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January 2020 - March 2021

General Updates

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  • February 2020 - created new social media accounts. Connect with us on Instagram (@musictherapyassociationalberta) and Twitter (@musictherapyab). 

  • Launched our updated website (www.mtaa.ca) in May 2020.

  • June 2020 - created a forum on our website for members to connect with one another and share resources.

  • Hosted our first free-for-members virtual Continuing Education Day in September 2020. Presenters included Lana Bentley, MSW (Trauma-Informed versus Trauma- Specific/Trauma-Centred Care) ) and Esther Thane, MTA (Vocal Relaxation Techniques for Children with Autism); 32 members participated. 

  • Hosted our first virtual AGM in September 2020.

  • Updated our society bylaws to reflect the current needs of our members and the Board. 

  • Hosted Hayley Francis Cann, MTA, NMT, (https://mtahayley.com/) and Priya Shah, RP, MTA, MMT (https://www.priyashah.ca/) (Anti-Oppressive Practice Workshop) in November 2020 to 17 participants. 

  • Received four requests for music therapists in Alberta.

  • Membership grew from 74 members in January 2020 to 78 members in January 2021. 

  • Launched a successful “MTAA Member Feature” social media campaign for Music Therapy Awareness Month 2021 to celebrate the work of practitioners across the province.

  • Ongoing engagement with MTAA members to ensure they understand the requirements for and attain membership in the College of Counselling Therapy of Alberta (CCTA). 

  • Provided a letter of support to ACTA as part of the  government consultation process required before proclamation of the College of Counselling Therapists of Alberta, which will oversee  the regulation of counselling therapists, including music therapists, in Alberta under the new protected title “Counselling Therapist”.

COVID-19 Supports

  • Created a resource document on our website, providing personal and professional supports for MTAA members during COVID-19. 

  • Checked in with each MTAA member through individual personalized emails.

  • Distributed a membership-wide survey to assess the needs of members during COVID-19. 

  • Wrote letters to MLAs in regards to adjusting the CERB qualifications to include workers who still work part-time.

  • Liaised with Alberta Public Health, CAMT, and ACTA about guidelines for accessing and using PPE, safely returning to work, and engaging in protocol-compliant interventions.

  • Developed a list of Tele-music therapy providers for the public to access on our website.

  • May 2020- ongoing- hosted a series of online member meetups, including journal club discussions: 

    • General COVID Check-In

    • Virtual MT Intervention Sharing

    • Regulation Updates and Q & A facilitated by MTAA Regulation Representatives Sheila Killoran, MA, MTA, FAMI, and Fleur Hughes, MTA, MMT. 

    • Protocol-Compliant In-Person Intervention Sharing

    • Self-Care Workshop- Take Note and Take Action facilitated by Elizabeth Stolte MTA, CCC

    • Critical Humanism in Music Therapy: Imagining the Possibilities (Hadley & Thomas 2018)

    • Music Therapy as an Anti-Oppressive Practice (Baines, 2013)

    • The Limits of Resilience and the Need for Resistance: Articulating the Role of Music Therapy With Young People Within a Shifting Trauma Paradigm (Scrine, 2021).

Our association would like to thank the CAMT board of directors for their ongoing dedication and commitment to supporting music therapists across the country. 

 

Respectfully submitted, 

Cheryl Fernandez, MTA

President, MTAA

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