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THESIS

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thesis entitled

CHALLENGES/DIFFICULITES ENCOUNTERED AND
COPING STRATEGIES UTILIZED BY NATIVE SPEAKERS
AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN MUSIC THERAPY

INTERNSHIPS

presented by

 

Shih-Yin Lin

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of the requirements for the

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M.M. degree in Music Theragy

 

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CHALLENGES/DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND COPING STRATEGIES
UTILIZED BY NATIVE SPEAKERS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN
MUSIC THERAPY INTERNSHIPS
By

Shih-Yin Lin

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF MUSIC
Music Therapy

2008

ABSTRACT

CHALLENGES/DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND COPING STRATEGIES
UTILIZED BY NATIVE SPEAKERS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN
MUSIC THERAPY INTERNSHIPS
By

Shih-Yin Lin

The purposes of the study were to (1) examine the relationships among internship
satisfaction, self-rated internship performance, and various areas of the internship
experience, and (2) to identify the major challenges/difficulties encountered and the
coping strategies utilized by both native speakers and international students. A survey
packet was sent to 169 AMTA national roster internship sites. A total of 83 usable
surveys were returned. Out of the 83 participants, 71 were native speakers, 11 were
international students, and one did not specify the nationality. The results indicated that
(1) both internship satisfaction and self-rated overall performance were significantly
associated with self-reported communication/interpersonal skills, therapeutic skills, and
level of respect received from professional staff; (2) internship satisfaction and self-rated
overall performance, were the strongest predictors for each other; (3) the top three

9’ 6‘

challenge/difficulty themes for native speakers were “music skills, personal

issues/social support,” and “financial issues,” while the top three themes for international

,9 6‘

students were “language issues/cultural differences, music skills,” and “therapeutic
skills;” (4) native speakers and international students used both similar and different

coping strategies to overcome challenges/difficulties encountered during internship.

COPyright by
SHIH-YIN LIN

2008

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

For all of the assistance editing this thesis, the author would like to respectfully
acknowledge her thesis committee, Roger Smeltekop, Frederick Tims, and John Kratus.
Loving thanks to my parents, who encouraged and helped me to continue my education.
Thank you to my dear friends Musetta Fu, Ola Chang, and Xiao-Xiao Chen for all of
their help, and to Hsiu-Ching Chang, Doug Christensen, and Randall Fotiu for answering
my statistics questions. The author would also like to thank her classmates for giving her
feedback on her survey questions and to thank her landlord, Kathy King, for her care and

support throughout the process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................... vii

ACRONYMS ................................................................................. iv

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION/ LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................... 1
Research Motivation ...................................................................... 1
Background ................................................................................ 2
Related Literature ......................................................................... 2
Rationale for Further Research/Purpose of the Study ................................ 4

CHAPER 2

METHOD ..................................................................................... 8
Participants ................................................................................. 8
Research Instrument ....................................................................... 8
Survey Development ...................................................................... 9
Procedure ................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER 3

RESULTS ..................................................................................... l 1
Demographic profiles ..................................................................... 12
Statistical Procedures ..................................................................... 13

Research Question 1: To What Extent are Various Areas of Internship
Experience (Skills, Conditions, etc.) Correlated to Self-Rated Intemshjp
Satisfaction and Overall Performance? ............................................................ 14
Research Question 2: What are the Similarities and Dissimilarities between
Current Interns’ and Post Interns’ Perceptions of Their Internship
Experience? ............................................................................. 15
Research Question 3: What are the Similarities and Dissimilarities between
International Students’ and Native Speakers’ Perceptions of Their

Internship Experience? ..................................................................................... 18
Personal Issues ............................................................................ 22
First Choice Matters? ........................................................................................... 23
Research Question 4: What are the Greatest Challenges/Difficulties Shared by

Interns during Their Music Therapy Internships? ........................................... 24

Research Question 5: What Types of Coping Strategies Do International
Students and Native Speakers Utilized During Their Music Therapy

Internships? ...................................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 4
DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 45

Relationships among various Areas of Internship Experience and Self-
Reported Internship Satisfaction and Overall Performance ......................... 45

Current Interns versus Post Interns ..................................................... 47

International Students versus Native Speakers ........................................ 47
Challenges and Difficulties Encountered .............................................. 48
Coping Strategies ......................................................................... 49
Limitations ................................................................................. 50
Recommendations and Implications ...................................................... 51
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Cover Letter to Music Therapy Internship Directors ................ 56
Appendix B: Consent Form to Music Therapy Interns .............................. 58
Appendix C: “Music Therapy Internship Experience” Survey ..................... 61
Appendix D: AMTA Geographical Distribution of Survey Participants .......... 66
Appendix E: Descriptive Group Statistics--Personal Issues ......................... 68
Appendix F: Descriptive Group Statistics--First Choice of Internship Site ........ 79
REFERENCES .............................................................................. 91

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Pearson Correlations among Variables (N=83) ............................... 15
Table 2: Descriptive Group Statistics (Current Intern vs. Post Intern) ............... 17

Table 3: Descriptive Group Statistics (International Student vs. Native Speaker). 20

Table 4: Incidence of Categories (Personal Issues) ..................................... 23
Table 5: Incidence of Categories (Challenge/Difficulty) ............................... 26
Table 6: Incidence of Themes (Challenge/Difficulty) ................................... 28

Table 7A: Theme 1: Music Skills
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 29

Table 78: Theme 1: Music Skills (cont)
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 31

Table 8: Theme 2: Therapeutic Skills
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 33

Table 9: Theme 3: Issues within Internship Site/Issues with Supervisor
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 35

Table 10: Theme 4: Financial Issues
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 36

Table 11: Theme 5: Personal Issues/Social Support
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 38

Table 12: Theme 6: Physical Environment
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 40

Table 13: Theme 7: General Communication Skills/Interpersonal Skills
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 40

Table 14: Theme 8: Language Issues/Cultural Differences
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 42

Table 15: Theme 9: Time Management
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 43

Table 16: Theme 10: Music Therapy Foundation/Pre-Intemship Training
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category ............................ 44

vii

Table 17: AMTA Geographical Distribution of Survey Participants ................. 67

Table 18A: Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (All Participants)....... 69
Table 188: Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Current Intem).. . . 71
Table 18C: Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Post Intern). . . . . . 73
Table 18D: Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Native Speaker) ....... 75
Table 18E: Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (International Student) 77

Table 19A: Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (All
Participants) .................................................................................................... 80

Table 198: Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site
(Current Intern) ............................................................................................... 82

Table 19C: Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (Post
Intern) ............................................................................................................. 84

Table 19D: Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (Native
Speaker) .......................................................................................................... 86

Table 19E: Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site
(International Student) .................................................................................... 33

viii

ACRONYMS

AAMT - American Association for Music Therapy
AMTA - American Music Therapy Association

NAMT - National Association for Music Therapy

Chapter 1
Introduction/Literature Review
Research Motivation

The author of this paper is an international student who completed her music
therapy internship within the past year. The first-hand experience of her internship
journey, from initial application to the completion of the internship, not only provided
her several emotional roller coaster rides, but also aroused the author’s curiosity in
investigating the internship experience from the perspectives of her fellow interns. As a
post intern, the author felt that she was able to see the whole picture of her internship
journey more clearly; this experience led her to believe that it was valuable to examine
the experience of both current interns as well as individuals who had recently completed
their internships.

Her own background as an international student also spurred the author’s intrinsic
interest in understanding how international students and native speakers cope similarly or
differently during their internships. As Zimmermann noted in her 1995 study,
“International students must adapt or adjust to a social-cultural system which is different
from their own” (p.332). This additional adjustment process may compound the already
intensive internship experience and result in very distinctive internship perceptions and
coping efforts by international students.

With this thesis, therefore, the author intended to learn about how music therapy
students perceive their internship experiences and to encourage the recognition of
international student issues in the field of music therapy. The researcher hopes that the
results of this study inform educators and supervisors of the commonalities and

differences between the needs of native speakers and international students during

internship. The researcher also hopes that the findings of this study help music therapy
students become more aware of potential challenges that they may face during the
internship as well as provide interns with coping strategies that can be useful when

dealing with similar challenges and difficulties.

Background

The music therapy curriculum is made of two distinct parts: the academic phase and
the field-based internship. The brief, introductory clinical experiences that the students
receive during their academic coursework is generally referred to as practicum, while the
extended, in-depth clinical training acquired after completion of all coursework is
commonly referred to as internship (Bruscia, 1987; McClain, 1993). The current paper is
concerned with the second part of these clinical experiences, the internship.

The music therapy internship, for which students must apply during the last year of
their academic phase, is the critical period during which the interns evolve from students
into professional music therapists. According to the Education and Clinical Training
Standards by American Music Therapy Association (AMT A), a minimum of 1200 hours
of clinical training is required, of which every student must complete at least 900 hours
or 75% through internship (AMT A, 2006). It is believed that this intensive internship
training not only induces a significant change in the interns’ abilities, but also has an

effect on the future of the music therapy profession (Cawood, 1999; Knight, 2008).

Related Literature
Research concerned with the music therapy internship has focused on curriculum

evaluation (Alley, 1978; Gault, I978), qualities/competencies necessary for music

therapy interns (Braswell, Decuir, & Maranto, 1980; Brookins, 1984; Knight, 2008;
Petrie III, 1989, & 1993), and intern supervision (Cawood, 1999; Knight, 2008;
O’Morrow, 1967; Southhard, 1973; Tanguay, 2008). Much previous research has
included intern input as part of the results. However, less research has specifically
addressed the concerns of students (Wheeler, 2002).

The first research study that centered on the concerns/experiences of music therapy
interns might be that of Grant and McCarty in 1990. They surveyed the same group of
interns at the beginning of the internship and at the end of each month to identify patterns
of emotional states and the growth process in students. The interns were required to use a
5-point Likert-type scale to rate their feelings on 20 pairs of words describing feeling
states. Ten pairs were associated with personal matters and the other 10 were related to
professional matters. The emotional descriptors used for the personal matters included:
happy versus unhappy, discontent versus content, uncreative versus creative, bored
versus excited, unloved versus loved, etc. The descriptors used for the professional
matters included: insecure versus confident, inadequate versus adequate, incompetent
versus competent, uncreative versus creative, incapable versus capable, and so on. Each
month, interns were also given the opportunity to share comments about themselves on
the rating forms. These researchers found that interns who received their first choice of
sites rated themselves higher in both personal and professional categories during the first
half of the internship.

Another intem-centered research project was Pre-internship Fears of Music
Therapists by Madsen and Kaiser (1999). Employing an open-ended question, Madsen
and Kaiser examined pre-internship fears of music therapy majors and compared the

results to those of music education pre-intems. They found some interesting

discrepancies between the two groups: The top three concerns of therapy majors were
“general preparation/being prepared,” “failure/not cut out for therapy,” and “concerns
about supervisor/placement.” In contrast, the top three fears of education majors were
“discipline,” “failure/not cut out for teaching”, and “not being able to apply knowledge.”
A more recent survey allowing interns to express concerns was a comparative
analysis of perceptions of professional competency between music therapy pre-intems
and internship supervisors (Knight, 2008). The survey questionnaire consisted of two
parts. The first part was comprised of 20 questions based on the categories of “clinical
foundations” and “music therapy” listed in AMT A Professional Competencies. The pre-
interns and supervisors were asked to rate their level of concern on each of the 20
question items using a 5-point Likert-type scale. An example question for the student was
“Finding out what will be expected of me as an intern (p.90)”; an example question for
the supervisor was “Helping students know what is expected of them as an intern (p.92).”
The second part of the survey was an open-ended question asking participants to list any
professional concerns that they had but were not addressed by the 20 Likert-type
questions. The results revealed some differences in opinions between students and
supervisors regarding professional concerns: (1) students rated their level of concern
about getting assistance in “communicating with facility staff” and “maintaining client
confidence” significantly lower than did supervisors; (2) while students listed “outside”
concerns such as finances and housing most frequently, supervisors listed musical Skills

as the top professional concern for the intern.

Rationale for Further Research/Purpose of the Study

The importance of understanding the feelings/concerns of students has received
gradual recognition in music therapy literature over the past two decades (F orinash,
2001; Grant & McCarty, 1990; Knight, 2008; Madsen & Kaiser, 1999, Wheeler, 2002).
However, little research attention has been paid to the experiences of foreign music
therapy students in the United States.

The United States is the lead host country of foreign students (Bain, Luu, & Green,
2006). According to the Institute of International Education (2007b), the United States
has accommodated more than half a million international students annually for the past
eight years (academic years 1999-2007). In the 2004-05 academic year, there were more
than 565,000 international students studying in the United States, accounting for
approximately one quarter of total international enrollment worldwide (Bain, Luu, &
Green, 2006; Institute of International Education, 2005). In fall 2006, the number of new
international students, those enrolled for the first time at a U. S. college or university,
increased 10% from the previous academic year (Institute of International Education,
20073 & 2007c). A recent publication by the American Psychology Association,
Studying Psychology in the United States: Expert Guidance for International Students
(Hasan, Fouad, & Williams-Nickelson, 2008), also evidenced a rising need of addressing
concerns of international students who study in the United States.

The above-mentioned growing demand for international education experience in the
United States is very likely to be reflected in the field of music therapy, since the United
States is the country that offers the highest number of music therapy training programs
and it has welcomed international students from the inception of the profession (Brotons.
1995; Moreno et al., 1990). Nevertheless, by searching through the two mainstream

music therapy journals in the United States, Journal of Music Therapy and Music

Therapy Perspectives, the author of the current thesis was only able to identify one study
whose target population was international students. The only study identified was A
Survey of International Music Therapy Students in NAMT-Approved Academic Programs
(Brotons et al., 1997), which was conducted before the unification of American
Association for Music Therapy (AAMT) and National Association for Music Therapy
(NAMT) (see Cawood, 1999; Bruscia, 1987, for the differences between the AAMT and
NAMT internship models). In order to obtain a better understanding of this under-
explored population and to best serve international students during internship, an update
of experiences and concerns of foreign music therapy students studying in the United
States after the AMTA merger is necessary.

