Here is the Fall edition of your MAR-AMTA newsletter, Tuning In to Rx Music. In this edition, you will find reports from appointed officers of the MAR-AMTA Executive Board, recent committee work, and information about upcoming MAR conferences.

So please enjoy your Fall read and...thanks for Tuning In to Rx Music!

As always, feel free to give newsletter feedback by emailing:

editor@maramta.org

assistanteditor@maramta.org

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Reports

President

President-Elect

Immediate Past President

Core Values Committee

Vice President for Membership

Public Relations Chair

Government Relations

Treasurer Report

Vice President for Conference Planning

Student Affairs

Professional Advocacy

Continuing Education

Research Committee

• Applications are being accepted for AMT Training at Molloy University – for more information, contact Dr. Seung-A Jung, Sjung@molloy.edu.
• Stay tuned for upcoming CMTE workshops and conferences at Molloy University – www.molloy.edu/ce/musictherapy Questions? Lheller@molloy.edu.

Greetings MAR-AMTA Community,

The Constitution and Bylaws committee has been busy. We have started our anti-oppressive critical discourse analysis, applying Okun’s Characteristics of White Supremacy to our Bylaws. Donna Polen has combined the Constitution and Bylaws into one document, for your review. We will ask the membership to approve an early vote at the Fall Board meeting, so that we can then vote via electronic ballot on whether or not to approve this merge. Voting in this fall instead of in spring 2023 will help us continue with our other committee work with greater ease. You can see a rationale for the merge and links to the merged document here: https://docs.google.com/.../1RAGwk3iWJXNLbtEB3mR5qYB.../edit  A huge thank you to Donna Polen for doing all the work of putting this together!

Please email any thoughts, concerns, or questions to presidentelect@marmata.org.

Wishing you all peace and justice,  Audrey Hausig

Dear MAR Music Therapy Community,

Fall is here, which means that it is scholarship season! Please see below for upcoming scholarship opportunities.

In Service,

Clarissa Lacson, PhD, MT-BC

MAR Vice President for Membership

_________________________________________________________________________

MAR AMTA National Conference/Inaugural Symposium Scholarship

The MAR-AMTA National Conference Award offers monetary assistance to professional members to support member involvement at the national conference (in 2022, the inaugural symposium).  An award in the amount of $150 will be offered to one (1) professional member to as a reimbursement for symposium registration. 

To be considered for the MAR-AMTA National Conference Award, please complete the following application by October 15th, 2022.  You must be a current MAR-AMTA member in good standing to qualify for the award.  Your one-page essay (400 words or less) will be assigned an ID number, then distributed and reviewed independently by members of an anonymous review panel.  The panel will return their ratings and the applicants with the highest ranked essays will be selected.  The award winner will be notified by email the following week. Please direct any questions to the VP of Membership, at vpmembership@maramta.org.

Link to apply: https://forms.gle/LXtoyvZLKzBxaupr5

PLEASE NOTE: AMTA is offering 250 scholarship to the inaugural symposium. You may apply for those scholarships here: https://amta-u.thinkific.com/courses/symposium2022

_________________________________________________________________________

MAR-AMTA Membership Support Fund

The MAR-AMTA believes strongly in our members and supports music therapists who reside in the Region and have financial constraints that limit their ability to join AMTA.  The Region will provide one membership support award to cover the current cost of AMTA membership dues (currently valued at $250.00).  Applications are anonymously reviewed and discretion is paramount throughout the application procedure.  

To apply for the 2023 Membership Support Fund, music therapists must reside in the Mid-Atlantic Region and maintain their Board Certification from CBMT. The recipient of the MAR Membership Support Fund will be required to show proof membership once the award has been disbursed. The deadline for applications is December 1st, 2022 and notification of the award will be made by December 16th, 2022.

Link to apply: https://forms.gle/vhYm4HL8scXSNC4w5

_________________________________________________________________________

MAR-AMTA Scholarship for Racial Minority Students

The Mid-Atlantic Region Scholarship for Racial Minority Students is specifically designed to contribute to the advancement of minority students within the field of music therapy.  An award in the amount of $250 will be offered to one (1) racially underrepresented degree-seeking members to offset the cost of attendance in an AMTA approved music therapy program.  Academic costs may include tuition, fees, books, and/or room and board.  

