faith healers. in the practice of igbeuku, patients are persuaded to confess their sins which cause themselves serve discomfort. following a confession, patients feel emotionally relieved because the priest has announced them clean and subjected them to a rigorous dancing exercise. the dancing exercise is a "thank you" for the healing and tribute to the spiritual greater beings. the dance is accompanied by music and can be included among the unorthodox medical practices of nigerian culture. while most of the music therapy practices come in the medical field, musical therapy is often used in the passing of a loved one. the use of song and dance in a funeral setting is very common across the continent but especially in nigeria. songs allude to the idea the finally resting place is hades (hell). the music helps alleviate the sorrows felt by the family members and friends of the lost loved one. along with music therapy being a practice for funeral events, it is also implemented to those dying as a last resort tactic of healing. the esan of edo state of nigeria, in particular, herbalists perform practices with an oko – a small aerophone made of elephant tusk which is blown into dying patients' ears to resuscitate them. nigeria is full of interesting cultural practices in which contribute a lot to the music therapy world. south africa there are longstanding traditions of music healing, which in some ways may be very different than music therapy. mercédès pavlicevic (1955-2018), an international music therapist, along with kobie temmingh, pioneered the music therapy program at the university of pretoria, which debuted with a master's degree program in 1999. she noted the differences in longstanding traditions and other ways of viewing healing or music. a nigerian colleague felt "that music in africa is healing, and what is music therapy other than some colonial import?" pavlicevic noted that "in africa there is a long tradition of music healing" and asked "can there be a synthesis of these two music-based practices towards something new?... i am not altogether convinced that african music healing and music therapy are especially closely related . but i am utterly convinced that music therapy can learn an enormous amount from the african worldview and from music-making in africa – rather than from african music-healing as such." the south african music therapy association can provide information to the public about music therapy or educational programs in south africa. south africa was selected to host the 16th world congress of music therapy in july 2020, a triennial world federation of music therapy event. due to the coronavirus pandemic (sars-cov-2) the congress was moved to an online event. credential national board certification (current as of 2021): mt-bc (music therapist-board certified, also written as board certified music therapist) state license or registration: varies by state, see below the credentials listed below were previously conferred by the former national organizations aamt and namt; these credentials have not been available since 1998. cmt (certified music therapist) acmt (advanced certified music therapist) rmt (registered music therapist). there are other countries that use rmt as a credential, such as australia, that is different from the u.s. credential. the states of georgia, illinois, iowa, maryland, north dakota, nevada, new jersey, oklahoma, oregon, rhode island, and virginia have established licenses for music therapists, while in wisconsin, music therapists must be registered, and in utah hold state certification. in the state of new york, the creative arts therapy license (lcat) incorporates the music therapy credential within their licensure, a mental health license that requires a master's degree and post-graduate supervision. the states of california and connecticut have title protection for music therapists, meaning only those with the mt-bc credential can use the title "board certified music therapist". professional association the american music therapy association (amta). education a music therapy degree candidate can earn an undergraduate, master's or doctoral degree in music therapy. many amta approved programs offer equivalency and certificate degrees in music therapy for students that have completed a degree in a related field. some practicing music therapists have held phds in fields related music therapy. a music therapist typically incorporates music therapy techniques with broader clinical practices such as psychotherapy, rehabilitation, and other practices depending on client needs. music therapy services rendered within the context of a social service, educational, or health care agency are often reimbursable by insurance or other sources of funding for individuals with certain needs. a degree in music therapy requires proficiency in guitar, piano, voice, music theory, music history, reading music, improvisation, as well as varying levels of skill in assessment, documentation, and other counseling and health care skills depending on the focus of the particular university's program. 1200 hours of clinical experience are required, some of which are gained during an approximately six-month internship that takes place after all other degree requirements are met. after successful completion of educational requirements, including internship, music therapists can apply to take, take, and pass the board certification examination in music therapy. board certification examination in music therapy the current national credential is mt-bc (music therapist-board certified). to be eligible to apply to take the board certification examination in music therapy, an individual must successfully complete a music therapy degree from a program accredited by amta at a college or university (or have a bachelor's degree and complete all of the music therapy course requirements from an accredited program), which includes successfully completing a music therapy internship. to maintain the credential, 100 units of continuing education must be completed every five years. the board exam is created by and administered through the certification board for music therapists. history: c. 1900–present for earlier history related to western traditions, see § western cultures sub-section. from a western viewpoint, music therapy in the 20th and 21st centuries (as of 2021), as an evidence-based, allied healthcare profession, grew out of the aftermath of world wars i and ii, when, particularly in the united kingdom and united states, musicians would travel to hospitals and play music for soldiers suffering from with war-related emotional and physical trauma. using music to treat the mental and physical