Information for International Music Therapists seeking membership of the APMT
What is the APMT?
The Association of Professional Music Therapists is the professional body of state registered music therapists who practice music therapy in the United Kingdom . Music Therapists work in education, the health service, social services, private practice, palliative care, psychiatry and forensic psychiatry in the United Kingdom . Historically the APMT has helped set up music therapy practice in the UK, recommended methods of employment and salary, helped define clinical practice and monitored standards in music therapy training prior to state registration.
The APMT campaigned for the recognition of music therapy as an effective form of intervention within the health and social services and this was achieved in 1999 when music therapy became state registered as an ‘arts' therapy. Music therapy is now a state registered profession in the United Kingdom ensuring the standards of training and practice for all music therapists working in the UK .
The APMT supports the continuing professional development of all its members and it aims to protect the rights and status of professional music therapists via its relationship with the Health Professions Council . Each member is bound by the APMT code of ethics and members must be state registered in order to have full membership of the association.
What is the Health Professions council?
The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a new independent, UK-wide regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of professional training, performance and conduct of the 12 healthcare professions that it regulates. The HPC will also ensure that registration of professionals is linked to continual professional development.
The HPC has been set up to safeguard the health and well being of patients using the services of the professions it regulates and to ensure that the public has access to and are treated by health professionals who are qualified and competent The Health Professions Council replaces the old Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) and was set up by the Health Professions Order, 2001
Who is a member of the APMT?
1. UK music therapists who have trained on a UK-music therapy course and are registered to practice as music therapists in the United Kingdom with the Health Professions Council.
2. Music Therapy trainees currently registered with an APMT/HPC recognised music therapy training in the United Kingdom.
3. International Music therapists who have trained on a recognised music therapy course in their home country and are currently in possession of a State registration certificate from the Health Professions Council. If you have any queries about applying for registration having qualified outside of the UK, please contact HPC International Registrations on...
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7582 0866 (and say ‘International')
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7840 9803
Email : international@hpc-uk.org (please state your profession)
If you do not currently have a work permit for the UK or have any queries regarding Immigration or Nationality, you need to contact the UK Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lunar House, Wellesley Road, Croydon CR9 2BY, UK Tel 0870 241 0645. or visit www.IND.homeoffice.gov.uk
How can I join the APMT?
Once the international music therapist has received his/her state registration certificate from the Health Professions council, he/she can apply to the APMT to join the association. The APMT administrator will send an application form on receipt of the state registration certificate and a brief induction interview will be arranged. At this interview the applicant will be made aware of the APMT guidelines, code of ethics and the interview will establish how the APMT can best meet the applicant's needs within the UK.
The induction interview will indicate which category of membership that is most appropriate for the applicant at his/her current stage career and development.
Categories of membership
Membership of the Association shall be open to those who are state registered, eligible for state registration (i.e. have successfully completed a training course in the UK) or are currently training to be a music therapist at one of the courses approved by the JQAC for the Arts Therapies/appropriate regulatory body.
Categories of membership include;
Full Membership : Full membership is conferred on a state registered music therapist who is working or seeking work and who has (if qualified after 1995) fulfilled the requirement for post-diploma supervision.
Provisional Membership : Provisional Membership is conferred on state registered music therapists who have not yet fulfilled the requirement for post-qualification mandatory supervision.
Student membership ; This is for student music therapists currently undertaking training as approved by the appropriate regulatory body.
Associate membership : UK-trained state registered music therapists who are currently not practising in the UK or music therapists who trained internationally but are state registration with the HPC.
International applications for Music Therapy Training in the UK
Applicants interested in pursuing music therapy training will need to contact the music therapy institutions directly. Information on the training courses is available from the APMT link pages or the BSMT website . The head (director) of each music therapy-training course is a member of the APMT Courses Liaison Committee , which meets approximately 6 times a year to discuss all issues relating to music therapy training in the UK.
Internship placements in the UK?
The music therapy training courses are constructed differently from most music therapy trainings in Europe and abroad, with the most placements taking place alongside the lectures, tutorials and clinical supervision at the institute.
There is currently no existing internship structure into which an international music therapy trainee from another country can access easily in the UK. However recently, international internship placements have been constructed between the intern's international course and UK training courses working in close liaison together. There is a limit to the number of places available and it is at the discretion of the UK training institute to accept international interns.
Some interns have set up placements independent of UK music therapy courses but difficulties with state registration and clinical supervision mean this is less effective and issues concerning state registration can effect the independent trainee placement in the UK.
The APMT encourages all interns thinking of doing their final placement in the United Kingdom to contact the Health Professions Council regarding their state registration status prior to organising a placement, as failure to secure the right to practice music therapy in the UK, may jeopardise the placement.
Observational/Assistant Placements
International Music therapy trainees who wish to make a short visit to the UK observing and/or assisting a UK state registered music therapist are not required to apply for state registration. The APMT advises that under no circumstances is this trainee allowed to practice music therapy independently since he/she is not registered with the HPC. The trainee may observe and/or assist the UK music therapist in sessions. It is the UK state registered music therapist's responsibility to ensure that this does not occur and the workplace could be held responsible for the international trainees professional conduct whilst on placement.
Contact details
Music Therapy is evolving quickly in the United Kingdom and state registration continues to affect the practice of music therapy in the UK. Further up-to-date information is available from the International secretary and the administrator .