To be considered for this scholarship, please complete the following application by 11:59 pm EST on December 15th, 2022.  Applicants will need to state professional benefit of receiving the award and demonstrate financial need.  Eligible applicants must identify as a racial minority, be a member of AMTA in good standing, enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an AMTA approved music therapy program located in the MAR, and/or completing an internship in the MAR, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0, and demonstrate financial need.  Applications will be assigned an ID number, then distributed and reviewed independently by members of an independent review panel.  The panel will return their ratings and the highest-ranked essays will be selected. The award recipients will receive notification by early January 2023. Please direct any questions to the Vice President of Membership at vpmembership@maramta.org.

Link to apply: https://forms.gle/LjmnokdJH7qgnW3Z8

Public Relations Chair Report

Cheyenna Eagle, MT-BC, NMT (she/her)

Webmaster

Joseph Madejski (he/him)

Fall is finally here with an update from your MAR PR team!

The Webmaster and I have been hard at work over the last several months, and the wait is finally over! The MAR-AMTA website has been updated to add a new fresh look! 

Words from our Webmaster, Joe Madejski:

We’ve updated the website with a more modern look and fixed some oddities that had appeared here and there. Since the point of the website is to have information easily findable, we decided not to change the structure too much so that everything is still where it was before, just with a fresh coat of paint. Now that the front-end is working, we are cleaning up the back-end of the website so it remains usable indefinitely. As this is a large website with a lot of pages and information, we may have missed a few things; if you notice anything odd or clearly broken, please email me at webmaster@maramta.org with the link and stating the issue.

Best,

Joe

Image description: MAR-AMTA website homepage screenshot on white and purple background.

Check out all of the new pages and features of our website and let us know what you think! We will continue to update and maintain the website to make sure it can be your go-to stop for all things MARAMTA.

Finally, if you have not already, I invite you to join our Facebook Group or like our page and follow us on Twitter (@MARAMTA) and Instagram (@MARMusicTherapy) to make sure you always know what’s going on in our region!

Stay cozy, and Happy Fall!

Cheyenna Eagle, MT-BC, NMT

Chey- (She/her/hers) 

MAR-AMTA Public Relations Chair 

Website: MAR-AMTA.org

Twitter: @MARAMTA

Instagram: MARMusicTherapy

Facebook: Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy association

Regional Updates:

*Licensure Achieved (in hand or in the process of writing regulations)

• DESTF (Chair: Gina Greeson) 
• Currently recruiting co-chair. If anyone is interested in serving, please contact Stephenie Sofield (governmentrelations@maramta.org) or Tatyana Martin (governmentrelationselect@maramta.org).
• No current activities.

• MDSTF* (Co-Chairs: Tatyana Martin, Elizabeth Smith) 
• Licensure: 
• Licensed Professional Music Therapist (LPMTs) Running Total in State: 135, as a result of the SB 82 the music therapy licensure went into law June 1, 2021!
• If you have any question about obtaining the MT license in MD, please contact the MDSTF at: mdstate.task.force@gmail.com  

• NJSTF* (Chair: Paula Unsal) 
• As of Sept 20th, the music therapy sub-committee, under the Board of Creative Arts and Activities Therapies, has completed writing the MT license regulations. Keep an eye out for any calls to action as NJ moves forward with this next step!

• NYSTF (Chair: Donna Polen) 
• Recent activity: NYSTF is planning several opportunities for education about MT licensure in NY; keep an eye out for upcoming CMTEs.
• The NYSTF is continuously monitoring LCAT activities as it relates to MT licensure
• 
  
• PASTF (Co-Chairs: Michelle Muth and Nicole Hahna) 
• PASTF is currently working on next steps for advocacy regarding the MT license. Stay tuned for any upcoming calls to action.
• Phase 2 (Southwest region) of the Statewide Music Therapy Initiative for Health Care Workers is under way. This is a collaboration with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and the Pennsylvania Music Therapy Task Force. This 500,000 grant is the first ever; statewide initiative that is being rolled out in 3 phases. It is also the largest grant the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts has ever given and largest funding initiative to date for music therapy in the USA. For more information see: https://www.haponline.org/Public-Health/Nurturing-Health-Communities/Music-Therapy

• VASTF* (Chair: Shelby Reynolds) 
• VASTF is meeting regularly with the MAR and national GR teams for guidance with decisions regarding regulation writing and reimbursement. 
• The members of Advisory Board of Music Therapy have been posted to the Virginia board of social work page: https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/social/social_board.htm. 
• The VASTF is in correspondence with the regional and national teams to review drafted recommendations for regulation.

•  WVSTF (Chair: Nancy Marmorella) 
• Nancy Marmorella is the new WVSTF chair! We are excited to work with her and national to revitalize the work in WV. 

