Date of Award
1981
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop a programmed text to teach the subject of professional ethics to music therapy students and professional music therapists. This study was undertaken in response to a mandate from the National Association for Music Therapy requiring the inclusion of professional ethics in the undergraduate music therapy curriculum. Data from four surveys were utilized in the development of the text. For the first survey, a questionnaire was sent to all university music therapy directors in the United States. Questionnaire items concerned how the subject of ethics is taught, materials used, and course titles. Analysis of thirty-nine questionnaires returned indicated that the subject of ethics was most frequently taught as part of another course. Also, respondents indicated a need for educational materials on professional ethics in music therapy. Survey II involved the eliciting of codes of ethics from 181 education and health care organizations. Sixty codes of ethics were received and utilized in the development of the text. In survey III, fifty music therapists, who had been selected at random, were asked to choose the best solution to fifty-six ethical problem situations. They were asked also to rate the importance of each situation on a scale from one (unimportant) to seven (extremely important). Ethical areas considered most important by respondents included client welfare, client-therapist relationships, and confidentiality. In survey IV, eleven experts on professional behavior in music therapy received 291 ethical problem situations. They were asked to select the best solution to each problem, and rate the importance of each of a scale from one (unimportant) to seven (extremely important). Respondents agreed unanimously 25% of the time on choices of solutions to problem situations. The programmed text consisted of ninety problem ethical situations drawn from surveys III and IV. Each situation was followed by four possible solutions to the problem, or four judgments concerning the problem. The best solutions to the problem situations followed each in a programmed text format. Excerpts from codes of ethics were used to support the choice of solutions. A discussion section was also included for each situation. The situations were grouped according to content and placed in one of four categories dealing with organizational and interprofessional relationships; clinical relationships; educational and training relationships; and research precautions and publication credits. Conclusions and recommendations included an assertion regarding the need for frequent update and review of educational materials on professional ethics in music therapy.
Recommended Citation
Maranto, Cheryl Dileo, "Ethics in Music Therapy: a Programmed Text." (1981). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3607.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3607
Pages
378
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.3607