Recreational therapist to music therapist
A recreational therapist already meets 62% of what the music therapist role asks for. The move turns on 38 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.9/ 100
1 How much of what a music therapist is expected to do is already part of a recreational therapist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the music therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A music therapist role treats 58 of its required skills as things a recreational therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- anthropology
- applied music therapy
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply music therapy assessment methods
What stands in the way is 38 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 70 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A music therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a recreational therapist background worth leading with.
- already held apply music therapy assessment methods management skills
- already held apply music therapy methods assisting and caring
- already held apply music therapy treatment methods assisting and caring
- already held assess music therapy sessions information skills
- already held music therapy processes health and welfare
- already held perform therapeutic musical repertoire assisting and caring
All 70 carried skills, including the 58 the music therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 40 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply music therapy termination methods required
- still to learn design music therapy termination plan required
- still to learn organise group music therapy sessions required
- still to learn provide directions in music therapy sessions required
- still to learn use music according to the needs of patients required
- still to learn use therapeutic communication techniques required
- still to learn formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy required
- still to learn meet the requirements of social security reimbursement bodies required
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn meet the requirements of legal bodies required
- still to learn perform musical improvisations in therapy required
- still to learn demonstrate musicianship required
- still to learn develop educational materials on music therapy required
- still to learn develop original melodies required
- still to learn provide feedback on patient's communication style required
- still to learn play musical instruments required
- still to learn conduct musical ensembles required
- still to learn direct movement experiences required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- still to learn inter-professional communication in the psychosocial field required
- still to learn music therapy theories required
- still to learn palliative settings required
- still to learn planning principles for music therapy interventions required
- still to learn neonatology required
- still to learn psychiatric diagnostics required
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
- still to learn implement evaluation methods in music therapy required
- still to learn provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health required
- still to learn use techniques to increase patients' motivation required
- optional, not held design musical events involving patients optional
- still to learn design evaluation methods in music therapy required
- still to learn integrate scientific findings into music therapy practice required
- still to learn identify characteristics of music required
- still to learn developmental possibilities in music therapy interventions required
- still to learn psychological theories required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a music therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply music therapy termination methods practise this
- 02 demonstrate musicianship practise this
- 03 design evaluation methods in music therapy practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 70 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held anthropology knowledge
- already held applied music therapy knowledge
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply music therapy assessment methods skill
- already held apply music therapy methods skill
- already held apply music therapy treatment methods skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held assess music therapy sessions skill
- already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
- already held behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held cognitive psychology knowledge
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held disability types knowledge
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held geriatrics knowledge
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- already held human psychological development knowledge
- already held identify patients' behaviours skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held medical studies knowledge
- already held music therapy processes knowledge
- already held neurology knowledge
- already held organise relapse prevention skill
- already held paediatrics knowledge
- already held peer group methods knowledge
- already held perform therapeutic musical repertoire skill
- already held plan music therapy sessions skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held psychopathology knowledge
- already held psychopharmacology knowledge
- already held psychotherapy principles knowledge
- already held recognise patients' reaction to therapy skill
- already held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- already held record treated patient's information skill
- already held reflexion knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held respond to incidents in music therapy sessions skill
- already held review music therapy treatment approaches skill
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held types of music therapies knowledge
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held cognitive behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held develop a repertoire for music therapy sessions skill
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held philosophy knowledge
- already held psychoacoustics knowledge
- already held psychoanalysis knowledge
- already held psychosociology knowledge
- already held relaxation techniques knowledge
- already held sexology knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
- already held victimology knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn history of musical instruments required
- still to learn music therapy schools required
- still to learn personal development required
- still to learn demonstrate a technical foundation in musical instruments required
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design musical events involving patients optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
26 held skills the music therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role animal therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply art therapy interventions skill
- not needed by the target role apply psychoanalysis skill
- not needed by the target role apply risk management in sports skill
- not needed by the target role assess art therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role autism knowledge
- not needed by the target role control animal movement skill
- not needed by the target role dance therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role diagnose mental disorders skill
- not needed by the target role eating disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role fine arts knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle patient trauma skill
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role perform dances skill
- not needed by the target role perform therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role practice gestalt therapy skill
- not needed by the target role prepare treatment plan for art therapy skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role take referred patients skill
- not needed by the target role theory of art therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role use art in a therapeutic setting skill
- not needed by the target role work with healthcare users' social network skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn developmental possibilities in music therapy interventions required
- still to learn inter-professional communication in the psychosocial field required
- still to learn music therapy schools required
- still to learn music therapy theories required
- still to learn palliative settings required
- still to learn planning principles for music therapy interventions required
- still to learn neonatology required
- still to learn psychiatric diagnostics required
- still to learn history of musical instruments required
- still to learn personal development required
- still to learn psychological theories required
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
Other moves recorded from recreational therapist
Common questions about this move
Can a recreational therapist become a music therapist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A recreational therapist already covers 62% of what a music therapist is expected to do: 70 skills carry over, 58 of which the music therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a recreational therapist need to become a music therapist?
38 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply music therapy termination methods.
How hard is the move from recreational therapist to music therapist?
Its learning distance is 61.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.