Apart from international student issues, another area that requires special attention
in music therapy research is student adjustment. Despite the increasing recognition of the
importance of student experiences in music therapy literature, the investigation of student
perception seems to stop at the level of issue identification. No published music therapy
studies to date have addressed what specific coping strategies interns use to alleviate
their concerns or overcome challenges. If, as Aldwin (2007) says, “How an individual
copes not only has an effect on the immediate problem but also adds to the cultural
repertoire of coping strategies (p.9),” researching how students/ interns cope is as
important, if not more important, as identifying their concerns.

In order to address the two issues identified in music therapy internship literature,
limited research on international students and the lack of understanding on student
coping, further research is needed. Therefore, the purposes of this study are to examine

student perceptions of internship experience and to investigate challenges/difficulties

encountered and coping strategies used by international students and native speakers. The
specific research questions that the current author wishes to answer are as follow:

Research Question 1: To what extent are various areas of internship experience
(skills, conditions, etc.) correlated to self-rated internship satisfaction and overall
performance?

Research Question 2: What are the similarities and dissimilarities between current
interns’ and post interns’ perceptions of their internship experiences?

Research Question 3: What are the similarities and dissimilarities between
international students’ and native speakers’ perceptions of their internship experiences?

Research Question 4: What are the greatest challenges/difficulties shared by interns
during their music therapy internships?

Research Question 5: What types of coping strategies do international students and

native speakers utilize during their music therapy internships?

Chapter 2
Method
Participants
Participants were current music therapy interns and individuals who completed their
music therapy internship within the past year. The internship directors listed as active,
either in the AMT A Member Source Book 2007 or on the AMTA national roster website
(2008), were requested by the researcher to identify and help recruit the participants. A

total of 169 active internship sites were identified.

Research Instrument

The measurement instrument utilized in this study was a researcher-developed
survey (see Appendix C, pp. 64-68), which was comprised of two major sections. One
major section included (1) 10 pairs of questions concerning various areas of music
therapy internship experience using a Likert type scale fiom 1 through 10 (1 being the
lowest, 10 being the highest) to gather data for Research Question 1, and (2) two open-
ended questions to gather information concerning challenges/difficulties encountered (in
response to Research Question 4) and coping strategies utilized by students during
internship (in response to Research Question 5). To make the above-mentioned Likert-
type scale a continuous scale, the researcher only labeled the two opposite ends (e.g. one
end being “very satisfied;” the other end being “very dissatisfied”).

The other major section consisted of 5 demographic questions. These questions were
designed to gather information regarding the status of the internship (current intern or

post intern), the location of the internship site, whether or not the internship site was the

first choice, and the nationality and primary language of the intern. These demographic

data enabled the comparisons made for Research Questions 2 and 3.

Survey Development

A draft of the researcher-developed survey was reviewed by two professors from the
college of music, and then piloted to ensure that the language utilized was also
comprehensible to international students. Five international students (four music therapy
majors and one composition major) at a large Midwest university in the United States
were invited to participate in the pilot study. The participants were requested to complete
the survey, to record the answering time, and to provide feedback regarding the design
and the format of the survey questions. All of the students (N=5) returned the survey.
The results indicated that it took an average of 16 minutes for international students to
complete the survey, and that three of the survey questions were not clear enough and
needed to be modified. After the three survey questions were revised according to the
results of the pilot study, and after the demographic questions were moved to the end
based on a third professor’s suggestion, a final version of the survey was completed. This

final version was made available both online and in paper form.

Procedure

The final version of the survey instrument was mailed to the internship directors of
the 169 internship programs identified. The mailing included a packet containing a cover
letter addressed to the directors, a consent form directed to the interns, and a postage-paid
return envelope. The on-line survey address was included in the consent form for the

interns so they could choose to fill out the paper survey or complete it on-line. A fellow-

up e-mail was sent to the directors one week after the packet was mailed to confirm that
the directors had received it and to provide them with the survey web link and an
invitation to forward it to their previous interns. A second follow-up e-mail was sent to
the internship directors one week before the survey deadline as a reminder of the request
to participate and as a thank you letter. Because 8 directors did not provide their e-mail
address on the Member Source Book and another 22 directors’ e-mail addresses were not
current (the first follow-up e-mail failed), the researcher decided to send these 30

directors the reminder of participation via regular mail instead.

10

Chapter 3
Results

During the data collecting period, two survey packets were returned due to
undeliverable addresses; 38 directors and two interns out of the 169 internship sites
contacted the researcher to confirm whether or not they had received the survey packet.
Among the 38 directors who responded, 12 expressed that they would encourage the
participation of their interns; three indicated that they did not have any current interns;
six mentioned that they did not have any previous interns who could participate due to
the following reasons: (1) they did not have former interns’ contact information (N =1 );
(2) there was a change of the program director (N=1); or (3) non-specified reasons
(N =4); and the remaining 17 directors stated that they had neither current nor previous
interns who were eligible to participate because of the following reasons: (1) there was a
change of the director (N =3); (2) they did not have interns for more than 1 year (N =4);
(3) they were between interns (N=1); (4) they had no contact with former interns (N =1 );
(5) they had an internship program on inactive status (N=2); (6) they had a new program
(N=2); (7) the facility was closed or was about to be closed (N =2); or (8) non-specified
reasons (N=2). In other words, at least 20 directors (11.8% of the total internship
directors identified) were not able to provide current interns and 23 directors (13.6 % of
the total internship directors identified) were not able to provide post interns.

Among the 169 internship sites contacted, 96 surveys were returned (21 hardcopy
and 75 electronic responses). Out of the 96 responses, 13 were unusable. Unusable
surveys were those that either indicated that the participants completed their internship
more than 1 year ago (N =8), or they did not provide sufficient demographic information

(N=5). After the unusable responses were deleted, the final sample size was 83 subjects.

11

Out of the 83 subjects, 48 were current interns and 35 were post interns; 71 were native
speakers and 11 were international students. Because one of the current interns did not
specify the nationality, his or her response was excluded when the researcher compared

the results between international students and native speakers.

Demographic Profiles

The respondents of this survey represented all but one of the seven AMTA regions.
Great Lakes Region contributed most interns (N=23), followed by Mid-Atlantic Region
(N=15), Midwestern Region (N=13), Southeastern (N=13), and Western Region (N=13).
The only region that did not have any representatives was the New England Region,
where there were only 3 active internship sites during the data-collecting period of this
study. For more detailed geographical distribution information of the participants, please
refer to Appendix D (p. 66-67).

Apart from listing the location of their internship sites, the interns were also
questioned about whether they interned at the site of their first choice: 86.7% of all
subjects (N=72) said “Yes” and 13.3% (N=l 1) said “No.” When the subjects were
divided into groups, 91.7% of current interns (N=44), 80% of post interns (N=28), 93%
of native speakers (N=66), and 45.5% of international students (N=5) said “Yes”; 8.3 %
of current interns (N =4), 20% of post interns (N=7), 7% of native speakers (N=5), and
54.5% of international students (N =6) said “No.”

A demographic profile of respondents includes 70 Americans whose primary
language was English, 1 Canadian whose primary language was English (interned in
Canada), 3 Japanese whose primary language was Japanese, 3 Taiwanese whose primary

language was Chinese (Mandarin), 2 participants from South Korea whose primary

12

language was Korean, 2 participants fi'om Hong Kong whose primary language was
Cantonese, and l participant fi'om Costa Rica whose primary language was Spanish.
Participants who interned in the United States but were from another country and did not
list English as their primary language were defined as international students. Participants
who interned in the United States and listed United States as their home country and
English as their primary language were defined as native speakers. Exception was made
for the participant fiom Canada. The only Canadian participant was viewed as a native
speaker in the current study because he or she interned in their home country Canada.
According to these definitions, 11 international students were then identified. Among

these 11 international students, 5 were current interns and 6 were post interns.

Statistical Procedures

The statistical procedures utilized in the cmrent study included the independent
group t-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficients. Both procedures were computed using
Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software. Because the between-group equality of
variances was rejected when computing the results of two of the variables between
international students and native speakers, one of the variables between current and post
interns, two of the variables between current interns, two of the variables among post
interns, one of the variables among international students, and three of the variables
among native speakers, the researcher decided to use the Satterthwaite’s approximation

instead of the pooled standard error for all of the t-test procedures.

13

Research Question 1: T 0 Mat Extent are Various Areas of Internship Experience (Skills,
Conditions, etc.) Correlated to Self-Rated Internship Satisfaction and Overall
Performance?

To address the first research question, correlations were determined between various
skill/condition variables, self-reported internship satisfaction, and self-rated overall
performance (Table 1). Significant (p<.01), but moderate (r=.30-.50), positive
correlations were found between internship satisfaction, overall performance, level of
respect received from professional staff, therapeutic skills, and
communication/interpersonal skills. Apart from internship satisfaction, self-rated
performance was also moderately associated with communication/ interpersonal skills
(r=.42; p<.0001), therapeutic skills (r=.41, p<.001), quality of previous music therapy
training (r=.33, p<.01), and music skills (r=.31, p<.01). A significant (p<.05), but small,
correlation was found between internship performance and level of respect received from

professional staff (r=.28).

14

Table 1

Pearson Correlations among Variables (N=83)
Perf Train Music Thera Com Finan Resp Eng] Cultr
Satis 0.46 0.17 0.21 0.32“ 0.31M -0.01 0.39 0.11 0.03

**** ***

Perf 0.33" 0.31M 0.41 0.42 0.06 028* 0.19 -0.02
*** *¢**

Train 0.18 23f 0.32“ 0.01 0.09 0.20 0.04

Music 0.21 0.14 0.03 0.05 -0.01 -0.09

Thera 0.48 -0.09 0.18 0.1 l 0.12

****

Com -0.02 0.27* 0.32M 0.29**

Finan 0.25“ -0.08 0.22

Resp -0.03 0.20

Eng] -O.16

 

"p<.05; **p<.01;***p<.001;"**p<.0001

Note. Satis = Internship Satisfaction; Perf = Internship Performance; Train = Previous Music Therapy
Training; Music = Music Skills; Thera = Therapeutic Skills; Com = Communication/Interpersonal Skills;
Finan = F inanacial Status; Resp = Level of Respect Received; Engl = English Language Skills; Cultr =
Cultural Differences

Research Question 2: What are the Similarities and Dissimilarities between Current
Interns’ and Post Interns ’ Perceptions of Their Internship Experience?

To address Research Question 2, the means of current interns and post interns were
compared on the 10 pairs of the 10-point Likert-type questions (Table 2). Because the
first question item of the 10th pair was a multiple choice question with a comment field,
the researcher decided to present the results of that particular question later in an
independent section. Therefore, the following is the results of the 19 Likert-type items

only.

15

Both current and post interns gave positive ratings (between 6 points and 10 points)
on 7 out of the 10 pairs of questions (14 items), and negative ratings (1 point to 5 points)
on 4 out of the remaining 5 items. The items that received positive ratings by both groups
were: internship satisfaction, internship performance, previous music therapy training,
influence of previous music therapy training, overall music skills, importance of music
skills to one’s success, overall therapeutic skills, importance of therapeutic skills to one’s
success, communication/ interpersonal skills, influence of communication/ interpersonal
skills, level of respect received, importance of level of respect received, English language
skills, and importance of English language skills. The items that received negative ratings
were: financial status, influence of financial status, influence of cultural differences, and
influence of personal issues.

Despite the above-mentioned pervading agreement between current and post interns,
significant difference was still found in their mean rating of one of the question items
(9a): “How do (did) you rate the cultural differences that you experience (experienced)
during the internship?” Post interns reported a significantly higher mean level (p<.05) of
cultural differences experienced. Moreover, in contrast to the negative rating (mean =
4.9167) fi'om the current interns, post interns rated the cultural differences experienced

positively (mean = 6.1429).

16

Table 2

 

 

Descriptive Group Statistics ( C urrent Intern vs. Post Intern)
Item Respondent N M SD p-val ue
1a. I-Iow satisfied are (were) you Current Intern 48 8.2792 1.3486 0.7409
with your internship experience? Post Intern 35 8.6286 1.3738
lb. How do (did) you rate your Current Intern 48 8.2292 0.9048 0.5232
overall performance during the Post Intern 35 8.3714 1.0596
internship?
211. How well has (had) your Current Intern 48 7.7917 1.774 0.9231
previous music therapy training Post Intern 35 7.8286 1.6713
prepared you for the internship?
2b. To what extent do you think Current Intern 48 7.6667 1.8141 0.1785
your previous music therapy training Post Intern 35 8.1714 1.5622
influences (influenced) the success
of your internship?
3a How do (did) you rate your Current Intern 48 7.9167 1.1639 0.2694
overall music skills (instrument Post Intern 35 7.6286 1.1653
skills, voice skills, improvisation
skills, conducting skills, movement
skills, etc.)?
3b. How important do you think Current Intern 48 8.6667 1.4635 0.4294
your music skills are (were) to your Post Intern 34 8.4412 1.1062
success during the internship?
43. How do (did) you rate your Current Intern 48 7.9792 1.2289 0.6507
overall therapeutic skills (therapeutic Post Intern 35 7.8571 1.1917
relationship-building, client
assessment, therapy implementation,
therapy evaluation, documentation,
professional role/ethics, group
leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,
etc.)?
4b. How important do you think Current Intern 48 9.2917 0.9444 0.1612
your therapeutic skills are (were) to Post Intern 35 8.9429 121 13
your success during the internship?
5a. How do (did) you rate your Current lntem 48 8.125 1.1783 0.4238
communication/ interpersonal skills Post Intern 35 8.3143 0.9632
during the internship?
5b. To what extent do you think Current Intern 48 8.9375 1.0398 0.7927
your communication/ interpersonal Post Intern 35 9 1.0847
skills influence (influenced) the
success of your internship?
63. How do (did) you rate your Current Intern 48 4.4375 2.2209 0.2819
financial status? Post Intern 35 5.0286 2.6064

17

Table 2

 

 

(influenced) the success of your
internship?

