Professional music therapy supervision: a survey

Clinical supervision is regularly given to music therapy students and interns, but the need for professional music therapy supervision has largely not been discussed or explored. In order to better understand prevailing thoughts about professional music therapy supervision, music therapists were surveyed and asked if they participate in supervision and how important they think supervision is for professionals. The results indicated that almost two thirds of professional music therapists do not participate in supervision. Differences in participation and importance ratings were found between several demographic groupings including years of practice and level of education. Two-tailed t tests revealed a significant difference in importance rating between those who participate in supervision and those who do not, with those who participate giving a higher importance rating. However, the majority of all respondents indicated that they felt professional supervision is at least moderately important. These results are explored and discussed, and recommendations are given.