Facility: Institute for Therapy Through the Arts
1. What clinical populations and age groups are served at your internship?
Founded in 1975, the Institute for Therapy through the Arts (ITA) is one of the few comprehensive community-based arts therapy programs in the United States to offer all four creative arts treatment modalities – Music Therapy, Drama Therapy, Art Therapy and Dance/Movement Therapy. Through our partnerships with other community agencies and organizations, we provide creative arts therapy in a variety of settings. Interns travel to local facilities and also see clients on-site for individual and group sessions. Populations served include children and adults with developmental disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders, elderly, rehabilitation, medical, psychiatric, substance abuse, anxiety and mood disorders, brain injury, dementia, neurological disorders, trauma and at-risk youth. We also provide the program “Operation Oak Tree” for military children and families throughout the cycle of deployment throughout the state of Illinois.
2. In what format is music therapy provided at your internship?
We provided a spectrum of sessions in different formats: individual, small group (2-6) as well as large groups (10+). These depend on the populations and settings, and the type of service being provided.
3. What is the theoretical orientation(s) of your music therapy internship program?
The ITA internship provides interns with an opportunity to learn how to integrate the creative arts into music therapy. ITA therapists are diverse in their training and approach to treatment incorporating humanistic, behavioral and psychodynamic theories into the creative process. Our music therapy staff is well-rounded in their education and expertise with additional training in Neurologic Music Therapy, Music Together ©, Kindermusik ©, Health Rhythms ©, Guided Imagery and Music, and Clinical Psychology. We believe that this is one of the unique aspects of our music therapy program, as music therapy interns will gain a basic understanding of other creative arts therapies in addition to being exposed to different music therapy approaches.
4. How many music therapists are on staff at your internship site? How many of these music therapists does the typical intern observe and train with?
Currently we have 4 full-time music therapists, 2 part-time music therapists, 1 art therapist, 2 drama therapists and 1 dance/movement therapist on staff. Each intern will be assigned to a primary supervising music therapist, with whom they will have at least 8 hours of contact (usually more than this). The rest of the intern’s caseload will be made up of sessions with other music therapists, including a few cases with other creative art modalities depending on the intern’s interests.
5. How is time divided up between orientation/training/observation/co-treat and leading sessions over the course of the internship?
Interns will be oriented on the first day by the Internship Director and will meet with case supervisors to review information related to the clients they will be working with. Interns maintain the same caseload from the beginning till the end of their internships. For the first month, an intern will be observing sessions on their caseloads, and then start co-leading sessions during the 2nd month. By the 4th month, interns will be leading sessions independently under supervision from their music therapy case supervisors. Interns will have the opportunity to lead sessions twice a month without supervisor’s presence, and will continue to meet weekly for individual supervision. Within this structure, interns can learn to be independent but receive the support and feedback needed by their supervisors. Interns only lead sessions independently (with or without supervisor’s presence) if they have demonstrated efficient clinical skills and abilities to do so. For non-music therapy cases, interns will continue co-treating with other creative arts therapists from the 4th month on.
6. What kind of a caseload can a potential intern expect near the end of his/her 6 month internship?
Interns will have 19-22 clinical hours per week. They are fully responsible for treatment planning and documentation for all of their clients. Interns will also have the opportunity to independently lead sessions with clients who are not on their caseload in order to practice skills such as flexibility and improvisation. Interns will attend all meetings pertaining to their clients such as staffings and IEP meetings and will report on their treatment during weekly clinical staff meetings at ITA.
7. Please describe the support hat interns can expect to receive in regard to professional development and emotional support.
Music therapy interns will meet weekly with their assigned case supervisors for case related supervision; will receive weekly individual supervision from their supervising music therapist and will participate in weekly group supervision with the Internship Director. In the weekly group supervision, interns will meet together to engage in experientials, active music-making, and the discussion of topics that are relevant to their clinical training (ethics, clients’ rights and confidentiality, burn-out, preparation for the CBMT exam, etc.) This is to ensure music therapy interns receive adequate amount of supervision in order to foster self-growth and also deepen their understanding of music therapy and the creative arts therapies. In addition to supervision, interns will participate in weekly clinical meetings with the entire ITA staff as well as monthly trainings.
8. What unique opportunities does your site offer interns that other sites may not?
- Opportunities to co-treat with other creative arts therapists
- Opportunity to work as a member of our clinical team and be exposed to different music therapy approaches
- Opportunity to gain clinical experience with a vast clientele
- Gaining valuable experience in private practice setting
- Participation in additional trainings provided to the entire staff
- Exposure to a variety of assessment tools and documentation methods
9. What are the start dates of your internship? How many interns are taken at a time (or per year)? Is there any overlap between internship start dates?
We offer 2 positions for the period of August-March; 1 position for the period of Jan – July. There will be a total of 3 music therapy interns per year at ITA. This is to create a 3-month overlapping period for peer intern support.
10. Are any of the following offered to music therapy interns: housing, stipend, meals, reimbursement for driving, etc.?
Reimbursement for driving will be provided at 0.5USD per mile. We try to reduce travel as much as possible and we make arrangement for interns to commute with a therapist. We are happy to offer recommendations for affordable housing in the area. While a stipend is not available, interns occasionally have the opportunity to work reception hours at our front desk.
Additional Resources
Please visit ITA’s website for more details! E-mail is preferred for internship inquiries!
Pan Ho, MT-BC
Music Therapy Internship Director
Institute for Therapy through the Arts
pho@musicinst.org
847-448-8339
www.itachicago.org
facebook.com/itachicago
twitter.com/itaartstherapy