Continued
Item Respondent N M SD p-value
6b. To what extent do you think Current Intern 48 5.0417 2.4922 0.6552
your financial status influences Post Intern 35 5.3143 2.898
(influenced) the success of your
internship?
7a. How do (did) you rate the level Current Intern 48 8.1875 1.6329 0.3346
of respect you receive (received) Post Intern 35 8.5143 1.4219
from professional staff during your
internship?
7b. How important do you think the Current Intern 48 8.375 1.5523 0.7708
level of respect you receive Post Intern 35 8.4857 1.8048
(received) from professional staff is
(was) to your success during the
internship?
8a. How do (did) you rate your Current Intern 48 9.4792 1.0914 0.2133
overall English language skills (i.e. Post Intern 35 9.0857 1.5973
listening, speaking, reading, writing,
etc.)?
8b. How important do you think Current Intern 48 8.8542 1.4141 0.6585
your English language skills are Post Intern 35 8.6857 1.8907
(were) to your success during the
internship?
9a. How do (did) you rate the Current Intern 48 4.9167 2.3685 0.0390“
cultural differences that you Post Intern 35 6.1429 2.788
experience (experienced) during the
internship?
9b. To what extent do you think the Current Intern 48 4.9375 2.8614 0.5615
cultural differences influence Post Intern 35 5.3143 2.93 83
(influenced) the success of your
internship?
10b. To what extent do you drink Current Intern 48 4.9375 2.6289 0.4589
your personal issues influence Post Intern 32 5.4063 2.8382

t-test significant items: *p<.05

Research Question 3: What are the Similarities and Dissimilarities between
International Students ’ and Native Speakers ’ Perceptions of Their Internship

Experience?

18

When the means between international students and native speakers were compared,
both groups rated 7 pairs of Likert-type questions (14 items) positively and rated 1 item
negatively. The questions that were rated positively (6 points to 10 points) by both
groups were: internship satisfaction, internship performance, previous music therapy
training, influence of previous music therapy training, overall music skills, importance of
music skills, overall therapeutic skills, importance of therapeutic skills,
communication/ interpersonal skills, influence of communication/interpersonal skills,
level of respect received fiom professional staff, importance of level of respect received,
English language skills, and importance of English language skills. The only item that
was rated negatively (1 point to 5 points) by both international students and native
speakers was financial status.

T -test results indicated that the two groups differed significantly on 6 out of the 19
items: Native speakers rated their “English language skills (Question 8a; p<.0001)”
significantly higher than their international counterparts. International students rated “the
importance of therapeutic skills (Question 4b; p<.05),” “the influence of their financial
status (Question 6b; p<.05),” “the level of cultural differences experienced (Question 9a;
p<.01),” “the influence of cultural differences experienced (Question 9b; p<.001),” and
“the influence of personal issues on the success of their internship (Question 10b;
p<.05)” significantly higher than native speakers. Although both groups rated their
financial status (Question 6a) negatively, international students rated the influence of
their financial status on their success positively (Question 6b; mean=6.7273) while native
Speakers rated its influence negatively (mean=4.9014). A complete list of the t-test

results between international students and native speakers is provided in Table 3.

l9

Table 3

Descriptive Group Statistics (International Student vs. Native Speaker)

 

 

Item Respondent N M SD p-value
1a. I-Iow satisfied are (were) you International 11 8 1.4832 0.1267
with your internship experience? Student
Native ' 71 8.7746 1.3115
Speaker ‘
1b. How do (did) you rate your International 11 7.9091 0.9439 0.1591
overall performance during the Student
internship? Native 71 8.3662 0.9598
Speaker
2a. How well has (had) your International 1 1 7.3636 2.0136 0.4406
previous music therapy training Student
prepared you for the internship? Native 71 7.8732 1.6897
Speaker
2b. To what extent do you think International 1 1 7.6364 1.7477 0.6299
your previous music therapy training Student
influences (influenced) the success Native 71 7.9155 1.73 82
of your internship? Speaker
3a. How do (did) you rate your International 1 1 8.2727 1.009 0.1 107
overall music skills (instrument Student
skills, voice skills, improvisation Native 71 7.7042 1.1759
skills, conducting skills, movement Speaker
skills, etc.)?
3b. How important do you think International 1 1 9.0909 1.0445 0.1 150
your music skills are (were) to your Student
success during the internship? Native 70 8.5 1.3 593
Speaker
4a. How do (did) you rate your International 1 1 7.8182 1.1677 0.7470
overall therapeutic skills (therapeutic Student
relationship-building, client Native 71 7.9437 1.2293
assessment, therapy implementation, Speaker
therapy evaluation, documentation,
professional role/ethics, group
leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,
etc.)?
4b. How important do you think International 1 1 9.6364 0.5045 0.0121 "‘
your therapeutic skills are (were) to Student
your success during the internship? Native 71 9.0986 1.0975
Speaker
5a. How do (did) you rate your International 1 1 7.8182 1.328 0.2905
communication/ interpersonal skills Student
during the internship? Native 71 8.2817 1.0445
Speaker

20

Table 3

 

 

Continued
Item Respondent N M SD p-value
5b. To what extent do you think International 11 9.0909 1.0445 0.6713
your communication/ interpersonal Student
skills influence (influenced) the Native 71 8.9437 1.0675
success of your internship? Speaker
6a. How do (did) you rate your International 11 4.8182 1.8878 0.7604
financial status? Student
Native 71 4.6197 2.4574
Speaker
6b. To what extent do you think International 11 6.7273 2.4532 0.0395“
your financial status influences Student
(influenced) the success of your Native 71 4.9014 2.6358
internship? Speaker
7a. How do (did) you rate the level International 1 1 8.1818 1.6624 0.7745
of respect you receive (received) Student
from professional staff during your Native 71 8.338 1.5487
internship? Speaker
7b. How important do you think the International 1 1 8.3636 1.2863 0.8948
level of respect you receive Student
(received) from professional staff is Native 71 8.4225 1.721
(was) to your success during the Speaker
internship?
8a. How do (did) you rate your International 1 1 6.7273 1.5551 <.0001****
overall English language skills (i.e. Student
listening, speaking, reading, writing, Native 71 9.7465 0.6485
etc.)? Speaker
8b. How important do you think lntemational 1 1 9.2727 1.009 0.1258
your English language skills are Student
(were) to your success during the Native 71 8.6901 1.6953
internship? Speaker
9a. How do (did) you rate the International 1 1 7.1818 1.7787 0.0043"
cultural differences that you Student
experience (experienced) during the Native 71 5.1408 2.6311
internship? Speaker
9b. To what extent do you think the International 1 1 7.6364 2.1 106 0.0007***
cultural differences influence Student
(influenced) the success of your Native 71 4.6479 2.7677
internship? Speaker
10b. To what extent do you think International 10 7.5 2.7183 0.01 14*
your personal issues influence Student
(influenced) the success of your Native 69 4.7536 2.5518
internship? Speaker

 

t-test significant items: *p <.05, "p<.01, ***p<.001, ****p<.0001

21

Personal Issues

Rather than a Likert type scale, the first item. of the 10tb pair of survey questions was
a multiple choice question: “Do (did) you have any personal issues during the
internship?” The researcher chose a different format for this question because it was
designed to investigate interns’ personal issues, the nature of which was that people
either have them or do not have them. When answering this question, 62.5% of current
'mterns (N=30), 60% of post interns (N=21), and 66.2% of native speakers (N=47) said
“Yes,” and 63.6% of international students (N=7) said “No.”

To investigate the differences between interns who had personal issues and those
who had not, the researcher divided the interns into “Yes” and “No” subgroups. T-test
results showed that among current interns, those who did not have personal issues rated
“the influence of previous music therapy training” and “the importance of music skills”
significantly higher (p<.05) than those who had personal issues. However, when the Yes
and No subgroups among the whole sample, within post interns, within native speakers,
and within international students were compared, no significant differences were found
(see Appendix E, pp. 68-78).

In order to give survey participants the opportunity to specify their personal issues, a
comment field was provided after the choice entry “Yes.” The personal issues listed by
the participants were then categorized by the researcher. The response categories
included: relationship issues (long distance relationship, breakup, being away from
family/ spouse, etc.), relationship with supervision/co-worker, friendship issues/isolation,
time management, personal health (chronic illness, mental illness, surgery, vocal health,
being pregnant, etc.), death and/or illness of loved ones, personal plans (marriage plans,

planning to conceive, etc), long driving distance between home and internship Site, low

22

self-confidence, vehicle issues (breakdown), financial concerns, change to a second
internship program due to unpleasant experience at the first one, adjusting to his/her role
as an intern, and loss of personal property. The category that received most responses
was “relationship issues,” “personal health,” “death and/or illness of loved ones,” and

“friendship issues/isolation (see Table 4).”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4

Incidence of Categories (Personal Issues)
Category Number of Responses Received %
Relationship Issues 18 28.6
Personal Health 16 25.4
Death and/or Illness of Loved Ones 8 12.7
Friendship Issues/Isolation 5 7.
Personal Plans 3 4.8
Financial Concerns 3 4.8
Relationship with Supervisor/Co—Worker 2 3.2
Long Driving Distance 2 3.2
Time Management 1 1.6
Low Self-Confidence l 1.6
Vehicle Issues 1 1.6
Change of IntemshJi) Site 1 1.6
Adjustment 1 1 .6
Loss of Personal Property 1 1.6
Total 63 100.2

 

First Choice Matters?

To determine whether or not interning at the site of one’s first choice influenced the
perceived internship experience, the participants were classified into two groups:
individuals who interned at the internship site of their first choice versus individuals who
did not. T-test results indicated that among the whole sample, people who interned at the
site of their first choice rated “the importance of music skills to their success (p<.01),”
“the importance of therapeutic skills (p<.01),” and “the influence of personal issues”

significantly lower, but rated “overall English language skills (p<.05)” significantly

23

higher than people who did not intern at their first choice. Among current interns,
individuals who interned at their first choice rated their “overall music skills (p<.05),”
“the importance of music skills (p<.01),” “the importance of
communication/interpersonal skills (p<.0001),” and “the importance of English language
skills (p<.05)” significantly lower than those who did not. Among post interns,
individuals who interned at their first choice rated “the importance of music skills
(p<.05),” “the importance of therapeutic skills (p<.05),” and “influence of personal issues
(p<.01)” significantly lower, but “overall English language skills (p<.01)” significantly
higher than those who did not intern at the site of their first choice. When the Yes and No
subgroups among native speakers were compared, people who interned at the first choice
rated their “overall performance (p<.0001)” and “the importance of music skills (p<.05)”
significantly lower. No significant differences were found between international students

who interned at their first choice and those who did not (see Appendix F, pp. 79-89).

Research Question 4: What are the Greatest Challenges/Difiiculties Shared by Interns
during Their Music Therapy Internships?

For the open ended questions, the researcher utilized a procedure similar to
grounded theory. However, instead of creating a theory, the researcher only intended to
identify common themes and categories for those responses. The researcher first browsed
all responses to identify the key point or concept of each response. Then, the researcher
grouped similar responses together to form categories and themes. After the categories
and themes were created, the researcher randomized all responses and re-assigned those
responses back to the categories to examine whether the category names were

appropriate or new categories were needed. After a final version of categories and themes

24

was determined, the researcher gave two independent judges a random list of all
responses and requested them to assign the responses to the categories. The inter-rater
reliability scores among the researcher and the two independent judges were .92, .84, and
.81.

The results of categories and themes concerning challenges and difficulties
encountered are reported in Tables 5 and 6. Although they were asked for the three
greatest challenges/difficulties, several subjects only listed one or two responses and 2
subjects did not list any responses. This resulted in a total of 219 responses: 129 for
current interns, 90 for post interns; 189 for native speakers, 27 for international students
and 3 for the individual who did not specify the nationality. The categories that received
most responses by all participants, by current interns, and by native speakers were
identical— they were “financial hardship/little or no reimbursement,” “limited song

9, 6‘

repertoire/familiarity with certain music styles, using time effectively,” and “lack of
social life or support/loneliness.” The categories that ranked top by post interns were
“limited song repertoire,” “financial hardship,” “issues relating to supervisor/meeting
expectations,” “lack of social life or support,” and “using time effectively.” The most
popular categories listed by international students were “limited song repertoire,”

“language issues/speaking in a different language,” “cultural differences,” and “financial

hardship.”

