Fostering Pre-Professionals and Learning Experiences in End-of-Life Care Contexts: Music Therapy Internship Supervision.

Abstract

Certified music therapists use music within therapeutic relationships to address human needs, health, and well-being with a variety of populations. Palliative care and music therapy are holistic and diverse fields, adapting to unique issues within end-of-life contexts. Palliative care music therapy has been formally practiced since the late 1970s and affords a variety of benefits, including pain and anxiety reduction, enhancement of quality of life, emotional expression, and relationship completion. The training of music therapists varies around the globe, but clinical supervisors play a key role in skill acquisition. Clinical supervisors support pre-professionals as they realize the application of their training, foundational competencies, and authentic therapeutic approaches in end-of-life care, while navigating the challenges and rewards of this work. This article is a narrative review which offers background information on palliative care music therapy, and reports the authors' viewpoints and reflections on supervision strategies and models employed with music therapy interns in palliative care settings based on their experiences. Approaches are shared on supporting pre-professionals as they begin working in palliative care contexts, as well as implications for supervision practices.