Career longevity: A survey of experienced professional music therapists

The research cites numerous reasons why music therapists leave the field. Few studies, however, examined reasons why music therapists persist in the field. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to identify knowledge and skills that experienced professionals perceived as important. Music therapists with aminimumof 5 years of professionals experiencewere selected randomly from the AmericanMusic Therapy Association (AMTA) membership. Two hundred thirty-one music therapists with 10–15, 16–20, and 21 or more years of professionals experience participated in this study. They were asked to rate the importance the AMTA Professionals Competencies today as compared with when they entered the profession. Additionally, the respondents were asked to indicate reasons for remaining in the field, and the traits of a good music therapist. The results of the study indicated that taken collectively, there was no significant difference between today and at entry ratings of the competencies. However, individual questions were significant in a number of instances. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Researchers have attempted to profile music therapists in regards to career longevity since the early days of the profession. Shatin, Douglas-Longmore, andKotter (1963) studied the personality traits of 30music therapists and found that the average number of years in the profession was 6. In a sample of 484 respondents, Braswell, Maranto, and Decuir (1979) reported that music therapists remained in the field for 3.98 years. Lathom (1982) surveyed 455 professionals and found that music therapists were staying in the field for 3–5 years. In a study of occupational stress and burnout of 239 music therapists, Oppenheim (1987) found the mean career longevity to be 4.03 years. Taylor (1987), while investigating entry-level competencies of 641 music therapists, found 68.6% of those surveyed had been in the field for less than 5 years. De Freitas (1988) surveyed 133 music therapists who had left the field and reported that 3.91 yearswas the average they hadworked as music therapists. In a survey of 1323 music therapists, Maranto and Bruscia (1988) found that their subjects had an average of 8 years of experience working in the field. In 1989, music therapists remained working clinicians for an average of 5.41 years according to a study of 1344 professionals by Braswell, Jacobs, and Decuir. Cohen, Hadell, and Williams (1997) in investigating applied music requirements ofmusic therapists for their applicability in themusic therapy clinic surveyed 220 active music therapists and found the average number of years in the profession to be 5–10 years. Cohen and Behrens (2002), when investigating professional status and ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 504 865 2142; fax: +1 504 865 2852. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A.A. Decuir), [email protected] (V.P. Vega). degree type, reported the average longevity of 218 active music therapists was 13 years. Finally, Vega (2007), in her dissertation on personality, burnout, and longevity among 137 professional music therapists, reported an average longevity of 17.85 years. The data appears to indicate a gradual increase in longevity. The research on longevity in the profession of music therapy can be viewed in Table 1. While these data on longevity are informative, the data does not present an accurate picture of the status of professional longevity, andmay in fact bemisleading. For example, in the studybyBraswell et al. (1989) on job satisfaction, the average years in the profession was 4.08. These researchers also found that 22.2% of the survey respondents had been in the field for less than 1 year. In another study investigating professional status and degree type, Cohen and Behrens (2002) found thatwhile the average years in theprofession were 13.04, 28.8% of the subjects had been in the field for less than 6 years. They further stipulated that 44.3% of the subjects worked in the field for >9 years. These facts suggest that music therapists are remaining in the field for relatively short periods of time. There are other factors that may influence longevity of music therapists. Some music therapists may discontinue their professional affiliation while continuing to work in the field, while others will retain their membership but stopped working. In examining the literature on burnout, a few key issues emerge as reasons why music therapists leave the field. The two most prevalent reasons were lack of support from administration (Knoll, Reuer, & Henry, 1988; McKinney, 1992; Oppenheim, 1987; Vega, 2007) and poor salaries (Bitcom, 1981; Knoll et al., 1988; Oppenheim, 1987; Vega, 2007). Music therapists mention the lack of respect and understanding for the field coupled with unrealistic 0197-4556/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2009.12.004 136 A.A. Decuir, V.P. Vega / The Arts in Psychotherapy 37 (2010) 135–142