After all, a Music Therapist Can Be Replaced by Turning on the Radio...

Wow!  I must admit my heart was pounding a little bit after reading this.  Hold on to your blood pressure!


This is the first comment on a story posted at the Augusta Chronicle regarding the recent debate in the Georgia Senate about the music licensure bill.  Unfortunately, this is the first thing people see after reading the news story.  I have not posted a response and really don't intend to.  (Honestly, I think it will take a life experience with music therapy, and not just words, to bring a change of hear to this person.)  I just wanted you to know that we have a lot of work left to do in educating people about music therapy. 


"Little Lamb" posted this on March 7th, 2012


"Sen. Renee Unterman’s gut instincts were trying to lead her in the correct direction when she initially asked herself, “When the music therapists brought this to me, I thought why do we have to license music therapists?”

She should have listened to that little voice in her head saying, “All they have to do is turn on the radio.”

The reason that music therapists do not need to be licensed is that the only risk they are bringing to society is taking their money for nothing. They are not peddling medicine or medical devices or medical procedures.

You can take it to the bank that licensure is a mechanism to limit the number of people entering a profession by those already in the profession holding said licenses. It limits availablility of the service and drives up the price.

I say no to state licensure of music therapists.

Oh, and while we're at it, let's go ahead and repeal licensure of speech therapists as well."