This week, we conducted an interview with Ellen Whealton, a certified music therapist. She went beyond simply informing us about the field and its benefits, and actually told us how one would be established as a professional in the field. She said that an individual would have to receive a college degree in music therapy or an equivalent degree (in which case they would then have to enter a program to receive a master’s degree). In addition, the person would take a certification board for music therapy to get credentials as a board certified music therapist.  Interestingly enough, Whealton told us that there is national certification, so it should be recognized by all states; unfortunately though, that is not the case and many states do not recognize music therapy as an emerging field, as is the case with New York.  She informed us that the lack of state recognition poses a danger to the field because it makes it harder to get reimbursements through insurance companies. We ended the interview with her informing us of what we can do to advocate for the music therapy field as ordinary citizens. She said that we can write letters to our legislators and also sign the occasional petitions that we may come across online. In this case, people will raise awareness and possibly encourage state recognition.