The music therapists of the Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy provide clinical music therapy supervision. Prospective interns may apply at any time by requesting an application and sending it in with a video of themselves playing guitar, piano, a wood wind or stringed instrument, and singing.

The department has institutional affiliations with Drexel University, New York University, Temple University, Loyola College, Molloy College, Montclair State University, and Berklee College of Music. It has been an approved training site for the American Association for Music Therapy (AMTA) since 1981 and on the National Roster of the American Music Therapy Association since the merger in 1998.

The internship fosters skills in the AMTA professional competency areas of music foundations and skills, clinical foundations of therapy, ethics, research, foundations and principles of music therapy assessment, treatment planning, implementation, evaluation, and documentation. Read more about internship opportunities here.

International clinical training has included university programs in Germany, Korea, Japan, and Scandinavia. Kristen Stewart is the Clinical Director of the internship program. Dr. Joanne Loewy is affiliated with Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy Program at Drexel University and with New York University Masters in Music Therapy.

International Training Institute

Training is available during the months of July and August. Prospective International fellows should email info@musicandmedicine.com to apply. The training includes a fee of $500 per week.

Orientation & Observation

The Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy provides a monthly training/observation orientation to help professionals and students learn and train in music therapy and, specifically, its use in a medical context. In particular, we demonstrate how we implement music psychotherapy in a variety of medical settings at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

This training/observation enables you to have the opportunity to observe and also have some hands-on experiential time. Included in the two-day experiences are selected videos, orientation to various tracks of our programs including assessment, pain, sedation, palliative care, asthma, COPD, and cardiac medical music therapy experiences within the hospital and inpatient and outpatient programs as well. The training includes packets with articles and extras about music therapy in this domain.

We have a team of seven music therapists at Beth Israel specializing in specific research projects and clinical areas. The orientation and observation trainees will have the opportunity to encounter several music therapists’ teachings and session descriptions within a variety of settings and units.

Trainees in the past have included: music therapists, chaplains, nurses, social workers, doctors, music educators, and development/grant writers. All are welcomed.

These orientations are offered in two-day or five-day increments and run from 10 am to 3 pm. The fee is $225 per person for a two-day orientation and $500 per person for a five-day orientation.

Interested trainees may call  Kristen Stewart at (212) 420-2722 to schedule a time or email info@musicandmedicine.org.

Child Life Certification

Child Life internships are now available to Board-Certified music therapists seeking dual certification to expand career opportunities. This 480-hour internship within a medical music psychotherapy program focuses on music therapy as a crucial component of the psychosocial care of hospitalized children.

Interns will master the medical application of music therapy in terms of procedural support, pain management, and respiratory care, and will be eligible to sit for the child life certification examination. For information on Child Life Services, please go to www.childlife.org. Please contact Betsy Barone MA, MT-BC, CCLS at 212 844-6782 or Elizabeth.Barone@mountsinai.org for program fees, full-time and part-time scheduling options, and further information.