25

Table 5

Incidence of Categories {Challenge/Difiiculty)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category *Tot Cur Po Nat Inter
0%) Wu) (%2 (W M)

1.1 General Music Skills 1.4 0.8 2.2 1.6 0

1.2 General Instrument Proficiengy 0.9 0 2.2 1.1 0

1.3 Limited Piano Skills/Functional Piano Skills 4.1 3.9 4.4 4.8 0

1.4 Limited Guitar Skills 1.4 2.3 0 1.6 0

1.5 Limited Vocal Skills 2.3 3.1 1.1 2.1 3.7

1.6 Limited Song Repertoire/ 13.2 10.9 16.7 12.2 22.2
Familiarity with Certain Music Siyles

2.1 General Preparation 0.9 1 .6 0 1 .l 0

2.2 Limited Activity Repertoire/Creativity 2.7 3.9 1.1 2.1 3.7

2.3 Implementing Appropriate Therapeutic 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.1 0
Intervention/Spontaneity

2.4 Obtaining or Learning Therapeutic Skills/ 1.8 0.8 3.3 1.6 3.7
Techniques/Approaches

2.5 Client Assessment 0.5 0 1.1 . 0.5 0

2.6 Documentation 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.1 0

2.7 Group Leadership/Group Skills 0.5 0 1.1 0.5 0

2.8 Communication with Client/ 1.8 1.6 2.2 1.6 3.7
Verbal Therapy Skills

2.9 Rapport Building with Client/Empathy/ 1.8 2.3 1.1 2.1 O
Counter-Transference

3.] Issues Relating to Supervisor/ 3.7 2.3 5.6 4.2 0
Meeting Expectations

3.2 Differences in Therapy Orientation/Opinions 1.4 2.3 0 1.6 0

3.3 Advocating Services to the Administration 0.5 0.8 0 0.5 0

3.4 Not Being Respected by Staff 0.5 0 1.1 0.5 0

3.5 Adaptation to New Settings/Situations/ 3.7 3.9 3 3 3.7 3.7
Role as an Intem/Working Hours

3.6 Variety of Clientele/New Patients Daily/ 1.4 0 3.3 1.6 0
Limited Opportunities Working with
Preferred Population

4. Financial Hardship/Difficulties/ 14.2 15.5 12.2 15.3 7.4
Little or No Reimbursement

5.1 Adaptation to New Environment 1.4 2.3 0 1.6 0

5.2 Work-Related or Work-Induced Negative 3.2 3.9 2.2 3.7 0
Emotions/Emotional Exhaustion/
Stress Management

5.3 Lack of Social Life or Support/Being Away 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.8 3.7
from Loved Ones/Loneliness

5.4 Confidence Level/Self-Doubt 3.2 2.3 4.4 3.2 3.7

5.5 Personal Illness/Illness of a Family Member 1.4 0.8 2.2 1.6 0

5.6 Self-Care (i.e. Physical Exhaustion) 1.8 1.6 2.2 2.1 0

5.7 Job Seeking During Internship 0.5 0.8 0 0 0

6.1 Location/Driving Distance 2.3 3.9 0 2.1 3.7

6.2 Lack of Technology/Resources 1.4 1.6 1.1 1.1 3.7

7.1 Interpersonal Relationships/Boundary Issues 1.4 2.3 0 l .6 0

7.2 General Communication Skills 0.5 0.8 0 0 0

8.1 Cultural Differences 3.2 2.3 4.4 1.6 14.8

 

26

Table 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued
Category *Tot Cur Po Nat Inter
(%) (%I 0%) 0%) (%)

8.2 Language Issues/ 3.7 3.1 4.4 1.6 18.5
Speaking in a Different Langage

9.1 Learning a Great Amount of Knowflge 0.9 0.8 1.1 1.1 0

9.2 Using Time Effectively/ 5.9 6.2 5.6 6.9 0
Balancing Internship Work and Personal
Life/Schoolwork

9.3 Mtherm Time Mpgggement Issues 0.5 0.8 0 0.5 0

10.1 Lack of Specific Content Knowledge or 2.7 3.9 1.1 2.6 3.7
Clinical Experience

10.2 Limited Instruction of Necessary Skills 0.5 0 1.1 0.5 0
Before Entering Internship

 

*Tot = Total; Cur = Current Intern; P0 = Post Intern; Nat = Native Speaker; Inter = International Students;
Note. Due to an unequal number of subjects/responses and to allow for group comparisons, the data are
expressed in column percentages.

The two most frequently recurring themes for all, current, and post interns, and for
native speakers were “music skills” and “personal issues/social support.” The top two
themes for international students were “language issues/cultural differences” and “music
Skills.” Current interns, native speakers, and the whole sample ranked “financial issues”
third, while the third most popular theme for post interns was “issues within internship
site/issues with supervisor.” The theme “issues within internship site/issues with
supervisor” actually ranked relatively high (9-13%) by all but the international group.
Another popular theme for interns was “therapeutic skills,” which received 11-12% of
responses across all groups. The themes “general communication skills/interpersonal
Skills” and “time managemen ” did not receive any responses from international students.
The theme “general communication skills/interpersonal skills” also did not receive any

responses from post interns.

27

Table 6

Incidence iThemes (Challenge/Difi‘icultjy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theme *Tot Cur Po Nat Inter
(”/0 We) (°/o) (%) (°/o)

1- Music Skills 233 21 26.6 23.4 25.9
2- Therapeutic Skills 11.8 11.8 12.1 11.7 11.1
3. Issues within Internship Site/ ,

Issues with Supervisor 11.2 9.3 13.3 12.1 3.7
4. Financial Issues 14.2 15.5 12.2 15.3 7.4
5. Personal Issues/Social Support 16.9 17.1 16.7 13.0 7.4
6. Physical Environment 3.7 5.5 1,1 3,2 7,4
7. General Communication Skills/

Interpersonal Skills 1.9 3.1 0 1.6 0
8. Language Issues/

Cultural Differences 6.9 5.4 8.8 3.2 33.3
9- Time Management 7.3 7.6 6.7 8.5 o
10. Music Therapy Foundation/

Pre-Internship Training 3.2 3.9 2.2 3.1 3.7

 

*Tot = Total; Cur = Current Intern; P0 = Post Intern; Nat = Native Speaker; Inter = International Students;
Note. Due to an unequal number of subjects/responses and to allow for group comparisons, the data are
expressed in column percentages.

Research Question 5: What Types of C oping Strategies D0 International Students and
Native Speakers Utilize during Their Music Therapy Internships?

The results of coping strategies are presented in Tables 7A through 16. Because
many interns provided similar or identical coping strategies within each category, the
researcher edited and combined similar responses to avoid repeating entries. Because
some challenges/difficulties within the same category had very distinctive features, the
researcher directly cited those challenges/difficulties in parentheses to help readers relate
the coping strategies to the context.

Several common coping strategies were listed across different music-related
categories (Tables 7A and 7B): they were “practicing” and “seeking help from
supervisor/ staff members.” Only native speakers provided coping strategies for the

’9 ‘6

categories “general music skills, general instrument proficiency,” “limited piano

28

Skills,” and “limited guitar skills.” To improve vocal skills, native speakers practiced
daily, had lessons with supervisors/staff, listened to music and sang along, while

international students did some vocal exercises.

Table 7A

Theme 1 : Music Skills

 

Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difliculty Category

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies International Student (I)

 

1.1 General Music Skills

a. Seeking help from supervisor/other staff members (N)
b. Increased practice time on guitar, harp, and piano (N)
c. Practicing (Challenge: sight-reading) (N)

 

1.2 General Instrument Proficiency

a Practicing the instrument/Practiced during down time at work and at home (N)

b. Bought some new music books (N)

c. Worked with supervisor on piano skills, worked with another music therapist on guitar skills,
pushed myself to play more in groups even when I wasn't comfortable (N)

 

1.3 Limited Piano Skills/Functional Piano Skills

a Practicing/Increase in time used for practice/Practice whenever time allowed (N)

b. Purchasing a keyboard (N)

c. Playing songs 1 like/Play around with improvisation (N)

d. Sought help from supervisor - learned 1 new song from a different genre each week (N)

f. Practiced sight reading (N)

g. Avoidance of using piano, using simple 1 WV progression with basic beat pattern, used guitar
most often (N)

 

1.4 Limited Guitar Skills
a. Frequent practice/practiced regularly at home/practiced a variety of music (N)
b. Learning more guitar skills (N)

 

1.5 Limited Vocal Skills

a. Practicing daily (at least an hour)/Practiced on the way to sessions, also most days in my
apartment(N)

b. Vocal lessons with supervisors or other music therapy staff to develop technique and
placement of voice (N)

c. Listening to music and singing along with it/Sing A long groups during the internship (N)

d. Do some vocal exercises (I)

 

To overcome the challenge “limited song repertoire/familiarity with certain music
styles (see Table 7B),” native speakers and international students used common and

different coping strategies. Both native speakers and international students learned

29

several songs per specific period of time (per day, per week, etc.) and made song
repertoire files. On the other hand, while native speakers learned songs from supervisors,
other music therapists, fellow interns, and clients, utilized resources at internship site
(CDs, music library, music, etc.), made songbooks from websites, made CDs, listened to
iTunes, participated in music listening groups, created different activities using the same
song, learned new songs of all genres, wrote down songs requested and learned them,
took guitar lessons, purchased songbooks, practiced songs on different instruments, and
researched histories of different styles of music, international students utilized Youtube,
collected sheet music, listened to a new song on the way to work/home, learned songs

according to the populations, took notes and learned songs that they heard in sessions.

30

Table 7B

Theme 1 : Music Skills (cont)
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difliculty Category

Category Native Speaker (N)

Coping Strategies International Student (I)

1.6 Limited Song Repertoire/Familiarity with Certain Music Styles

a Learned songs as the other music therapist sang them/Learning songs from supervisors and
other intems/Requested to learn songs from supervisors, other staff members, and fellow
interns (N )/ Whenever I hear a new song in any other session, try to learn it as quickly as
possible (I)

b. Listened to as many of the facility's CDs as possible/Took advantage of music library and
resources at internship site (N)

c. Make songbooks from websites and resources available at site (N)

d. Borrowing music (N)

e. Making CDs of repertoire to listen to in the car/Copying lots of CDs (N)

f. Use Youtube to be familiar with new songs (I)

g. Listened to iTunes (N)

h. Music listening groups (N)

i. Asking questions to clients and colleagues/patient input for song preference (N)

j. Listening to a new song on my way to work or on my way home, taking notes and learning new
song when presented during the session (I)

k. Created different activities to do with the same song (N)

1. Created song repertoire file to practice and learn new songs/made a binder of all songs I know
and when I learned a new song, I added it into my binder (I; N)

m. Collecting sheet music everyday(I)/Purchase songbooks (N)

n. Learned more songs and music according to the populations (1)

o. Learned several songs each week/Learning songs every night/leamed at least one song per 3
days/per week (I; N)

p. Learning songs fi'om the recommended song list, constantly learning new songs of all genres
(N)

q. Practice and memorize new songs(N)

r. Staying up late to look up and learn new songs (N)

5. Write down any songs that are requested that I don't know and make a point to look them up
and learn them (N)

t. Guitar lessons throughout intemship/Leaming new songs every week with guitar
accompaniment (N)

11. Learned songs from supervisor, used her resources, learned from clients
(Challenge: Learning multicultural repertoire) (N)

v. Listened to various types of music at work and at home, practiced songs on the piano and
guitar, communicated with supervisors about my knowledge and questions I had, visited a
church that had Gospel music, attended concerts at work and outside work, researched
histories of different styles of music (Challenge: Knowledge of various types of music,
especially Gospel music) (N)

 

31

Among the nine therapeutic skill-related categories (see Table 8), only three
categories received responses from international students— they were “limited activity

’9

repertoire/creativity, “obtaining or learning therapeutic skills/techniques/approaches.”
and “communication with client/verbal therapy skills.” To surmount the challenge
“limited activity repertoire/creativity,” native speakers observed groups as much as
possible, reviewed past session plans, brainstormed with supervisors, used intemet
resources, borrowed director’s books, and read music therapy publications, recorded
activity ideas when presented, and created different activities for the same instruments,
while international students found more activities and talked to other professionals. To
obtain/learn various therapeutic skills/techniques/approaches, both native speakers and
international students learned from books (music therapy journals, textbooks, etc.) and
sought help from supervisor and co-worker. Apart from those shared coping strategies,
international students also attended workshops and tried multiple therapeutic techniques,
while native speakers observed several professionals in the field and related fields. To
improve communication with clients and verbal therapy skills, native speakers elicited
feedback from supervisors and other therapists, practiced through trial and error, asked
clients to repeat themselves or speak Slowly, developed nonverbal communication skills.
and went to other music therapy groups and observed, while international students tried

to build rapport with clients.

