Professional Identity Formation of Early Career Music Therapists

Abstract

In this study, 15 early career music therapists were interviewed about their academic, clinical, personal, and early professional experiences to define the key characteristics of their professional identity formation. Subsequent analysis of these data revealed that for these music therapists, early career identity formation was characterized by 3 developmental tasks: (1) formulating a professional identity, (2) identifying and practicing a preferred working style, and (3) moving from a single approach to practice and drawing from a variety of theories and approaches. Furthermore, their early career identity formation was characterized by 4 sequential subphases: (1) openness to change, (2) experiencing complexity, (3) freeing up, and (4) increased confidence. Barriers to healthy identity formation were also discussed. Implications for education and training, along with the importance of facilitating mentorship opportunities for early career professionals, were proposed to connect the findings to academic and professional life.