Interprofessional Education in Mental Health: Implications for Music Therapy
Abstract
[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 17(1) of Canadian Journal of Music Therapy (see record [rid]2012-07279-008[/rid]). The article authorship should have additionally listed co-author, Patty Solomon, PhD. Dr. Solomon is Director of Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University; Associate Dean & Professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University.] For the past two decades, a focus of improved mental health service delivery has been the inclusion of interprofessional collaboration initiatives. As administrators and policy-makers increasingly adopt evidence- and outcome-based funding structures, it would be prudent for music therapists to cultivate increased collaboration between music therapy and other mental health professions. This idea is further supported by the current move toward regulating music therapy in Ontario and other parts of Canada, and the large number of music therapists who identify themselves as mental health workers. Consequently, interprofessional education should play a significant role in music therapy education to better prepare for effective teamwork in clinical practice, and to enhance client outcomes. This paper reviews the evidence of effectiveness in interprofessional education in mental health and seeks to build an argument for implementing interprofessional education in pre-licensure music therapy education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)