The Siren
First steps towards music therapy training
 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Click the image opposite to have access to our list of signs that music therapy training might be for you. We offer short courses that help musicians make the first steps towards an exciting new career.
​
If you would like to find out more, then please click the link below to see a recent webinar where Serenna talks all about what music therapy involves, her own path into the profession, which she combines with professional singing work.
The webinar explains what music therapy is, and helps you to understand more about its uses. The webinar includes several real life case studies, so that you can see music therapy in action. ​​​
The SIREN is an online course aimed at musicians who are interested in finding out more about Music Therapy and taking the first steps in foundational training. The SIREN will follow five, themed modules delivered over 10 weeks via weekly, online sessions. The course is accompanied with a beautiful workbook and everything is carefully designed to help you find more about this incredible, dynamic and rewarding profession.
​
The course is intended as a solid introduction where you will identify whether Music Therapy training might be right for you and discover how and where Music Therapists work. It will explain more about Psychodynamic and Neurologic Music Therapy™ approaches, and demonstrate some of the techniques involved. There are several real-life case studies included on the course, so that you can see Music Therapy in action. The course is delivered online and sessions will be recorded so that you can catch up on a replay.
​
TIV director Serenna Wagner (Fellow of the Global Institute of NMT™) will teach all the modules for this course. Find out more about Serenna by clicking on the image below.
A lovely session - thank you so much
This has been a really lovely, joyful training session
It was a lovely session, thank you.
It was also lovely hearing you sing
The backing tracks will be so useful, with the lyrics included
Lovely session - thank you so much
​
I recently attended a workshop led by Serenna, and I was truly impressed. The workshop was well-structured and provided the tools I needed to get started with music therapy.
​
What a fascinating and useful session with Serenna
I’ve learnt so much already. Thank you!
Thank you, it’s been really great to learn more!
This was wonderful!
Thank you - it has got me thinking in a different way:)
Incredible session!!! Thank you Serenna
Wonderful and informative presentation
​
From the very start Serenna has been a pleasure to work with and I couldn't recommend her services more.
​
S – 'Stir' - Module 1
Heed the call! Music Therapy might be something you know a bit about, but you have questions about whether it is a viable career for you and how it actually works. In this introductory module, you will begin to understand whether Music Therapy could be a match for your skills and personality, and identify how you may be being called towards this work.​​
​​
Week 1
Welcome and Introduction
Serenna talks about her path to Music Therapy, and how it was the best decision she ever made, although she didn't know that when she first started to consider it as a career move. ​​
What exactly is Music Therapy?! Our first lesson tells you more about what it is, and how it works.
​​
Week 2
This week is all about your skills and personal qualities. This interactive part of the session enables you to identify whether Music Therapy could be the right path for you.
​​​
The final part of this module looks at what kind of work you might do as a Music Therapist, and explores different Music Therapist profiles. ​
I – 'Investigate,' - Module 2
​​​​
In this module, we will learn all about the 2 main types of Music Therapy: Psychodynamic and Neurologic. We will learn more about how and where they are used, and start to understand exactly how Music Therapy can really, genuinely and clinically help people, and which client groups we typically work with along with settings.
​
Week 3
We will explore the definitions and explanations of the 2 different therapeutic approaches​​. This week's session includes real-life examples of how and where Psychodynamic Music Therapy is used.
​
Week 4
We will look into some examples of how and where Neurologic Music therapy™ is used. This will give you an overview of this pioneering set of 20, evidence-based techniques.
​​​​
R - 'Rise' - Module 3
​​
Now, it's time to spread our wings, and really get to know more about how it all works and what Music Therapists actually do during clinical work with their clients.
​
Week 5
An introduction to the principles of Psychodynamic Music Therapy
​​​
The session will discuss how we go about creating an environment that is conducive to therapeutic work and Carl Roger's 'unconditional positive regard'*​​​. We will learng about Schaffer's 'Mothering Techniques' and Daniel Stern's 'affect attunement' - the mainstays of Psychodynamic Music Therapy.​​
​
Week 6
Classical musicians, fear not! This session also teaches you about how improvisation works in the Music Therapy world. ​​We will look at in detail at a case study: A child with Autism and how Psychodynamic Music Therapy approach was deployed during treatment.
​
*Unconditional positive regard / therapeutic climate (Rogers)
Rogers, C.R. (1957) ‘The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change’, Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), pp. 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045357. SCIRP+1
Rogers, C.R. (1961) On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. WorldCat+1
*‘Mothering’ / caregiver techniques (Schaffer)
Schaffer, H.R. (1977) Mothering. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674422186. De Gruyter Brill+1
*Affect attunement (Stern)
Stern, D.N. (1985) The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. New York: Basic Books. SCIRP+1
Stern, D.N., Hofer, L., Haft, W. and Dore, J. (1985) ‘Affect attunement: The sharing of feeling states between mother and infant by means of intermodal fluency’, in Field, T.M. and Fox, N.A. (eds) Social Perception in Infants. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 249–268. National Elf Service
'E' - Explore - Module 4
In this module, we will explore further how Music Therapy now has a specialist branch known as Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT™) emerged in the late 1990s when laboratory and clinical research showed that specific elements of music - especially rhythm - could reliably drive changes in motor, speech and language, and cognitive function via well-described neural mechanisms (auditory–motor entrainment, timing, attention). This work, pinoeered Colorado State University’s Center for Biomedical Research in Music and partner clinics, led to a standardised clinical model of techniques that translated neuroscience into day-to-day rehabilitation.
​
Week 7
An introduction to the principles of NMT™.​​
This lesson will introdue you to the amazing Transformational Design Model™.
​​We will begin work on the sensorimotor domain and applications.
​​
Week 8
The Speech and Language and cognitive domain applications. ​We will look at real life
case studies: NMT™ with 3 different clients.
​​
'N' - Nest - Module 5
We begin to build a potential area where you feel that your personality, experience and expertise will be best used. This module is all about thinking about the next steps - whether it be the TIV community musician course or entering the full training.
​
Week 9
Which aspects of Music Therapy are you particularly drawn to at this point?​​
We will be dentifying some next steps that might be a fit for your particular interests and personal qualities.
​​​
Week 10
Where to go from here? Help and support with how to proceed with either a full training in professional Music Therapy with a UK institution or further options in foundational training courses.
​​​
Conclusion to the course. Come and join our friendly community and consider training as a TIV community musician. This is an ideal way to start using music therapeutically before undertaking the full, professional training. ​​​
​​​
All sessions are delivered webinar style, with opportunities to ask questions via the chat box. In weeks 6, 7 and 8 there will be practical elements and a chance to try things out and get feedback, as desired.
​
Starting in late January, 2026, this course is now available at £297.00. Payment plans are available. If you have any questions, then please get in touch with us: info@thisinnervoice.com
​
Please note that we do not qualify you to practise professional music therapy. Our courses offer foundational training and the opportunity to work as a community musician using music in a therapeutic way but not conducting clinical work.
.png)
We offer a lovely workbook which goes alongside all our online courses, and helps you to get the most out of the experience.