A well-founded additional qualification in music therapy often does not change your primary profession, but it can enhance your professional profile. A nurse then becomes a nurse with a therapeutic specialization. An educator becomes a professional who can specifically expand their work in development and relationship-building through the use of music.

Where You Can Apply Your Knowledge in a Targeted Way

Typical areas of application are those where relationships, regulation, stimulation, and expression play a major role. These include geriatrics, inpatient care, rehabilitation, psychiatry, psychosomatic facilities, special education, inclusive care, and palliative and hospice care.

In everyday practice, this can take many different forms. In a nursing home, you might use songs, your voice, and simple instruments in a biographically oriented approach. In a rehabilitation center, you might support group activities by providing rhythm and structure. In a facility for children and adolescents, you might use musical interaction as a way to access emotions, establish contact, and promote development.

This diversity is one of the great advantages of the field of music therapy. You don’t necessarily have to leave your current profession behind. Often, you’ll build upon it.

But starting from scratch or making a career change are also popular options for training to become a specialist in elementary music therapy or a music therapist.

For many prospective students, music therapy training without a college degree is a realistic path. Not because it’s easier than a college degree, but because it’s structured differently. It often suits people who are already working, have responsibilities, and want to develop their professional profile in a targeted way. Or it’s for people who consciously want to build a new career path where they can combine their musicality with their love of music and people.