Earning the Certificate in Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapy (HPMT):

Participants taking CMTE courses at the Center may earn the Hospice and Palliative Care Music Therapy (HPMT) Certificate upon the completion of the following courses that do not have to be taken in any sequence or within any timeframe (no substitutions permitted):

  1. Counseling Skills for Music Therapists Institute 
  2. Hospice & Palliative Care Music Therapy Institute– includes Gospel and Motown repertoire development
  3. Adult and Seniors Grief & Loss Music Therapy Institute
  4. Child and Adolescent Grief & Loss Music Therapy Institute

Since the Center’s founding in 2005, requirements for earning the HPMT Certificate did not change until 2017. During that time, we collected feedback from our participants and heard from many of them that the Grief and Loss Music Therapy Institute taught as one course was simply too much – it had too much information and was too tiring for participants to complete in 4 days.  They strongly encouraged us to maintain the amount of learning materials but spread them over 2 courses rather than just a single weekend course. Based on their feedback, we divided this course into 2 separate courses – one focusing on Children and Adolescents and the second focusing on Adults and Seniors.

All Institutes are taught by Dr. Russell Hilliard and Center Staff Instructors.

*Please note that taking these courses will allow MT-BCs to earn the HPMT Certificate which indicates a professional designation vs. a certification. The only certification recognized for music therapists is offered through the Certification Board for Music Therapists CBMT). Please see their website for more information: https://www.cbmt.org/about/

*if you took the Grief & Loss Music Therapy Institute prior to 2017, you may be  grandfathered under the prior certificate requirements. Please communicate with Karen (info@hospicemusictherapy.org) if you have questions.