Table 8

Theme 2: Therapeutic Skills

Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difiiculty Category
Category ‘ Native Speaker (N)
Coking Strategies lntemational Student (I)

2.1 General Preparation

a Memorizing 2 songs per week as requested by supervisor, practicing an hour a day
(Challenge: Memorizing songs) (N)

b. Visualize check lists (Challenge: Clarity of thoughts during sessions) (N)

 

2.2 Limited Activity Repertoire/Creativity

a Observing pediatric groups as much as possible (Challenge: Limited pediatric repertoire) (N)

b. Web searching, brain storming in instrument closet (Non-specified nationality)

c. Reviewing past session plans to stimulate ideas (N)

d. Brainstorming with supervisors (N)

e. Internet resources(N)

f. Print resources (Music therapy publications)/Used internship director’s books (N)

g. Found more sensory activities, talked to other professionals to get new ideas (Challenge:
Limited sensory activities) (I)

h. Recorded activity ideas as I saw others do them, talk about them, or post them online (N)

i. Created different activities using the same instruments (N)

 

2.3 Implementing Appropriate Therapeutic Intervention/Spontaneity

a. Observing my supervisors closely/Consulted many times with my internship director (N)
b. Reading books about music therapy with my population of clients (N)

c. Researching the client population (N)

(1. Trying new things to see how they work/Using songs and activities in new ways (N)

e. Asking lots of questions (N)

 

2.4 Obtaining or Learning Therapeutic Skills/Techniques/Approaches

a. Reading the Journal of Music Therapy, Music Therapy Perspectives, and consulting other
sources and professionals to learn about different diagnoses, music therapy techniques and
approaches, and how I could best meet the needs of clients here with interventions/seeking
help from supervisor and other therapists (N)

b. Learned from supervisor, books, co-workers and workshop (1)

c. Tried multiple therapeutic ways (I)

d. Re-read some books and notes fiom school (N)

6. Worked closely with supervisors regarding safety issues specific to the setting I was in,
therapeutic bormdaries, and other therapeutic skills (N)

f. Observed several professionals in the field and related fields (N)

 

2.5 Client Assessment
No coping strategies provided by the respondent
(Challenge: Assessment difficulties due to non-existent observation) (N)

 

2.6 Documentation

3.. Familiarized myself with documentation styles and regulations (N)
b. Asked questions when assistance was needed (N)

c. Practice (N)

 

2.7 Group Leadership/Group Skills
a. Communicating with my supervisor

(Challenge: Leading groups of more than 10 patients by myself) (N)

33

Table 8

 

Continued
Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

2.8 Communication with Client/Verbal Therapy Skills

a. Elicited feedback fi'om supervisor/other therapists (N)

b. Practiced through trial and error (N)

c. Learned to just ask them to repeat themselves, or say it again slowly, so I could tmderstand
better, developed a greater repertoire of nonverbal communication skills
(Challenge: Understanding clients who were hard to understand) (N)

(I. Tried to build rapport with client (I)

e. Going to unrelated MT groups and observing (N)

 

2.9 Rapport Building with Client/Empathy/Counter-Transference

a. Going over names with pictures of clients (Challenge: Learning clients' names) (N)

b. Reading intake information, verbal processing with colleagues and supervisors, discussion at
treatment team meetings
(Challenge: Difficulty relating to client's personal and family backgrounds) (N)

c. Attended therapy for personal means; Processing with therapists at my internship site after
rough sessions (Challenge: Cormter-transference) (N)

d. Kept a journal (Challenge: Separating emotions) (N)

 

The only category within the theme “issues within internship site/issues with
supervisor” that received coping strategies from both international students and native
speakers was “adaptation to new settings/situations/roles as intern/working hours.” To
overcome this challenge, international students read articles and books about the setting,
while native speakers discussed stress with fiiends and family, talked with supervisor
about needs, learned as much as possible when observing and did the best when leading,
attended psychotherapy sessions, had weekly massages, and asked experienced

colleagues for their coping strategies (see Table 9).

34

Table 9

Theme 3: Issues within Internship Site/Issues with Supervisor
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difliculty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

3.1 Issues Relating to Supervisor/Meeting Expectations

a. Talked with other intern to validate feelings, presented ideas in a format to supervisor's liking
(Challenge: Personality clash with supervisor) (N)

b. Spoke with supervisor and tried to explain my perspective/Talking openly about needing
space (Challenge: Unrealistic expectations fiorn supervisor/Supervisor being critical ) (N)

c. Establishing relationships with other interns and therapists; various communication strategies
with supervisor", venting at home to spouse (Challenge: Communicating with supervisor) (N)

(L Peer Support (Challenge: Poor working relationship with supervisor) (N)

e. Confronted my supervisor on some issues (Challenge: Issues with supervision) (N)

f. Asking lots of questions/keeping close contact with supervisor
(Challenge: Meeting high standards set at internship site) (N)

 

3.2 Difl'erences in Therapy Orientation/Opinions

a. Accept the differences - compare and contrast, don't discount one or the other (N)

b. Talking with therapist about working together (Challenge: Difference in opinion with other
therapist) (N)

c. Had to learn it (Challenge: Learning "their way" of music therapy) (N)

 

3.3 Advocating Services to the Administration
a. Discuss the field with anyone, hand out research packets and information, prepare ahead of
time, let it go (N)

 

3.4 Not Being Respected by Staff
a. Met with supervisor (N)

 

3.5 Adaptation to New Settings/Situations/Roles as Intern/Working Hours

a. Reading lots of articles and books about the setting I'm in now (I)

b. Recognizing that I am still a student, learning as much as 1 can while I watch, doing the best I
can when I do lead (Challenge: Learning to sit back and watch instead of lead) (N)

c. Discussing stress with friends and family (Challenge: Adapting to new situations)

(I. Voicing my desire for more independence to supervisor; taking charge of situations when
appropriate and possible; taking leadership positions when offered
(Challenge: Establishing independence) (N)

e. Trying to go to bed early (Challenge: Waking up early every day!) (N)

f. Asked experienced colleagues their coping strategies
(Challenge: Adjusting to a locked unit psychiatric facility atmosphere) (N)

g. Attended weekly individual or group psychotherapy sessions outside of the internship setting,
weekly massages and energy work with a holistic health practitioner
(Challenge: Working in a psychiatric setting and dealing with my own mental illness) (N)

h. Just getting used to the hours (Challenge: Long days) (N)

 

3.6 Variety of Clientele/New Patients Daily/
Limited Opportunities Working with Preferred Population
a. Created my own youth population project - Dream Girls - for adolescent females
(Challenge: Not enough youth population opportunities) (N)
b. Wrote goals that addressed short term stays and ages 6 months to 23 years, built rapport with
patient and parents, ask for input from internship director, child life, nursing staff, doctors, and
rehabilitation Services/Preparing (N)

35

Both international students and native speakers listed “working other jobs,” “using
mass transportation system,” and “nothing” as their coping strategies for their financial
difficulties. Some native speakers also used student loans, credit cards, and high debt,
received financial support fi'om parents, saved money, carefully budgeted, limited their
social activities/spending/restaurant meals/personal travel, lived with family/relative, had
spouse work two jobs, made time to take care of bills, and used prayers to alleviate their
financial concerns. To resolve the challenge of not having enough money to buy a car,
one international student expressed that she asked for rides from staff members (see

Table 10).

Table 10

Theme 4: Financial Issues
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Smies lntemational Student (I)

 

4. Financial Hardship/Difl'iculties/Little or No Reimbursement

a Student loans/Taking out many more loans (N)

b. Grin and bear it/Deal with it (N) _

c. Financial support from parents/Borrowing fi'om parents/1‘ alking to parents for monetary
help/Receiving help and support (N)

d. Careful budgeting/Reducing overall budget/Saving money (N)

e. Credit card/High debt (N)

f. Limited extraneous activity/Eliminated social activities (N)

g. Applied for a job/Got paying weekend job/Working another job/Worked part time during the
beginning of my internship (N)

h. Re—arranged schedule to take care of financial concerns (student loans, paying bills, etc.) one
aftemoon per week (N)

i. Limited spending & excessive personal travel/Eliminated restaurant meals (N)

j. Lived with relative/Live with family/Moved back home (N)

k. Used public transportation (N)/Learning the bus system (I)

1. Taking advantage of free lunch (N)

m. Cutting intemet at home (N)

n. Have rides from other staff member if I need to get to a specific location (I)

0. Playing at church or recitals to make extra money on top of my internship hours (I)

p. Teaching music lessons (N)

q. Spouse working two jobs (N)

r. Prayer (N)

5. Nothing (I; N)

t. Worked overtime on the weekends

(Challenge: Making enough money to interview around the country) (N)

36

In order to gain social support, both international students and native speakers kept
in touch with friends and family as well as hung out or planned to hang out with co-
workers. Some native speakers also joined church groups, joined local gym, went out
frequently, used prayers, visited attractions in the surrounding area, moved in with
boyfriend, and started baby-sitting to address issues regarding social life and loneliness.
To improve confidence level and overcome self-doubt, native speakers asked for
opportunities to work in various settings, focused on what they CAN do/ gave credit to
their successes, practiced group skills, asked supervisor and others for
input/reinforcement, read self-help books, engaged in positive self talk, made achievable
goals, while the only international student respondent of this category expressed that she
was still struggling with it and was thinking about having psychotherapy sessions. The

99 ‘6

comparisons of responses for categories “adaptation to new environment, work-related

99 ‘6

negative emotions/emotional exhaustion/stress management, personal illness/illness of
a family member,” “self-care,” and “job seeking during internship” between native
speakers and international students were unable to be made, because the responses were

exclusively from native speakers or from the individual who did not specify the

nationality (see Table 1 1).

Table 11

Theme 5: Personal Issues/Social Support
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies International Student (I)

 

5.1 Adaptation to New Environment

a. Involving myself in community activities and a variety of dance classes; seeking one-on-one
counseling once a week during my internship (Challenge: Building healthy relationships in a
new environment and building self confidence (N)

b. Went out when I could (Challenge: Living in an isolated environment without a car) (N)

c. Asked questions about home, asked about local sports teams, events, etc. (N)

 

5.2 Work-Related or Work-Induced Negative Emotions/Emotional Exhaustion/Stress

Management

a. Talking with supervisor and best friend/Staying in touch with friends back home (N)

b. Practicing, crying, seeing a cormselor (N)

0. Exercise, meditation, taking time to relax, utilizing supervision, being with friends
(Challenge: Stress management) (N)

d. Communicated concerns with supervisors, positive self talk, Limited internship work outside of
work hours, saw doctor for med advice & medication (Challenge: Anxiety related to success
and failure) (N)

e. Tried to take 15 minutes for myself between clients (Challenge: Emotional exhaustion) (N)

 

5.3 Lack of Social Life or Support/Being Away from Loved Ones/Loneliness

a Joined church groups and looked out/Joined local gym (N)

b. Letters, email, visiting, phone calls/Talking to friends and family on the phone/Visiting loved
ones on weekends or holidays/Keep communication open (N )/Keep close contact with friends
and family back home for support (I)

c. Increased outgoingness and invited co-workers out (N)/W ill try to hang out with some staff
member outside of work (I)

(1. Prayer (N)

e. Tried to get out more, started baby-sitting (Challenge: Loneliness) (N)

f. Explored historical buildings/'tourist attractions' in the surrounding area, explored farmers'
markets and cafe's (N)

g. Decided to move in with my boyfriend to have that extra support (N)

 

5.4 Confidence Level/Self-Doubt

a. Asked (and received) opportunity to work in various settings and populations
(Challenge: Unsure of what direction I want to go) (N)

b. Remember to focus on what I CAN do (N)

c. Keep doing groups-more practice helps (N)

(1. Ask supervisor and others for input (N)

e. Remembering that I am in a field that is constantly changing and will ever be learning to be
better (Challenge: Being confident in self both before and during sessions) (N)

f. Utilizing supervision -seeking reinforcement

g. Recognizing successes/Giving credit when they are attained (N)

h. Reading self-help books (N)

i. Positive self talk (N)

j. Making achievable goals (N)

k. Still struggling with it, maybe go to schedule some psychotherapy (I)

4A

38

Table 1 l

 

Continued
Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

5.5 Personal Illness/Illness of a Family Member
a. Had bodywork done (Challenge: Post-surgery—foot—sometimes uncomfortable) (N)
b. Still trying to figure it out
(Challenge: Personal health circumstances and health issues with family) (N)
c. Taking breaks, not taking on too much (Challenge: Managing tendonitis) (N)

 

5.6 Self-Care (i.e. Physical Exhaustion)

a Tried to get more rest and eat properly (Challenge: Being tired) (N)

b. Practicing self-care techniques (N)

c. Exercise (Challenge: Exhaustion from workload and illness) (N)

d. Drinking more water“, vocal warm ups; achieving balance between work and personal life;
developing coping mechanisms for grief(internship in hospice) (Challenge: Vocal health) (N)

 

5.7 Job Seeking During Internship
it Using office time efficiently (Non-specified nationality)

 

The coping strategy for “location/driving distance” listed by both native speakers
and international students was staying in the intern housing/dorm. In addition to this
common strategy, native speakers also took time off to travel/go home, stayed with
acquaintances/family closer to the internship site, took naps during the commute, and
drove family member’s more fuel-efficient cars. In order to obtain better technology and
more resources, native speakers asked questions, took time to learn the resources,
advocated for better technology and used their own at home, while international students

went to places (i.e. coffee shop) with intemet access (see Table 12).

39

Table 12

Theme 6." Physical Environment
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difiiculty Category
Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Stragies lntemational Student (I)
6.1 Location/Driving Distance
a. Taking time off to travel, fly home/Frequent road trips on weekends (Challenge: Rural
location/Location (N)
b. Spend the weekdays in intern housing at hospital so I don‘t have to drive 90 minutes home my
Stay in the dorm as much as possible (I)
c. Tried to find acquaintances in town or family closer to my internship site to stay with
occasionally (N)
d. Pulled over to nap at rest stops frequently (N)
e. Drove my husbands and family members more fuel-efficient cars occasionally (N)

 

6.2 Lack of Technology/Resources
a. Ask questions, take time to get to know resources
(Challenge: Limited knowledge of useful resources) (N)
b. Attempt to advocate for better technology, use my own at home (N)
c. Go to Starbucks or places with intemet (Challenge: Lack of intemet access in the dorm) (I)

 

Neither category within the theme “general communication skills/interpersonal
skills” received any coping strategies from international students. For coping strategies

listed by native speakers, please refer to Table 13.

Table 13

Theme 7: General Communication Skills/Interpersonal Skills
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difi‘iculty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)

Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

7.1 Interpersonal Relationships/Boundary Issues

a. Focusing more on the patient; Being involved more within conversation; ask more questions
(Challenge: Boundary issues with both staff and patients) (N)

b. Talking and developing relationships and rapport (Challenge: Interpersonal relationships) (N)

c. Separating/excluding her from my personal/home life, as she is not a friend, but a co-
worker/roommate (Challenge: Living with a fellow intern) (N)

 

7.2 General Communication Skills
a. Try to have more experience (Non-specified nationality)

 

4O

When it comes to cultural differences, international students asked questions,
avoided certain situations, tried to understand and accept the differences, asked for
consultation and supervision, and tried to be open-minded, while native speakers listened
to podcasts, increased music repertoire in other languages, studied other languages, and
read books about education and other cultures. When it comes to language issues,
international students talked to English speakers as much as possible, practiced English,
learned fiom co-worker/supervisor, watched TV and movies, asked questions, took notes
when hearing good verbal rewards/phrases, read a book written in English, spoke clearly
and slowly, and looked up words in the dictionary, while native speakers listened to
music in another language, gained resources fi'om co-workers and patients, had vocal
coaching, listened to songs by professionals, and took language courses offered by

facility (see Table 14).