ailments of active duty military and veterans was not new. its use was recorded during the u.s. civil war and florence nightingale used it a decade earlier in the crimean war. despite research data, observations by doctors and nurses, praise from patients, and willing musicians, it was difficult to vastly increase music therapy services or establish lasting music therapy education programs or organizations in the early 20th century. however, many of the music therapy leaders of this time period provided music therapy during wwi or to its veterans. these were pioneers in the field such as eva vescelius, musician, author, 1903 founder of the short-lived national therapeutic society of new york and the 1913 music and health journal, and creator/teacher of a musicotherapy course; margaret anderton, pianist, wwi music therapy provider for canadian soldiers, a strong believer in training for music therapists, and 1919 columbia university musicotherapy teacher; isa maud ilsen, a nurse and musician who was the american red cross director of hospital music in wwi reconstruction hospitals, 1919 columbia university musicotherapy teacher, 1926 founder of the national association for music in hospitals, and author; and harriet ayer seymour, music therapist to wwi veterans, author, researcher, lecturer/teacher, founder of the national foundation for music therapy in 1941, author of the first music therapy textbook published in the us. several physicians also promoted music as a therapeutic agent during this time period. in the 1940s, changes in philosophy regarding care of psychiatric patients as well as the influx of wwii veterans in veterans administration hospitals renewed interest in music programs for patients. many musicians volunteered to provide entertainment and were primarily assigned to perform on psychiatric wards. positive changes in patients' mental and physical health were noted by nurses. the volunteer musicians, many of whom had degrees in music education, becoming aware of the powerful effects music could have on patients realized that specialized training was necessary. the first music therapy bachelor's degree program was established in 1944 with three others and one master's degree program quickly following: "michigan state college (1944), the university of kansas (1946), the college of the pacific (1947), the chicago musical college (1948) and alverno college (1948)." the national association for music therapy (namt), a professional association, was formed in 1950. in 1956 the first music therapy credential in the us, registered music therapist (rmt), was instituted by the namt. the american music therapy association (amta) was founded in 1998 as a merger between the national association for music therapy (namt, founded in 1950) and the american association for music therapy (aamt, founded in 1971). united kingdom live music was used in hospitals after both world wars as part of the treatment program for recovering soldiers. clinical music therapy in britain as it is understood today was pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s by french cellist juliette alvin whose influence on the current generation of british music therapy lecturers remains strong. mary priestley, one of juliette alvin's students, created "analytical music therapy". the nordoff-robbins approach to music therapy developed from the work of paul nordoff and clive robbins in the 1950/60s. practitioners are registered with the health professions council and, starting from 2007, new registrants must normally hold a master's degree in music therapy. there are master's level programs in music therapy in manchester, bristol, cambridge, south wales, edinburgh and london, and there are therapists throughout the uk. the professional body in the uk is the british association for music therapy in 2002, the world congress of music therapy, coordinated and promoted by the world federation of music therapy, was held in oxford on the theme of dialogue and debate. in november 2006, dr. michael j. crawford and his colleagues again found that music therapy helped the outcomes of schizophrenic patients. military: active duty, veterans, family members history music therapy finds its roots in the military. the united states department of war issued technical bulletin 187 in 1945, which described the use of music in the recovery of military service members in army hospitals. the use of music therapy in military settings started to flourish and develop following world war ii and research and endorsements from both the united states army and the surgeon general of the united states. although these endorsements helped music therapy develop, there was still a recognized need to assess the true viability and value of music as a medically based therapy. walter reed army medical center and the office of the surgeon general worked together to lead one of the earliest assessments of a music therapy program. the goal of the study was to understand whether "music presented according to a specific plan" influenced recovery among service members with mental and emotional disorders. eventually, case reports in reference to this study relayed not only the importance but also the impact of music therapy services in the recovery of military service personnel. the first university sponsored music therapy course was taught by margaret anderton in 1919 at columbia university. anderton's clinical specialty was working with wounded canadian soldiers during world war ii, using music-based services to aid in their recovery process. today, operation enduring freedom and operation iraqi freedom have both presented an array of injuries; however, the two signature injuries are posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd) and traumatic brain injury (tbi). these two signature injuries are increasingly common among millennial military service members and in music therapy programs. a person diagnosed with ptsd can associate a memory or experience with a song they have heard. this can result in either good or bad experiences. if it is a bad experience, the song's rhythm or lyrics can bring out the person's anxiety or fear response. if it is a good experience, the song can bring feelings of happiness or peace which could bring back positive emotions. either way, music can be used as a tool to bring emotions forward and help the person cope with them. methods music therapists work with active duty military personnel, veterans, service members in transition, and their families. music therapists strive to engage clients in music experiences that foster trust and complete participation over the course of their treatment process. music therapists use an array