Continuing education plays an important role in the ever-evolving field of music therapy. CBMT is responsible for certifying all music therapists – both granting MT-BC at the outset of their careers and requiring ongoing education and recertification every five years. To be recertified, music therapists are required to complete 100 recertification credits to ensure continued competency in the field.

After years of development, this past fall, CBMT unveiled a new database designed to better connect certified music therapists (certificants) with opportunities for ongoing education. On the database, CBMT has a list of over 125 Approved Providers offering more than 300 courses, referred to as “opportunities,” for music therapists preparing for recertification.

“We wanted to develop a database that our certificants could easily search – something a little more interactive – on a platform that would allow Approved Providers to be able to display their courses with links directly to their websites and promotional pages for the courses,” said Hindi Burkett CBMT Continuing Education Coordinator, who has spearheaded the development of the new database.

Previously, it existed as a spreadsheet and was updated manually via email communication. Now, it’s a streamlined experience. The database is basically an interactive search tool – a jumping off point – that leads certificants to additional information about Approved Providers and the opportunities they have available.

Certificants can search by keyword or by opportunity type – recorded vs. not recorded, or asynchronous vs. synchronous. Each column is filterable, so certificants can easily refine their search based on their specific criteria. They can use the dropdown arrows at the top, free type in the search bar, or filter each column within the search results for more narrow results.

Opportunities are only approved for a one-year period. If you see an opportunity in the database that is expired, you can reach out to the Approved Provider to see if they are offering the opportunity again.

Since 1983, CBMT has been certifying music therapists and working to ensure the lifelong learning that is so important in the practice of music therapy. CBMT’s formal Recertification Program began in 1988 to ensure continuing competence and meet accreditation requirements for its certificants.

The recertification process for music therapists is designed to enhance each certificant’s knowledge through continuing education, professional development, and professional service opportunities. These three recertification categories reflect the outcomes of CBMT’s Practice Analysis Study and are relevant to the skills, abilities, and practical understanding required of the MT-BC certification.

Simplifying that process and providing CBMT certificants with opportunities provided by CBMT Approved Providers has been a long time goal.

Alaine Reschke-Hernandez, PhD, MT-BC and Chair, CBMT Continuing Education Committee, said the Committee’s work specifically addresses how to support and challenge music therapists to continually learn and grow. “Lifelong learning is crucial to ensure that board-certified music therapists provide quality services,” she said. The Continuing Education Committee is the official body that reviews all applications to approve an individual or organization to become an Approved Provider. CBMT offers a step-by-step video that explains the process in detail.

Prior to our new interactive database, it was just an Excel spreadsheet. We wanted something more interactive that would better link our certificants with Approved Provider opportunities.

                                                      – Hindi Burkett

CBMT Executive Director Joy Schneck, MM, MT-BC, is proud that CBMT offers such a robust array of continuing education opportunities – together with this new online database that makes the choices so much easier to access.

It was Einstein who said, “Everything must be made as simple as possible,” and there’s a benefit to doing so. While there’s nothing simple about the science of music therapy, simplifying the processes for recertification has made a notable difference over the years.

“More than 50% of the certificant body did not renew after CBMT’s very first recertification cycle,” Joy recalls. “But now CBMT is witnessing an average of 80% renewing today – completely online! Our goal has always been to underscore how essential the lifecycle of music therapy certification has been – and to ensure it is increasingly accessible to CBMT’s MT-BC certificants across the globe.”

The Approved Provider Opportunity Search Database is now available on the CBMT website. Visit cbmt.org to learn more about CBMT’s role in the field of music therapy.