AJ News

By Gerard Hetman ghetman@theabingtonjournal.com

SCRANTON - When it comes time for college students to settle on a path of study, some choose a health care-related field in the pursuit of helping those in need. For others, a career in music and performing arts fulfills a lifetime dream of entertaining and performing for audiences and fans.

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Shown, from left: Sr. Mariam Pfeifer, IHM, MT-BC, director of Music Therapy Program at Marywood University; Kristin Vogt, music therapy student and Maria Fay, MT-BC, coordinator/supervisor of Music Therapy Clinic at Marywood University.

Abington Journal/Jim Gavenus

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A unique path of study at Marywood University in Scranton combines both: music therapy.

Under the direction of Sister Mariam Pfeifer, IHM, Marywood University has run the region’s first and only course of study in music therapy since Pfeifer helped found the program in 1979. Combining health care and social work skills with musical talents and abilities, the field allows students to make a difference in the lives of those in need with the gift of music. In prisons and psychiatric hospitals, hospices and drug rehabilitation centers, music therapists establish communication links with patients that might not be possible otherwise.

“I think this is an amazing field of study—you can help soothe people in unbelievable ways,” said Maria Fay, coordinator/supervisor of Marywood’s on-campus music therapy clinic. A Fleetville resident and associate organist at Our Lady of the Snows and the Church of St. Benedict, Fay supervises music therapy students in their “pre-internship” work assignments at numerous health care facilities in the area.

“Our clinic here—which is open to the general public—is really amazing,” Fay said of her department. “Not all schools with music therapy programs offer a setting like this, where students can get experience in a group setting in the field, as well as working one-on-one with patients in our clinic.”

What makes the pursuit of a music therapy degree unique is the mix required in the course of study. In addition to a core of music courses, students are also required to take classes in anatomy and physiology, statistics, psychology, and sociology, among others. After the completion of degree requirements, students must carry out a six-month internship. Only then are they able to sit for a national exam to be board-certified by the Certification Board for Music Therapists. According to Sister Mariam Pfeifer, students in Marywood’s program begin observing in the field during their freshman year, which offers students a firsthand taste of the music therapy field as soon as possible.

“Most students who apply have wonderful music skills, and they want to use those to help people,” Sister Mariam Pfeifer said of her program. One student pursuing that multi-faceted degree is Kristin Vogt. A resident of the Lehigh Valley and a lifelong musician, Vogt said she was attracted to music therapy by the promise of combining her love of music with the ability to help people in need.

“I’m not sure how I first discovered music therapy, but it’s great because I love music and I love helping people,” Vogt said. “The clinical (works) that we do out in the field are great. I have worked at Our Lady of Peace School, Dunmore Elementary Center and now in the geriatric psych unit at Moses Taylor Hospital.”

As students considera degree in music therapy, the road is long and sometimes difficult. But for those who stay the course and enter the field as a certified professional, the rewards are many.