How to Become a Certified Neurologic Music Therapist

In December of 2022 I had the opportunity to attend the Neurologic Music Therapy training and become a certified Neurologic Music Therapist (NMT). I’ll share some information on my experience and what the program consists of.

The NMT training is a four day, 30 hour intensive workshop. I opted to attend the virtual option over Zoom, which proved to be a very comprehensive training that was accessible to individuals all around the world. It was interesting to be joined by students who were not only music therapists, but in professions such as occupational therapy and social work, who were interested in broadening their knowledge and skill-sets. As a note, those who are not board-certified music therapists do not automatically become NMTs. They attended in order to enhance their knowledge of music therapy and incorporate it into their practice when appropriate and applicable.

If you are a student and not yet board-certified (like I was when I completed the training), you will become a “Student NMT.” Once board-certified, the academy will update your profile on their website to be listed as an NMT. As per their website, “The Academy maintains seven affiliation categories that define representation, responsibility, and the level of expertise and engagement in the advanced practice of NMT: Neurologic Music Therapist (NMT), NMT Fellow (NMT-F), NMT Allied Professional (NMTAP), NMT Allied Professional Fellow (NMTAP-F), NMT Scholar, NMT Educator, and Student.” As you can see, you can take multiple trainings from the academy to enhance your credentials.

The link for the search option of NMTs is here: https://nmtacademy.co/findannmt/

Pro Tip: I took this training while I was still an intern and was able to count the training hours towards my internship hours! You will need to make sure your supervisor approves of this first, but it’s possible. I actually did this with two training sessions, in order to have some under my belt before I was even board-certified. Also, as a student, the price is currently $600 (it was less when I took it in December), while the professional price is $950. If you’re a student, this is a great opportunity to hop on to save some $$ if you are planning to take this training during your career.

My schedule is always filled with work and family so I had to plan *way* ahead for these four days. I requested the schedule in advance, and this is what it was:

Day 1 - 9am-6:15pm (with an optional social hour until 7pm).

Day 2 - 9 am - 5:45 pm

Day 3 - 9am - 5:45 pm

Day 4 - 9am - 1:45 pm

From their training description, here is an explanation of NMT: Neurologic Music Therapy is defined as the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor function due to neurologic disease of the human nervous system. Neurologic Music Therapy is research-based. Its treatment techniques are based on the scientific knowledge in music perception and production and the effects thereof on non-musical brain and behavior functions. Populations served by Neurologic Music Therapists include, but are not limited to: stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and other neurological diseases affecting cognition, movement, and communication (e.g., MS, Muscular Dystrophy, etc). This 4-day, 30-hour workshop will provide therapists with advanced clinical training and scientific knowledge in the field of NMT.

More information can be found here by clicking on “Register Now!” on any of the available dates: https://nmtacademy.co/training-opportunities/

The training was divided into their three main domains of Cognitive Techniques, Speech and Language Techniques, and Sensorimotor Techniques. Each day focused on a separate domain. There are 21 evidence-based interventions that music therapists can use when practicing as an NMT, which we learned and practiced in small groups under the supervision of a professional NMT. This approach also uses their “Transformational Design Model” (TDM), which follows a 5 step process for treatment planning. The TDM includes: assessment, goal, therapeutic plan, therapeutic music exercise, and the transfer of therapeutic learning into the real world. If you want to learn more about the TDM, check out this link:

https://www.themusictherapycenter.com/transformational-design-model-tdm/

One of my favorite parts of the training was learning to use standardized assessments from other professions. As an NMT, it is required to utilize standardized assessments (that are non-music based) and create treatment plans from their findings. Here is a link to an example of an assessment that we could use:

https://www.communication.aau.dk/research/music-therapy-research/midas#the-original-midas-in-english,-psychometrically-validated-in-2013

This is the “Music in Dementia Assessment Scales,” also known as the MiDAS, as offered on the website Department of Communication and Psychology. This is a two page assessment that is efficient and easily administered as a music therapist. More assessments can be found here:

https://www.communication.aau.dk/research/music-therapy-research/imtac#f6cdb6b6-a870-4fc7-a1e0-f62d69c216c0

Why do we need to use standardized assessments from other professions? NMT believes that it validates our profession and provides credibility to other professionals such as Physical Therapists and Speech and Language Pathologists. As music therapists are still working to license themselves in all of the 50 United States, showing that we can perform standardized assessments, share objective and observable data, and collaborate with other team members helps us to show that we can “hang” with the other therapists and are just as valuable.

I’m going to take a detour for a minute. I asked during the training if music therapy assessments were ever used, and the answer was no. I also asked if NMT would consider developing their own standardized music-based assessments, and the answer was also no. This is how I understood it: Since our goals are non-music based, then music-based assessments are not needed. Plus, when we use assessments from other professions, this helps them communicate with us more easily and effectively. However, I wondered throughout the training if we are doing our profession a disservice by not using our own assessments. I think it goes to show that we need more standardized assessments in our profession, and also that the training for student music therapists should offer the resources to determine which Music Therapy assessments to use. Developing and using music-based assessments allows us to look at our clients within our musical world. This could also confirm the data that we find to be invaluable to other professions, since it was found through our unique music-based lens.

Would you be interested in learning more about Music Therapy specific assessments in a future blog post?

Back to the training :) Another valuable tool from this training was the presentation about Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation Gait training, also known as “RAS Gait Training.” This is an intervention that can be used to improve gait, or the pattern of someone’s walk This video shows a great example of this intervention:

Neurologic Music Therapy - Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation - Gait Training

We learned to calculate the tempo of the music to be used based on a person’s cadence, velocity and their stride length of their walk. RAS may be used on patients such as those with Parkinson's and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It may also be used in conjunction with Physical Therapists, as it is recognized as a “best practice” technique by the Physical Therapy profession. In fact, we learned from a physical therapist during our training on how to assess and implement RAS. This, to me, was an interesting highlight of the training.

At the completion of the training, we had to pass an exam to be considered an NMT. If you take notes throughout the training you will be able to pass the exam! It was a TON of information in a short amount of time, so I tried to write as much as I could down. Even if I wasn’t able to mentally digest it at the time, I could go back over my notes and make sure I understood the information.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this training. It can give you CMTE’s if you are already board-certified, and if not, it gives you a respective professional designation/continuing education credit for your resume. It’s really important for us as music therapists to understand neurological functioning and the effects of music on the brain as well. If you have any additional questions feel free to drop them below! For more information on the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy visit their website at https://nmtacademy.co/