41

Table 14

Theme 8: Language Issues/Cultural Difi’erences
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difiiculty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

8.] Cultural Differences

at Ask questions whenever I don't know how American school systems work (I)

b. Avoiding certain cultural situations (I)

c. Listening to podcasts on iPod (N)

d Understanding and trying to accept the differences without complaining (I)

e. Asking a native music therapist about the difference/Ask for consultation and supervision (l)
f. Increasing familiarity with Spanish music repertoire, self-study of the Spanish language (N)
g. Read several books about education and other cultures (N)

h. Try to keep myself open-minded (I)

 

8.2 Language Issues/Speaking in a Different Language
a. Talk to English speaker as much as possible/Learn from co-worker (I)
b. Practice English (I)
c. Watch TV and movies (I)
d. Ask questions (I)
e. Listened to French music, gained resources from co-workers and patients
(Challenge: Working in a bilingual environment) (N)
f. Vocal coaching, hearing songs by professionals (Challenge: Singing in different languages) (N)
g. Taking notes if any good verbal rewards or good verbal phrases are presented (I)
h. Reading a book written in English (I)
i. Survival Spanish course offered by company I was interning with (N)
j. Trying to say clearly and slowly in English (I)
k. Look up in the dictionary, learn from co-worker and supervisor (Challenge: Writing skills) (I)

 

Only native speakers provided coping strategies for categories regarding time

management. Please refer to Table 15 for the responses.

Table 15

Theme 9: Time Management
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Difficulty Category

 

Category . Native Speaker (N)
Coprng Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

9.] Learning a Great Amount of Knowledge

a. Skimmed things instead of really reading them, telling them I needed to cut back (Challenge:
Too much reading, not enough time) (N)

b. Reading and studying (Challenge: Learning extensive amounts of information) (N)

 

9.2 Using Time Effectively/Balancing Internship Work and Personal Life/Schoolwork

a. Completed paperwork and journaling during personal evening hours and on the weekends
(Challenge: No time during internship hours to complete paper work) (N)

b. Time management-used whatever time I could to plan, and left work at work to keep my home
life less stressful (Challenge: Limited planning time) (N)

c. Tried to be more organized and be ptmctual (Challenge: Handing in assignments on time) (N)

d. Spending time with fiiends at home (N)

e. Maintaining a schedule (N)

f. Making the most of my office time (N)

g. Taking time for myself a little each day (N)

h. Careful planning and taking time to recharge myself (N)

i. Work longer (N)

j. Learned songs needed to ensure success in specific sessions (Challenge: little time for practice) (N)

k. Talked to MT supervisor, family often about it

(Challenge: Balancing work and family responsibilities) (N)

1. Not taking work home with me (Challenge: Finding personal time to relax ) (N)

m. Adapt interventions to be appropriate for more than one situation/population; Utilize
folders/binders and subject dividers to organize session plans, evaluations, and intervention
ideas (Challenge: Difficulty maintaining organization and time management) (N)

n. Making a goal of not procrastinating (Challenge: Doing schoolwork and internship work) (N)

0. None yet. (Challenge: Balancing intemship/schoolwork) (N)

 

9.3 Long-Term Time Management Issue
a. Prayer (N) .
b. Worked with supervisor to set dates/deadlines for year-long projects (N)

 

Both native speakers and international students observed other interns, music
therapists, the supervisor, or the director when they did not have specific content
knowledge or clinical experience. Native speakers also practiced, exposed, researched
about population, had good planning, asked supervisor questions, and read articles to
alleviate this issue. The only response for the category “limited instruction of necessary
skills before entering internship” was provided by a native speaker. She expressed that

she practiced to overcome this challenge. For more detailed responses for categories

43

“lack of specific content knowledge or clinical experience” and “limited instruction of

necessary skills before entering internship” please see Table 16.

Table 16

Theme 10: Music Therapy Foundation/Pre-Internship Training
Coping Strategies by Challenge/Djfiiculty Category

 

Category Native Speaker (N)
Coping Strategies lntemational Student (I)

 

10.1 Lack of Specific Content Knowledge or Clinical Experience

a. Practice and exposure (N)

b. Observation of other interns and director (N)/Observe and shadow the supervisor and other
music therapists carefully and closely (I)

c. Research about population/research on the population, good planning , worked with
supervisor(s) to answer questions (N)

d. Reading articles (Challenge: Knowledge of various medical and mental illnesses) (N)

 

10.2 Limited Instruction of Necessary Skills Before Entering Internship
a. Practice (Challenge: Music skills/not taught enough during graduate school) (N)

 

44

Chapter 4
Discussion
The purposes of this study were (1) to understand the internship experience from the

perspective of music therapy interns and (2) to determine what challenges/difficulties
were encountered and what coping strategies were used by international students and by
native speakers dming their music therapy internship. The areas of internship experience
investigated in this survey included self-reported internship satisfaction, self-rated
internship performance, music skills, therapeutic skills, communication/interpersonal
skills, financial status, level of respect received fiom professional staff, English language
. skills, cultural differences experienced, personal issues, the influence/importance of
above-mentioned skills/conditions to the success of their internship, and the three
greatest challenges/difficulties encountered, as well as ways to cope. The results
indicated that current and post interns agreed on the majority of the experience areas,

while some discrepancies were found between native speakers and international students.

Relationships among Various Areas of Internship Experience and Self—Reported
Internship Satisfaction and Overall Performance

In general, interns in the current study tended to perform better if they had better
previous music therapy training, better music skills, better therapeutic skills, better
communication/interpersonal skills, and received higher respect from professional staff.
By the same token, when interns were respected by professional staff, had better
therapeutic skills, and communicated better, they also tended to be more satisfied with
their internship experience. An examination of correlations between internship

satisfaction and self-rated performance explains the above-mentioned overlapping in

45

their predictors (therapeutic skills, communication/ interpersonal skills, and staff respect).
The results revealed that although several specific areas of internship experience and
skills were significantly associated with both the internship satisfaction and self-rated.
performance, internship satisfaction and internship performance were actually the
strongest predictors for each other (r= .46). A combination of these results suggest that:

( 1) interns who are more satisfied with their internship experience are more likely to have
better self-perceived internship performance; (2) interns who perceived that they perform
better during internship are more likely to be satisfied with their experience; (3) interns
who have better therapeutic skills, communication/interpersonal skills, and receive a
higher level of respect from professional staff tend to perform better and are more likely
to be satisfied with their internship experience.

In contrast to the results of previous study (Grant & McCarty, 1990), the positive
impact of receiving the first choice of sites was not confirmed by this study. No
significant differences were found between participants who received their first choice
and those who did not, regarding their internship satisfaction and most self-rated skills.
Moreover, respondents of this survey who received their first choice tended to appraise
the importance of several essential skills such as music skills and therapeutic skills lower.
The only item that received significantly positive rating from respondents who interned
at the site of their choice was overall English language skills. This may only reflect that
more native speakers were accepted by the internship site of their first choice than were
international students (In the current study, 93% native speakers and 45.5% of
international students interned at their first choice). When the comparisons were made
among native speakers, more controversial results emerged: native speakers who interned

at their first choice tended to rate their overall performance lower. The disparity between

46

the results of the current study and the previous study (Grant & McCarty, 1990) may well
be explained by differences in research methodology and the dependent variables. While
the previous study followed the same group of people throughout the internship
experience, the current study combined the responses of participants at different stages of
the internship. While the dependent variables of the previous study (Grant & McCarty,
1990) were self—rated feelings concerning professional and personal matters, the
dependent variables of the current study were self-rated internship satisfaction,

performance and various skills.

Current Interns versus Post Interns

Overall, current and post interns in this study reported very similar perceptions of
their internship experience. The only disagreement between the two groups was “the
level of cultural differences experienced”—Post interns on average tended to report a
higher level of cultural differences experienced than did current interns. This disparity

may be explained by the higher ratio of international students among post interns (In this

study, 10.5% of current interns and 17.1% of post interns were international students).

International Students versus Native Speakers

International students and native speakers scored similarly on most skills and
conditions, except for English language skills and level of cultural differences
experienced, which was not surprising. On the other hand, however, international
students also tended to report higher levels of influence of financial status, cultural
differences, and personal issues to their success during internship than did native

speakers. These results suggest that even though international students and native

47

speakers on average are as competent when it comes to music skills, therapeutic skills,
communication/interpersonal skills, and overall performance, international students can
be more vulnerable when under the pressure of financial status, cultural differences and

personal issues.

Challenges and Difliculties Encountered

A content analysis of the challenges/difficulties encountered by interns suggests
some interesting findings. The category listed most frequently in the current study by all
participants, current interns, and native speakers was “financial hardship,” which was
similar to the top concern listed by music therapy students in previous music therapy
research (Knight, 2008). On the other hand, when the categories were grouped into
themes, the results showed that “music skills” was the most popular theme among all,
current, post interns, and native speakers, and was the second most popular theme among
international students in this study. It is noteworthy that “musical skills” was also listed
as the top professional concern by supervisors for the intern in Knight’s 2008 study.
These findings may suggest that even though interns may still have concerns similar to
those prior to internship as reported by Knight (2008), their opinions may become closer
to that of the supervisors after entering the internship.

Mixed results were revealed when the top themes of challenges/difficulties were
compared between current and post interns. Although the two groups agreed on the top
two themes, “music skills” and “personal issues/social support”, current interns listed
“fmancial issues” as third , while the third most popular theme among post interns was
“issues within internship site/issues with supervisor”. Moreover, when a comparison

between challenge/difficulty categories listed by the two groups was made, a similar

48

discrepancy surfaced— post interns listed “issues relating to supervisor/meeting
expectation” twice as often as current interns did. A possible explanation for this
inconsistency between groups is that: since internship directors helped recruit interns in
this study, some current interns might have difficulty in risking exposure or in
acknowledging conflicts with current supervisors. However, future research will be
needed to determine the accuracy of this explanation.

A comparison of challenges/difficulties encountered by native speakers and
international students revealed that although the two groups shared some common
concerns, some areas were more of an issue in one group than in the other. For example,
even though both groups struggled with “financial hardship” and “limited song
repertoire,” more international students were concerned about issues relating to language
and cultural differences, yet more native speakers were concerned about time
management and limited social support. At first glance, it might be surprising that
“limited social support” did not receive as many responses from international students as
from native speakers. However, unlike language and cultural issues which were directly
related to their work performance, “limited social support” might have been a constant
issue throughout international students’ school days in the United States, and thus they

might not view it as an internship-related challenge as their native speaker fellows did.

Coping Strategies

Both similar and different coping strategies were identified when a comparison
between international students and native speakers was made. Both groups sought help
from supervisors, books, and co-workers to overcome work-related challenges. Both

groups talked to friends and families to obtain social support. However, compared to

49

native speakers, international students in this study seemed not to be as aware of taking
advantage of resources (CDs, music, etc.) at the internship site. Compared to
international students, native speakers seemed not to be as used to asking questions about
cultural differences but more likely to obtain relevant knowledge from books or other
sources. Although differences in coping may merely reflect differences in personal style
or result from different backgrounds, a collection of these context-specified coping
strategies may benefit the interns by providing knowledge from different perspectives

when looking at the same problems.

Limitations

Primary limitations of this survey are as follows: (1) difficulty in deciding the
response rate, (2) difficulty in reaching post interns, (3) the omission of university-
afiiliated internship programs, and (4) the omission of the more “objective” dependent
variables. Due to anonymity of return envelopes and surveys, it was difficult to correctly
calculate the number of internship sites participating in the study and the survey response
rate. Due to the indirect participant-recruiting method used in the current study, some
eligible post interns were missed when contact was not maintained between them and the
internship directors (see Chapter 4). Due to the chosen internship program identification
method (through AMT A Member Source Book and the AMTA website), the university-
affrliated programs were unable to be included. Because all variables of this study
(internship satisfaction, overall performance, skills, etc.) were based on intern
perceptions only, it was difficult to determine whether those self-reported ratings were
consistent with their actual performances. All these limitations may influence the

generalization of the research findings.

50

Recommendations and Implications

Future research on this topic should overcome the limitations of the current study
by (l) obtaining an accurate mailing or emailing list of interns fiom university music
therapy programs, (2) re-testing the same interns after completion of internship, and (3)
including other measurements from sources besides intern self ratings (i.e. interns’
previous school performances, supervisor-rated internship performance, coworker-rated
internship performance, etc.). Through obtaining the mailing list, future researchers will
be able to determine a more accurate number of potential participants and be able to
include students interning at university~affiliated programs. Through re-testing the same
sample, future researchers will be able to compare the viewpoints between current and
post interns without worrying about how to identify or reach post interns. Through
including input fi'om both interns and other parties, it may be more likely that future
researchers can estimate interns’ actual performances.

Based on the results of the current study, future researchers, educators, and clinical
training directors should focus specifically on how to alleviate financial difficulties of
music therapy interns, how to expand students’ song repertoire and music skills, and how
to assist students in obtaining social support during internship. In order to resolve the
funding issue during internship, schools may consider having students deposit a certain
amount of money each semester along with their tuition to build a personal internship
fund; AMTA may consider adjusting the clinical training standards to include a
minimum stipend that the internship site would provide to their interns as well as offering
workshops for internship directors on how to apply/obtain a grant for their interns;
administrators may investigate what portion of the tuition should go to the student's

internship fimd and what amount would be a reasonable and practical value for the

51

stipend from the internship site. In order to help students develop song repertoire and
music skills, educators may provide students with a list of songs of different eras/ genres
each semester and require students to sing several songs from the list with guitar/piano
accompaniment in a jury conducted at the end of each semester; supervisors may provide
interns with a broader song list for the target population during the beginning of the
internship and work with the interns to decide the number of songs to learn per week;
researchers may explore the efficiency of different methods that motivate students to
refine their music skills and to increase their repertoire. To assist interns in receiving
social support during internship, educators may provide interns with contact information
of therapists who recently graduated fi'om the same program and work in the area where
the internship site is located or who work in a similar setting; supervisors may arrange a
monthly meeting that will allow music therapy interns to meet and interact with interns
of other disciplines working in the same facility; educators and supervisors may examine
the possibility of establishing an intern support group in which students interning in the
same state can meet and exchange thoughts and feelings about their experiences.

