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 a minimum of 5 years of professionals experience were selected randomly from the American Music 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.