concentration and zeal to serve customers in the best possible way.
How to become a Music Therapist?
Although there is no specific educational qualification required to become a Music Therapist. Aspiring candidates can follow the below-given steps to become a Music Therapist.
Step 1
After completing +2 in any stream (however +2 with music as main subjects will be beneficial) aspiring candidates have to go for some kind of Certificate course in Music Therapy from a reputed Music Therapy Institute.
Step 2
After acquiring Certificate or Diploma course in Music Therapy from some institute of repute the aspiring candidates can look for a job in Music Therapy Care Centres or can opt for their own Music Therapy Care Centres. More enterprising candidates can go for higher qualification like Degree in Music Therapy from some national or international institute. An associate or bachelor's degree in Complementary Health Care might be an additional advantage in this field.
List of Institutes offering courses related to Music Therapist are:
- Association of Music Therapy, Delhi
- Chennai School of Music Therapy, Chennai
- MET Institute of Alternative Careers, Mumbai
- Nada Centre for Music Therapy, New Delhi
- The Indian Institute of Medical Music Therapy-IIMMT, Chennai
- Sir Balaji Vidyapeeth, Puducherry.
Music Therapist Job Description
- Music Therapist job includes assessing and analysing his patient’s mental health and physical disorder or any other disabilities. They usually work alone or as part of a therapy team as music therapists and use music as part of a patient's comprehensive therapeutic treatment plan.
- They use their musical and therapeutic skills to address emotional and physical needs of the patients to cure him/her of the mental illness.
Music Therapist Career Prospects
Stress and Mental illness are byproducts of urbanisation and digitalization of the human being. Today everything is happening at a fast pace which is the main cause of mental illness and stress. To reduce this burden of stress, trauma, phobias and disorder Art therapy in general and Music Therapy, in particular, is fast becoming an effector recourse thereby improving the career prospects of a Music Therapist. Growing awareness about the ill effects of stress and mental illness has made more people familiar with the various form of therapies especially the Music Therapy that has increased the demand for Music Therapists. A qualified Music Therapist can set up their own practice. He can partner with hospitals or multidisciplinary centres, mental health clinics. Music Therapists can also work with NGOs or educational institutes like schools, colleges as visiting or in-house therapists and earn as well serve the society.
Music Therapist Salary
Music Therapist's earnings are dependent on so many factors like location, business type, therapist experience and qualifications. Newly qualified Music Therapist may earn Rs.10,000 to Rs.15,000 per month.
Music Therapists with few years of experience and earned reputation can earn Rs. 20,000 to Rs.25,000 per month and even more.
