Supervising Music Therapy Interns: A Survey of AMTA National Roster Internship Directors

Abstract

Music therapy internship directors provide supervision to interns during a critical phase in their educational process. Although the American Music Therapy Association provides guidelines for this role, little is known about the supervision practices currently being employed. In order to investigate these practices, a mailed survey was sent to all current national roster internship directors. This descriptive research project gathered information related to demographics, education and training, techniques, roles, challenges, and rewards. Results suggest that internship directors represent diverse demographics, clinical populations, and experience levels. They have advanced levels of education and experience but desire further training in supervision. A wide variety of supervisory techniques are employed, with coleading, live observation, and reviewing assignments being the most frequently utilized. Internship directors feel they hold many responsibilities and report high levels of enjoyment in their roles. Results are compared to previous studies and implications of providing further training to internship directors are explored. Recommendations for future research include the addition of university-affiliated internship programs.