Hello, everyone!

   My name is Natalie, and I am a senior music therapy student at Seattle Pacific University. That means that I'm in training to become a board certified music therapist (MT-BC). The final step of my education is to complete a 6 month internship under an MT-BC for 1,200 hours of training and in-field work, in order to be eligible to sit for my board exam. 

   To many people, music therapy may not be a familiar term, and that’s okay! When I started my education to become a music therapist, lots of my friends and family didn’t know about it, either! Music therapy as a practice takes what we know about the healing powers of music through clinical and evidence-based research to help clients and patients meet non-musical goals. 

   Music therapists work with many different populations, including individuals on the autism spectrum, people who have PTSD, depression, anxiety, or similar diagnoses, people who are recovering from a physical injury such as a brain or spine injury, at risk youth, and diseases that affect memory and motor movement like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Music therapists are trained to assess a client’s non-musical needs and goals, such as increased verbal or non-verbal communication, emotional regulation, memory recall, increased fine and gross motor movement, and much more, and address them through music therapy interventions. Engaging with music is one of the only activities that stimulates multiple areas of the brain at once. Your body is working with language, rhythm, melody, motor control, emotion, memory, all at once! That makes music a powerful and effective tool to target all sorts of medical and therapeutic goals. 

   My internship is with Children's Hospital New Orleans, a full-service, non-profit pediatric facility. The departments I will be working in include: Acute Care, Pediatric, Cardiac, and Neonate Critical Care Units, and the Rehabilitation center.

   While I am extremely excited to begin my internship, it is full time and unpaid, and I will still be paying tuition for my internship credits. In addition, the current pandemic has made it difficult for me to work my current job and save enough money for moving expenses, rent, tuition, and other life costs. I understand that this is an extremely difficult financial time for most people, but if you would like to donate, or share the page with others I am truly thankful for any support, financial or emotional. 

Thank you for your time! 

Natalie