To better serve international students, educators and supervisors may need to have a
greater sensitivity to the challenges that international students may have beyond working
in a new language. For example, the international respondents of the current study seem
not to be as aware of or as comfortable with utilizing the resources from the internship
site as are their native peers. To help international interns make the most use of the
available resources fi'om the internship site and convey their needs rather than try to
resolve problems on their own, supervisors may need to directly state what resources are
available for interns and encourage international students to ask for resources or

additional one-on-one consultation. To decrease the cultural differences that international

52

students experience, the educational system may need to provide better support for those
culture/language-based issues, such as establishing an international buddy-up program on
campus that pairs up an international student with a native speaker; internship

directors/ supervisors may encourage international students to share their own culture as
well as talk about the differences that they experience, their expectations (e.g. preferred
supervision/communication style), and how the students think the directors/supervisors
can help alleviate the situation. Future studies should also focus on how to decrease the
vulnerability of international students when they are under pressure from cultural
differences, personal issues, and financial hardship during internship. On the other hand,
it would also be useful for future studies to investigate what kinds of coping strategies
would be recommended by internship supervisors/directors for interns to use in
overcoming challenges/difficulties, especially issues relating to supervision.

The findings of this study provide important information regarding the internship
experience from the intem’s point of view as well as the similarities and differences
between the needs of native speakers and international students. This information can be
used to evaluate whether the entry level music therapy training prepares the students
adequately and in what areas the students may need more instruction and training before
entering the internship. This information can also help internship supervisors/directors
have a better understanding of how interns perceive the internship experience and learn
about the differences in needs between native speakers and international students. Music
therapy students can also benefit fiom this information by learning what
challenges/difficulties they may face in their future internships and how to cope with

those issues. Future researchers may also employ this study to determine if the needs of

53

music therapy interns, both native speakers and international students, remain stable or

change over time.

54

APPENDICES

55

Appendix A

Cover Letter to Music Therapy Internship Directors

56

Dear Music Therapy Internship Director,

I am writing to request the participation of your current and previous interns in
this nationwide study. For my master’s thesis at Michigan State University, I am
surveying all AMT A-approved internship sites to gain insight fiom the perspective of the
interns’ experiences. The survey can be completed on-line at:
https://’www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=anThQOK23szl\/1_2bRfoOdg_3d_3d

I am also enclosing a mm of the survey and consent form for those who prefer to
complete it in paper form. Please feel free to make as many copies as needed. I would
appreciate your assistance in distributing the information to your current intem(s) and
previous interns who have completed internship within the past year at your internship
site.

This study will be beneficial for music therapists at all levels: students, future
interns, educators, and directors/ supervisors. The purposes of this study are: (l) to
identify the major challenges and difficulties encountered by music therapy interns and
the COping strategies that they use to deal with these situations; and (2) to compare the
perceived internship experience between current interns and post interns, and between
international students and native speakers. The results of this study will help students
learn about potential challenges that they may face during the internship as well as
provide interns with coping strategies that can be usefirl when dealing with similar
challenges and difficulties. The results will also inform educators and supervisors of the
commonalities and differences between the needs of native speakers and international
students during internship, and assist educators and clinicians in utilizing a culturally-
sensitive supervision style.

I will e-mail you one week after this packet has been mailed to confirm that you
have received it and to provide you with the on-line survey address and an invitation to
forward it to your previous interns. Thank you for forwarding to your interns this request
to participate in my survey. I greatly appreciate your help in gathering data for my
research.

Sincerely,

Shih-Yin Lin, MT-BC, NMT
College of Music

Michigan State University
102 Music Building

East Lansing, MI 48824-1043
linshih4.gt>,nrsu.edu
517-505—2033

57

Appendix B

Consent Form to Music Therapy Interns

58

“Music Therapy Internship Experience” Survey

Consent Form

Dear lntem:

My name is Shih-Yin Lin, and I am a master’s student in music therapy in Michigan
State University. I invite you to participate in a research survey. The purposes of this
study are: (1 ) to identify the major challenges and difficulties encountered by music
therapy interns and the coping strategies that they use to deal with these situations; and
(2) to compare the perceived internship experience between current interns and post
interns, and between international students and native speakers.

WHAT YOU WILL pg

As a participant in this study, you are requested to complete a questionnaire, which
will take about 15 minutes of your time. You may fill out the enclosed survey in paper
form, or you may complete the survey online at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com,/'s.aspx?sm=anThQOl’23rerzM_2bRfo’Odg_3d_3d.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS:

Your participation will help music therapy students learn about potential challenges
that they may face during the internship as well as provide future interns with coping
strategies that can be useful when dealing with similar challenges and difficulties. Your
answers will also help educators and clinical supervisors better understand the needs
and experiences of students during their music therapy internship.

POTENTIAL RISKS:

Your participation in this study involves minimal risks—That is, the probability and
magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in this research is not greater than what
you would ordinarily encounter in daily life.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY:

The data is being collected anonymously. All of your responses on the questions will
be kept confidential, to the extent allowable bylaw. Although you will be asked several
demographic questions on the questionnaire, you will not be required to provide your
name throughout the study. Themes from responses will be identified and a number of
direct quotes from the open-ended questions will be utilized when the data are analyzed
and results are written up for presentation and publication. All data will be stored under
secure conditions and only members of the research team and the institutional review
board will have access to them. The data will be maintained for 5 years after the
completion of the study. Again, please be assured no names or any information will in
any way identify you or other participants of this study.

YOUR RIGHTS TO PARTICIPATE, SAY NO OR WITHDRAW:

Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary. You may refuse to take part or
stop your participation at any time. You may skip any questions you do not feel
comfortable answering.

COSTS AND COMPENSATION FOR BEING IN THE STUDY:
You will incur no monetary costs or benefits by your participation.

59

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS:

If you have any questions concerning this research, or you wish to receive the
summary of the results, please contact me by phone: (517) 505-2033, or e-mail:
linshih4@msu.edu; or Roger Smeltekop, Associate Professor of Music Therapy at
Michigan State University, by phone: 517-355-6753, or e-mail: smeltek3@msu.edu. If
you have any questions or concerns regarding your rights as a study participant, or are
dissatisfied at any time with any aspect of the study, you may contact Peter Vasilenko,
Ph.D., Director of Human Research Protections, (517)355-2180, fax (517)432-4503, e-
mail irb@msu.edu, mail 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
48824-1047.

CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE:

If you are willing to participate and are 18 years old or older, please fill out the paper
survey or go to the above-mentioned web address by 6/30l08. You indicate your
voluntary agreement to participate in this study by completing and submitting the
survey.

Thank you for your assistance and contribution to our further understanding of the
music therapy internship experience.

Sincerely,

Shih-Yin Lin, MT-BC, NMT
College of Music

Michigan State University
102 Music Building

East Lansing, MI 48824-1043
linshih4@msu.edu

6O

Appendix C

“Music Therapy Internship Experience” Survey

61

A. uestions on the Internshi
Please circle the number that applies when answering the following Questions:

“Music Therapy Internship Experience” Survey

Ex rience:

 

l.

(a) How satisfied are (were)
you with your internship
experience?

Very

Dissatisfied

10

Satisfied

 

(b) How do (did) you rate
your overall performance
during the internship?

Poor

10

Excellent

 

(a) How well has (had) your
previous music therapy
training prepared you for the
internship?

Poor

10

Excellent

 

(b) To what extent do you
think your previous music
therapy training influences
(influenced) the success of
your internship?

Not at all

10

Extensively

 

(a) How do (did) you rate
your overall music skills
(instrument skills, voice
skills, improvisation skills,
conducting skills, movement
skills, etc.)?

Poor

10

Excellent

 

(b) How important do you
think your music skills are
(were) to your success during
the internship?

Not
Important

10

Important

 

(a) How do (did) you rate
your overall therapeutic skills
(therapeutic relationship—
building, client assessment,
therapy implementation,
therapy evaluation,
documentation, professional
role/ethics, group leadership,
flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

Poor

10

Excellent

 

(b) How important do you
think your therapeutic skills
are (were) to your success
during the internship?

Not
Important

10

Important

 

 

 

(a) How do (did) you rate
your communication/
interpersonal skills during the
internship?

 

Poor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

Excellent

 

62

 

 

(b)’l‘o what extent do you
think your communication/
interpersonal skills influence
(influenced) the success of
your internship?

Not at all

10

Extensively

 

(a) How do (did) you rate
your financial status?

Extreme
financial
concerns

10

Free of
financial
concerns

 

(b) To what extent do you
think your financial status
influences (influenced) the
success of your internship?

Not at all

10

Extensively

 

(a) How do (did) you rate the
level of respect you receive
(received) fiom professional
staff during your internship?

Very Low

10

Very High

 

(b) How important do you
think the level of respect you
receive (received) fiom
professional staff is (was) to
your success during the
internship?

Not
Important

10

Important

 

(a) How do (did) you rate
your overall English
language skills (i.e. listening,
speaking, reading, writing,
etc.)?

Poor

Excellent

 

(b) How important do you
think your English language
skills are (were) to your
success during the
internship?

Not
Important

l0

Verv

Important

 

(a) How do (did) you rate the
cultural differences that you
experience (experienced)
during the internship?

No

Differences

10

Extensive
Differences

 

(b) To what extent do you
think the cultm'al differences
influence (influenced) the
success of your internship?

Nmmw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

Extensively

 

 

10.

 

(a) Do (did) you have any
personal issues (i.e. illness of
self or family members,
relationship/ fi-iendship
issues, etc.) during the
internship?

 

(1)No.

(2) Yes. (Please specify.)

 

 

 

63

 

 

(b) To what extent do you
think your personal issues
influence (influenced) the Not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Extensively
success of your internship?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Please write the three greatest challenges/difficulties you have (had) during your internship?
(For example: Challenges/Difliculties: (A) Limited song repertoire.

 

 

(B) Cultural diflerences.
(C) Financial hardship.)
Challenges/Difficulties:
(A)
(B)
(C)

 

12. What coping strategies are (were) you using or have (had) you tried for each
challenge/difficulty you listed in question 11? Please list as many strategies as applicable in the
following textboxes.

(For example:
Coping Strategies:

for Challenge/Difficulty (A) : (Limited song repertoire)

 

-purchasing several song books;

- listening to the radio on my way to work;

- learning a new song every week;

-seeking help fi'om my supervisor for recommended songs.

 

 

 

Coping Strategies:
for Challenge/Difficulty (A) :

 

 

 

 

Please go on to the next page.

64

for Challenge/Difficulty (B) :

 

 

 

for Challenge/Difficulty (C) :

 

 

 

 

Demggraphic Information

1. Are you a current-intern or post-intern? Please circle the one that is applicable.
(I) Current-intem (this is the month of my internship) ;
(2) Post-intem (I completed my internship month(s) ago).

2. In what location is (was) your internship site?

 

(State/Province) (Country) .

3. Do (did) you intern in the internship site of your first choice? Please circle the one thgt applies.
(1) Yes; (2) No. -

4. What is your primary language (the language in which you write and speak the most proficiently)?

 

5. What is your home country?

 

Thank you for your participation in this survey.

65

 

Appendix D

AMTA Geographical Distribution of Survey Participants

66

Table 17

AMT A Geographical Distribution of Survey Participants

 

 

 

AMTA Regions* N (***C/P/I/N) %
Great Lakes 23 (12/11/1/22) 27.71
Mid-Atlantic 15 (9/6/2/13) 1 8.07
Midwestern 1 3 (7/6/0/12) 1 5.66

New England 0 (0/0/0/0) O
Southeastern 13 (10/3/2/11) 15.66
Southwestern 5 (3/2/3/2) 6.02
Western 13 (7/6/3/1 0) 1 5.66
”Canada 1(0/1/0/1) 1.20
Total 83 (C+P) 82 (HIV) 100

 

*Great Lakes: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI; Mid-Atlantic: DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV; Midwestern:
CO, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE, ND, SD, WY; New England: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT; Southeastern: AL,
AK, FL, GA, KY, LA, NC, MS, SC, TN; Southwestern: NM, OK, TX; Western Region: AK, AZ, CA, HI,
ID, NV, OR, UT, WS

"There was one AMTA approved national roster internship program in Canada.

*"C = Current Intern; P = Post Intern; I = lntemational Student; N = Native Speaker

67

Appendix E

Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues

68

Table 18A

Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues {A ll Participants)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
Ia. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 32 8.8125 1.1483 0.4812
internship experience? Yes 51 8.6078 1.4708

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 32 8.4063 0.9456 0.3825
performance during the internship? Yes 51 8.2157 0.9862

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 32 8.0625 1.6052 0.2758
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 51 7.6471 1.7869

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your previous No 32 8.25 1.1914 0.0849
music therapy training influences (influenced) Yes 51 7.6471 1.9578

the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 32 7.9063 1.0883 0.4843
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 51 7.7255 1.2178
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 31 8.9032 0.9436 0.051 1
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 51 8.3725 1.4827

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 32 7.9688 1.2044 0.8075
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 51 7.902 1.2207

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 32 9 0.9837 0.3191
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 51 9.2353 1.1241

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 32 8.25 1.164 0.7724
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 51 8.1765 1.0527

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 32 9.0313 0.9995 0.6403
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 51 8.9216 1.0926
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a How do (did) you rate your financial No 32 5.25 2.1251 0.0785
status? Yes 51 4.3333 2.5033

6b. To what extent do you think your No 32 5.4063 2.9387 0.5183
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 51 5 2.4819

success of your internship?

