My training as a Certified Therapeutic Musician

I am a Certified Therapeutic Musician. This credential is issued from the Clinical Musician Certification Program CMCP (also known as, Harp for Healing), which is accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians➚.  Graduates of the CMCP program are known as “Certified Clinical Musicians”. The term “Certified Therapeutic Musician” is an umbrella term for all Therapeutic Musicians who are members of the NSBTM. There are four different accredited programs, and each has a different term for their graduates. Those that graduate from MHTP are called Certified Music Practitioners, graduates from Bedside Harp are called Certified Master of Harp Therapy, and graduates of IHTP are called a Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner. Officially my title since my graduation in December 2022, is CTM-CCM. A graduate from IHTP would be a CTM-CTHP, and a Bedside Harp graduate is a CTM-CMHT.

Independent Study Instruction

I read and reported on fourteen books, reviewed a DVD on Therapeutic Music, made many recordings for feedback from my mentors, and I passed the final exams. I also completed 45 hours of playing my harp at the bedside of patients for my internship.

Here is what I learned:

  • The logistics of working as a Therapeutic Musician, including HIPAA, patient logs, infection control, and other healthcare protocol

  • How to select music based on how common health conditions and injuries that affect the mind and body

  • How to change the music as the patient’s needs change, based on principles of music theory and observation

  • The history of different healing modalities, including the use of music to promote healing, and how therapeutic music complements allopathic care

  • The physics of sound and current research in music and healing

  • What to expect when playing for the dying

For more information about the Clinical Musician Certification Program, see a full description of the two levels required to earn Certification to become a Certified Clinical Musician CCM. Level 1 Level 2

Clinical practicum & internship

The bedside internship includes time to play for patients. It gives me the opportunity to practice everything I learned under supervision, particularly:

  • Navigating the logistics of the hospital setting

  • Getting referrals from the nurses

  • Exhibiting proper etiquette with visitors and roommates

  • Practicing contact precautions and other infection control procedures

My internship was at St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, AR, from April to December 2022, where I played for 2 - 5 Hospice patients a week. I completed patient logs, and my CMCP advisor provided me with feedback on the therapeutic music choices I made for each patient.

My Harp background

I played in Concert Band (Flute/piccolo & Oboe), Jazz Band (Bari Sax), and in a Youth Orchestra in high school as well as private Flute & Oboe lessons, and then I joined an Army Band for 3 years, shortly after High School (“Oboe Player” was my job title in the Army). Many years later, I started playing the Harp in 2014. I have two Harp teachers; Alisa Coffey of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, who teaches me pedal harp techniques, and Karen Peterson CMP, the former president of the Music for Healing & Transition Program MHTP teaches me Double Strung Harp techniques and coaches me on being a Therapeutic Musician.

The double-strung harp is great for therapeutic music at the bedside because it has two sets of the same strings, providing extra resonance to create healing music for the patients. The size of the model I have is unobtrusive in the patient’s room and easy to maneuver through busy, crowded hallways. Listen to me play examples of therapeutic music on this harp.

Read what staff and patients say about the benefits of therapeutic music, or see ways to contact me.