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March is Music Therapy Awareness Month in Canada! The Coalition would like to acknowledge and highlight the work of Music Therapists, and share an insightful interview with Dan Bevan-Baker, MTA, who spoke to us about his experiences working and training in the field.
Name: Dan Bevan-Baker
Age: 25
City: Toronto, Ontario (current), Crapaud, PEI (hometown)
Training/Education: Bachelor of Music (Voice Performance Major, Psychology Minor) – McGill University; Graduate Diploma and Master of Arts in Music Therapy – Concordia University
What is music therapy?
As defined by the Canadian Association of Music Therapists, music therapy is a discipline in which credentialed professionals (MTA, Music Therapist Accredited) use music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being. Music therapists use music safely and ethically to address human needs within cognitive, communicative, emotional, musical, physical, social, and spiritual domains.
How long have you been a music therapist?
I have been an MTA since January 2017.
How did you decide to pursue a career in music therapy?
In the second year of my undergraduate degree in music performance I started a minor in music education. This was a backup plan since a performance career can be a scary and risky endeavour! My first and last music education course was “Introduction to Music Therapy”, which opened my eyes to an entirely different way of using music in an intimate, therapeutic, person-oriented setting. It really resonated with me so I switched to a psychology minor in preparation for music therapy studies following my undergrad.
What does a typical work day look like?
Honestly, there isn’t really a typical day in the life of a music therapist, as we see such diverse people with equally diverse needs. I’m a traveling music therapist, so I use the TTC to get to sessions at all sorts of places in and around the city. One of my days looks like this: two group sessions in a school for neuro-diverse children, one group session at a day program for persons with physical disabilities, three one-on-one sessions downtown, and a group session downtown for persons with cognitive/physical challenges. The variety of people and places keeps the work exciting!
Sessions include interventions like singing, playing instruments, improvising, rhythmic activities, composing, songwriting, music and relaxation, music and movement, music and art, song lyric analysis, and music listening.
What challenges or barriers do patients have when it comes to accessing music therapy?
Music therapy isn’t covered by insurance companies, so many folks have difficulty accessing music therapy. In Canada music therapy is a self-regulated profession, but we are working to get the government to provide more standardized funding, which would make sessions more accessible.
What is your favourite part of your job?
Seeing a person experience change, growth, or other kinds of meaningful moments. This could look like someone tapping their foot to live music, someone who is non-verbal singing with a loved one, someone experiencing emotional release, or someone gaining insight. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see the many ways in which music therapy can benefit people. I also love being creative every day!
Read more!
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