Happy Fall! I hope everyone is well and enjoying the transition to colder weather. Here’s what’s been going on in the region from your treasurer. 

Sadly, our treasurer-elect Nina Alden had to step down due to changing life circumstances that moved her out of the region. We were very sad to see her go, but wish her all the best in her next chapter of life. Currently the position is open and needs to be filled with a special election. This person would finish out the remaining year of the elect position and then take over as treasurer for two years in July of 2023. If you or anyone you know is interested or has questions, please let myself or another board member know! 

There was also a change to our accounting procedures that came out of AMTA’s restructuring efforts. MAR-AMTA will now contract directly with our accounting company for services provided rather than use AMTA as a middleman. This will help streamline tax preparation and will make the MAR financially responsible for services provided directly to our region. 

Going into the fall, I will be finalizing a draft budget for the fiscal year 2023 to be voted on by the board, preparing for tax season, and assisting with conference expenses. We are so excited to be having our spring conference in Niagara Falls in 2023, and I urge all members who are able to support the region by attending conference and staying at the conference hotel. It’s support from the membership that allows us to keep hosting these wonderful conferences every year. 

Have a safe and happy fall/holiday season!

Image description: White, square box with dark and light purple line down center, with the text: (in purple circle) MAR-AMTA Fall Mini-Conference Virtual Conference November 5th.

Fall '22 Mini-Conference Registration OPEN! $100 Professionals. $50 Students. 

Call for Papers Extended! 2023 Conference Call for Papers Extended: Oct 29, 2022 @ 11:59pm. Preconference Institute, CMTE's, Concurrents Needed!

https://mar-amta.org/conference/. Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association 2023 Music Therapy Conference March 9th-11th, Niagara Falls, NY

Hello MAR-AMTA! 

The conference planning committee continues to be actively preparing for both of the conference offerings; the Fall Mini-Conference & our 2023 Annual Conference! 

Our first ever Fall Mini-Conference is being held on Saturday November 5th, 2022 from 8am-4:30pm in place of the AMTA’s national conference. This will be held on the same platform we used previously, CrowdCast. As part of the registration, individuals will have access to the recordings for 30 days and receive up to 8 CMTE’s for attending all the sessions. 

We have an incredible list of presenters, all who have contributed deeply to the practice and community of music therapy. To view their bio’s and the mini-conference schedule, you may click on this link (Mini-Conference Share Folder) 

Registration is OPEN for this mini-conference and can be found at this link (Registration Link). Costs for the mini-conference are: 

  Professionals: $100 

  Students: $50

Registration will CLOSE on NOVEMBER 1st, 2022 at midnight so please register prior to October 31st, 2022 at 11:59pm. There are no prerequisites required in order to register. If you would like to review the learner objectives and the presenters short biographies, please follow this link by clicking here.

The MAR-AMTA 2023 Annual Conference will be held in Niagara Falls, NY from March 9th-11th, 2023! We have extended the Call for Papers until October 29th at 11:59pm. We are hoping for more submissions for all conference offerings (i.e. Pre-Conference Institute, CMTE’s, and Concurrent Sessions). We have continued to utilize our new compensation policy to acknowledge the emotional labor and oppressive structures placed upon our historically marginalized music therapy colleagues and students who pass the anonymous review process and are invited to present at conference. The conference committee continues to monitor the pandemic and the local, state and federal restrictions for in person events in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please be on the lookout for a call for volunteers to be part of our Anonymous Review Process. This committee will review the submissions for the 2023 conference. All submissions will be deidentified (to the best of our ability) and randomly assigned to a reviewer. 

If you have any questions about conference, the review process, or the call for papers, please do not hesitate to contact Timothy Doak (vpconferenceplanning@maramta.org)

In service, 

Timothy Doak, MS, LCAT, MT-BC

Vice-President for Conference Planning 

Ian Vereen, MT-BC, NMT 

Vice-President Elect for Conference Planning

Happy Fall Everyone!

MARAMTS just had a September board meeting and have some exciting updates to share!

• We are planning on having our annual Fall Business Meeting on the evening of November 19th. Chapter representatives from every school in MAR are invited to attend.

• Scholarship applications will be opening in the next few months. Be on the lookout for application links, which will be shared with chapter representatives, program directors, and followers on social media. If you have any questions about scholarships in the meantime, please feel free to contact Meg Smith at studentaffairs@maramta.org 

• Our first fundraiser is in the works and will be launched before the new year. We hope to make this into a competitive fundraiser between schools so spread the word!

