A Look Back at the Origins and Development of Music Therapy Practice and Education in Iowa

ABSTRACT: Historical research contributes a perspective on the evolution of the music therapy profession and creates an opportunity for reflection. The development of music therapy practice and formal education in Iowa have a rich and interesting history dating before the formation of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) in 1950. As part of the Iowa Lecture Series at the 2006 AMTA Mid-western Regional Conference, this paper reflects on the origins and development of music therapy practice and education in the state of Iowa. Historical research contributes a perspective on the evolution of the profession and creates reflection. Reflection provides an understanding of past decisions, directions, trends, and theories. Reflection also informs the future (K. Gfeller, personal communication, May 9, 2006). Historical research puts together the stories of individuals, places, cultures, and time. These stories on their own may only be interesting to those involved, but by placing the smaller stories into the context of the profession, a foundation of understanding is built. With a strong foundation, current and future generations of music therapists have a connection with their past that engages them in meaning for the future. Presented as part of the Iowa Lecture Series at the 2006 AMTA Midwestern Regional Conference, this paper reflects on the origins and development of music therapy practice and education in the state of Iowa and thereby contributes to the past, present, and future narrative of the music therapy profession. The development of music therapy practice and formal education in Iowa have a rich and interesting history dating before the formation of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) in 1950. The first substantial accounts of music therapy clinical work occurred in 1949 at the Cherokee State Hospital, a state facility that provided treatment for individuals with mental illness (Gingrich, 1949). Later, the growth of clinical music therapy programs at the Knoxville Iowa Veterans Hospital and at the University of Iowa hospital provided substantial evidence that music therapy practice existed in some of the most prominent health care facilities in the state. The first attempt to educate musicians to work as therapists began in 1949 at the Cherokee State Hospital. This short-lived program offered musically gifted employees of the Iowa state hospital system a chance to learn music therapy techniques to use with clients who had mental illness (Gingrich, 1949). In 1976, The University of Iowa created a music therapy training program whose evolution provides a historical reflection of music therapy education in the United States. The Early Years In the late 1940s a typical psychiatric facility would have been overcrowded, housing in excess of 1000 clients, and would have provided limited treatment to their patients. The four largest mental hospitals in Iowa at this time were no exception; they were overcrowded and only offered treatment to select clients. Located in Cherokee, Mount Pleasant, Clarinda, and Independence, these facilities were constructed using the Kirkbride model, a style of construction intended specifically for psychiatric facilities (http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/about/index.html). Named after Thomas Storey Kirkbride, a 19th century mental health reformer, these structures were massive multiple story buildings designed to house hundreds (and later thousands) of patients in an efficient manner, by segregating patients according to gender, race, diagnosis, and severity of disorder. Originally, treatment was the goal for all clients, but as the 20th century drew near and funding became scarce, these enormous hospitals largely provided custodial care. Even by the mid-twentieth-century, therapy was in most instances limited to patients with the best prognosis for recovery. Music Therapy Training at Mount Pleasant State Hospital The September 1949 issue of the Hospital Music Newsletter contained a brief description of a unique music therapy aide training program offered at Mount Pleasant State Hospital (Gingrich, 1949). …