10/09/2026
The Music Therapy program at WCU invites you to a special CMTE on November 7th!
wcupa.edu/music/forms/music-therapy
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Flyer in West Chester University purple and gold with a music staff and notes in the corner. It advertises a continuing music therapy education course worth 3 CMTE credits.
Title: DBT Music-Informed Music Therapy – Putting DBT into Practice. Presented by Suzanne Makary, MT-BC.
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026, 10 AM to 1 PM; Swope Music Building, 320, 817 S. High St., West Chester, PA. Location: Hybrid; Live in-person or Zoom, with the link sent after registration. Cost: $15 registration fee, waived for WCU faculty, WCU clinical supervisors, WCU alumni, and all high school and college students. Register online at wcupa.edu/music/forms/music-therapy.
About the course: Participants learn to use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills through music therapy. The course covers mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness through lecture and hands-on experiences, and participants will create some of their own interventions. Non-music therapists are welcome.
About the presenter: Suzanne Makary is clinical manager of the St. Luke’s University Health Network Acute Partial Hospitalization Programs and has 30 years of experience. She is a DBT Informed Music Therapist and co-author of two books on teaching DBT skills through music.
Schedule:
15 minutes: introduction to DBT and research overview
75 minutes: DBT modules and core skills, with interventions
20-minute break
60 minutes: creating music therapy interventions, with group share
10-minute break
Closing
Learning objectives:
Identify the 4 DBT modules and at least 2 core skills in each (Board Certification Domains 5A-4 and 5A-1).
Take part in at least 4 music therapy experiences exploring each module (Domain 2D-2).
Work together to create at least 1 music therapy intervention for a DBT skill (Domain 3A-7).
Cancellation: Cancel at least 48 hours ahead by emailing Dr. Christina D. O’Brien at [email protected]. The course is approved for 3 CMTEs by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT); West Chester University of Pennsylvania (provider 20484) is responsible for program quality. There are no prerequisites.