• Beginning after our Fall Business Meeting, we are starting the High School Advocacy Project to reach out and maintain connections with high schools to talk about music therapy as a future career for students. 

• For those eagerly awaiting information on the annual Passages conference, it has been postponed until Spring 2023. Stay tuned as we enter the new year. 

• Our board is currently working on a first draft of a MAR-AMTS Guide. This will help break down all annual events, executive board responsibilities, opportunities for service, and structure of business meetings for clarity to help with the transition of student leaders each year.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and please follow MAR-AMTS on social media.

Best,

Christina Mihalik (she/her)

MAR-AMTS Vice President

maramtsvp@maramta.org

PAC or the Professional Advocacy Committee continues to function and support music therapists regardless of the current situation with AMTA. We are here to help music therapists better communicate about the great music therapy work that you are doing. Second, is to support music therapists when you encounter music therapy being misrepresented. PAC can provide you with resources and suggestions about how to educate the public about music therapy.

To help you understand who we are and what we do I want to provide a brief overview. First, our main job is to help you better communicate about the great music therapy work that you’re doing. Second, is to support you when you encounter music therapy being misrepresented. We can provide you with resources and suggestions about how to educate the public about music therapy.

PAC keeps track of and responds to cases in which the music therapy profession is misrepresented. If you encounter a possible case of misrepresentation, reach out to your me, your regional PAC representative. I am here to help you navigate how you might respond. In some cases, the committee might take the lead on addressing the issue, particularly if an issue you have encountered has cross-regional or national implications. 

In the Mid-Atlantic region, we now have 3 states that have passed licensure, New Jersey, Virginia in 2020 and Maryland in 2021. Maryland implemented their regulations in record time, probably should be in the Guinness Book of Records for that speed. While very challenging for Maryland music therapists, that speed does help in regulating the profession more quickly. New Jersey and Virginia laws were passed in 2020 and it typically takes 2-4 years for actual regulations to be put in place. In these states it can be a challenge knowing that music therapists must be MT-BC in order to practice and how best to communicate. The bottom line here is that the law was passed and any organization, business, institution, etc. that employs a music therapist that is not board certified is not following the law – plain and simple – well on paper it is.  In reality, we do not enforce the law, we have to wait for the state to catch up. What we can do is to educate about the law and music therapy. I encourage you to take these opportunities to connect and educate the individual about the law and music therapy. We do not enforce, we educate and advocate. I am here to support you as best I can.

PAC meets every one to two months to coordinate advocacy activities around the country. Know that each Regional Representative is tasked with presenting at their regional conference about advocacy and is available to present throughout the region. Looking for a presentation on Advocacy for a music therapy club; State association or other music therapy gathering – please reach out to me. 

To keep up to date on PAC activities please join the Professional Music Therapy Advocacy Private Facebook Group. We are planning out social media campaigns to provide tools to help you in communicating about music therapy. Best place to find them is on this Facebook Group.

Hello MAR-AMTA! 

Just a few points of interest for anyone looking to earn CMTE credits:

• Our first ever Fall Mini Conference to be held on Saturday November 5. 2022 can earn 8 continuing education credits and is reasonably priced at $100 for professionals, so be sure to register today!
• Our annual spring conference is still open for paper submissions until October 29, 2022 so if you have a CMTE or institute idea we would love to hear from you!

As always, if you have any questions about hosting a CMTE, maximizing your credits at renewal time, or accessing prior certificates, please do not hesitate to reach out via email and I will be happy to assist in any way that I can. The MAR website also has some excellent resources listed under Continuing Education, so be sure to check it out in addition to contacting me directly. I look forward to hearing from you,

Mary Claire Holliday, MT-BC, LCAT 

Regional Continuing Education Coordinator

2023 MAR Research Track 

The research committee has been busy planning the 2023 Research Track to be held during the 2023 Annual Conference. We will be continuing with our theme of diversity, equity, and inclusion as it relates to research.

Call for Research Posters

We hope many of you will update the MAR music therapy committee on your research. The call for Research Posters is posted on the MAR website. You can find the application here. Applications are due December 15, 2022. Late submissions will not be considered. All applications should be e-mailed to kmurphymtbc@gmail.com with the subject heading: MAR Research Poster Session.

2023 MAR Research Grant

We would like to thank the MAR Board of Directors for their continued financial support of the MAR Research Grant. This year we will be able to award up to $5,000.00 to fund a member’s research project. Applications will be posted on the MAR website.