69

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 32 8.375 1.581 1 0.8195
you receive (received) fiom professional staff Yes 51 8.2941 1.5401

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 32 8.6875 1.3545 0.2183
respect you receive (received) from Yes 51 8.2549 1.8093
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 32 8.9688 1.6161 0.0894
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 51 9.5294 1.0836

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 32 8.9064 1.8554 0.6072
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 51 8.7059 1.4737

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 32 5.7813 2.6608 0.3438
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 51 5.2157 2.5793

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 32 5.375 3.1392 0.5035
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 51 4.9216 2.7265

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 29 4.5517 2.9348 0.1730
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 51 5.451 2.5402

success of your internship?

 

Note. No=without personal issues; Yes-With personal issues.

70

Table 18B

Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Current Intern)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
la. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 18 8.7222 1.1275 0.9768
internship experience? Yes 30 8.7333 1.484

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 18 8.3333 0.8402 0.5303
performance during the internship? Yes 30 8.1667 0.9499

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 18 8.2778 1.4061 0.1 146
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 30 7.5 1.9253

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your No 18 8.3333 1.2367 0.0271 "‘
previous music therapy training influences Yes 30 7.2667 1.9989
(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 18 7.8889 1.0786 0.8964
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 30 7.9333 1.2299
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 18 9.2222 0.8085 0.0172“
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 30 8.3333 1.6678

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 18 7.7778 1.2628 0.391 1
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 30 8.1 1.2134

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics,

group leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,

etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 18 9.1111 1.0786 0.3407
therapeutic skills are (were) to yorn' success Yes 30 9.4 0.855

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 18 7.9444 1.3048 0.4380
communication! interpersonal skills during Yes 30 8.2333 1.1043

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 18 8.8889 1.0226 0.8032
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 30 8.9667 1.0662
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 18 4.9444 1.6968 0.1842
status? Yes 30 4.1333 2.4598

6b. To what extent do you think your No 18 5.3889 2.852 0.4875
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 30 4.8333 2.2756

success of your internship?

71

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 18 8.3889 1.3346 0.4824
you receive (received) fi'om professional staff Yes 30 8.0667 1.7991

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 18 8.61 1 1 1.3779 0.3993
respect you receive (received) from Yes 30 8.2333 1.6543
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 18 9.2222 1.2154 0.2354
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 30 9.6333 0.9994

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 18 9 1.4552 0.5895
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 30 8.7667 1.4065

during the internship?

93. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 18 5.3 889 2.3549 0.2902
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 30 4.6333 2.3706

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 18 5.6667 3.0679 0.1912
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 30 4.5 2.6878

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 18 4.6667 2.9704 0.6053
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 30 5.1 2.4403

success of your internship?

t-test significant items: *<.05
Note. No=without personal issues; Yes=with personal issues.

72

Table 18C

Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Post Intern)

 

 

Item Group N M SD pvalue
1a. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 14 8.9286 1.2067 0.2798
internship experience? Yes 21 8.4286 1.4687

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 14 8.5 1.0919 0.5691
performance during the internship? Yes 21 8.2857 1.0556

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 14 7.7857 1.8472 0.9067
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 21 7.8571 1.5091

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your No 14 8.1429 1.1673 0.9251
previous music therapy training influences Yes 21 8.1905 1.8061
(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 14 7.9286 1.1411 0.2182
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 21 7.4286 1.165
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 13 8.4615 0.9674 0.9307
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 21 8.4286 1.2071

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 14 8.2143 1.1217 0.1459
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship— Yes 21 7.619 1.2032

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 14 8.8571 0.8644 0.7133
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 21 9 1.4142

during the internship?

Sa. How do (did) you rate your No 14 8.6429 0.8419 0.0898
communication/ interpersonal skills druing Yes 21 8.0952 0.9952

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 14 9.2143 0.975 0.3317
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 21 8.8571 1.1526
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 14 5.6429 2.5901 0.2622
status? Yes 21 4.619 2.5976

6b. To what extent do you think your No 14 5.4286 3.1553 0.8562
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 21 5.2381 2.7911

success of your internship?

73

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
7a How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 14 8.3571 1.9057 0.6433
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 21 8.619 1.0235

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 14 8.7857 1.3688 0.3936
respect you receive (received) from Yes 21 8.2857 2.0529
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

83. How do (did) you rate your overall No 14 8.6429 2.0232 0.2344
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 21 9.381 1.2032

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 14 8.7 857 2.3264 0.8173
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 21 8.619 1.5961

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 14 6.2857 3.0237 0.8135
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 21 6.0476 2.6921

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 14 5 3.305 0.6275
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 21 5.5238 2.7316

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 11 4.3636 3.0091 0.1570
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 21 5.9524 2.6547

success of your internship?

Note. No=without personal issues; Yes=with personal issues.

74

Table 18D

Descriptive Group Statistics—Personal Issues (Native Speaker)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
la. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 24 8.8333 1.0495 0.7684
internship experience? Yes 47 8.7447 1.4366

lb. How do (did) you rate your overall No 24 8.5417 0.9315 0.2692
performance during the internship? Yes 47 8.2766 0.9714

2a How well has (had) your previous music No 24 8.0417 1.5458 0.5352
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 47 7.7872 1.7685

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your No 24 8.2083 1.1788 0.2404
previous music therapy training influences Yes 47 7.766 1.9584
(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 24 7.625 1.0959 0.6776
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 47 7.7447 1.2242
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think yom' music No 23 8.7391 0.9154 0.2289
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 47 8.383 1.5259

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 24 7.9167 1.2482 0.8965
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 47 7.9574 1.2328

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 24 8.8333 0.9168 0.1 184
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 47 9.234 1.1649

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 24 8.3333 1.1293 0.7769
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 47 8.2553 1.0101

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 24 8.875 1.0347 0.6968
communication! interpersonal skills influence Yes 47 8.9787 1.0932
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 24 5.2917 2.1362 0.0826
status? Yes 47 4.2766 2.5597

6b. To what extent do you think your No 24 4.7917 2.9337 0.8143
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 47 4.9574 2.5018

success of your internship?

75

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 24 8.3333 1.5511 0.9856
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 47 8.3404 1.5642

during yoru' internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 24 8.75 1.3593 0.2085
respect you receive (received) from Yes 47 8.2553 1.8705
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 24 9.625 0.9237 0.3656
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 47 9.8085 0.4491

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 24 8.7083 2.0532 0.9540
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 47 8.6809 1.5052

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultrn'al No 24 5.4167 2.888 0.5516
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 47 5 2.5108

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the culttual No 24 4.4583 2.9189 0.6909
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 47 4.7447 2.7144

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 22 3.9091 2.7414 0.0766
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 47 5.1489 2.3864

success of your internship?

Note. No=without personal issues; Yes=with personal issues.

76

Table 18E

Descriptive Grozg Statistics—Personal Issues (International Student)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
la. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 7 8.5714 1.51 19 0.0520
internship experience? Yes 4 7 0.8165

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 8.1429 0.8997 0.3300
performance during the internship? Yes 4 7.5 1

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 7 8.1429 2.0354 0.0530
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 4 6 1.1547

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your previous No 7 8.4286 1.3973 0.0553
music therapy training influences (influenced) Yes 4 6.25 1.5

the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 7 8.7143 0.488 0.1550
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 4 7.5 1.291
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 7 9.5714 0.7868 0.0625
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 4 8.25 0.9574

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 8.1429 1.215 0.2163
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 4 7.25 0.9574

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 7 9.8571 0.378 0.0886
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 4 9.25 0.5

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 7 8.1429 1.3452 0.3074
communication] interpersonal skills dining Yes 4 7.25 1.2583

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 7 9.5714 0.7868 0.0625
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 4 8.25 0.9574
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 7 4.7143 2.0857 0.8185
status? Yes 4 5 1.8257

6b. To what extent do you think your No 7 7.4285 2.2991 0.2550
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 4 5.5 2.5166

success of your internship?

77

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 7 8.4286 1.9024 0.4963
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 4 7.75 1.2583

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 7 8.4286 1.51 19 0.8162
respect you receive (received) from Yes 4 8.25 0.9574
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 7 1.8257 0.3951
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 4 6.25 0.9574

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 7 9.4286 0.9759 0.5567
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 4 9 1.1547

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 7 6.8571 1.5736 0.51 10
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 4 7.75 2.2174

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 7 8 2.1602 0.4865
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 4 7 2.1602

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 6 6.5 3.0166 0.1 190
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 4 9 1.4142

success of your internship?

 

Note. No=without personal issues; Yes=with personal issues.

78

 

Appendix F

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site

79

Table 19A

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship SitgA ll Participants)

 

 

Item Grog N M SD p-value
1a. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 11 8.4545 1.5725 0.6014
internship experience? Yes 72 8.7222 1.3239

lb. How do (did) you rate your overall No 11 8.5455 0.5222 0.1486
performance during the internship? Yes 72 8.25 1.0175

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 1 1 7.3636 2.6181 0.5408
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 72 7.875 1.5559

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your previous No 1 1 7.8182 1.7787 0.9038
music therapy training influences (influenced) Yes 72 7.8889 1.7244

the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 1 1 8.0909 1.1362 0.3723
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 72 7 .75 1.1719
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 10 9.4 0.6992 0.0025"
skills are (were) to yom' success during the Yes 72 8.4583 1.3525

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 1 1 8.2727 0.7862 0.1709
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 72 7.875 1.2553

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 1 1 9.6364 0.5045 0.0087"
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 72 9.0694 1.1 174

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 1 1 8.0909 1.221 0.7416
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 72 8.2222 1.0776

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 1 1 9.1818 1.0787 0.4831
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 72 8.9306 1.0525
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No l 1 4.2727 1.6181 0.4129
status? Yes 72 4.75 2.4937

6b. To what extent do you think your No l 1 5.8182 3.06 0.4476
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 72 5.0556 2.5995

success of your internship?

8O

 

 

Item Grog) N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 11 8.7273 1.009 0.21 18
you receive (received) fi'om professional staff Yes 72 8.2639 1.6098

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 1 1 8.7273 1.1037 0.3779
respect you receive (received) from Yes 72 8.375 1.7234
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 1 1 8 1.6733 0.0139*
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 72 9.5139 1.1627

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 11 9.1818 1.328 0.3187
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 72 8.7222 1.6634

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultru'al No 1 1 6.5455 2.3394 0.1181
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 72 5.2639 2.6216

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 1 1 6.3636 2.7667 0.1277
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 72 4.9028 2.8688

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 1 1 7 3.0332 0.0431*
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 69 4.8261 2.5493

success of your internship?

t-test significant items: *p <.05, ”p<.01
Note. No=not accepted by the first choice of site; Yes=accepted by the first choice of site.

81

Table 19B

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (Current Intern)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
1a. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 4 8.5 1.9149 0.8135
internship experience? Yes 44 8.75 1.3141

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 4 8.75 0.5 0.1025
performance during the internship? Yes 44 8.1818 0.9219

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 4 8 4 0.9171
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 44 7.7727 1.5229

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your No 4 9 2 0.2435
previous music therapy training influences Yes 44 7.5455 1.7713

(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 4 8.75 0.5 0.0222.“
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 44 7.8409 1.1801
improvisation skills, conducting skills, .

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 4 9.75 0.5 0.0062"
skills are (were) to yoru' success during the Yes 44 8.5682 1.4848

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 4 8.75 0.9574 0.1775
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 44 7.9091 1.2355

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics,

group leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,

etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 4 9.75 0.5 0.1408
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 44 9.25 0.9675

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 4 8.75 1.5 0.4351
communication/ interpersonal skills dming Yes 44 8.0682 1.1493

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 4 10 0 <.0001****
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 44 8.8409 1.033

(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 4 4.5 1.291 0.9295
status? Yes 44 4.4318 2.2966

6b. To what extent do you think yom' No 4 4.75 3.594 0.8725
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 44 5.0682 2.4247

success of your internship?

82

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 4 8.5 1.291 0.6486
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 44 8.1591 1.6697

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 4 8 1.4142 0.6147
respect you receive (received) from Yes 44 8.4091 1.5748
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 4 9.25 0.9574 0.6493
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 44 9.5 1.1102

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 4 9.75 0.5 0.0164*
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 44 8.7727 1.4445

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 4 6.5 1.291 0.0654
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 44 4.7727 2.4002

druing the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 4 7 .5 2.3805 0.0948
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 44 4.7045 2.8085

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 4 5.25 4.0311 0.8779
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 44 4.9091 2.5318

success of your internship?

t-test significant items: I"<.05, **<.01, ***<.001, ****<.0001
Note. No=not accepted by the first choice of site; Yes=accepted by the first choice of site.

83

Table 19C

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (Post Intern)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
1a. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 7 8.4286 1.5119 0.6997
internship experience? Yes 28 8.6786 1.3623

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 8.4286 0.5345 0.8130
performance during the internship? Yes 28 8.3571 1.1616

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 7 7 1.7321 0.1863
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 28 8.0357 1.6212

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your No 7 7.1429 1.3452 0.0519
previous music therapy training influences Yes 28 8.4286 1.5258
(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 7 7.7143 1.2536 0.8422
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 28 7.6071 1.1655
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think yorn' music No 6 9.1667 0.7528 0.0389*
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 28 8.2857 1.1174

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 8 0.5774 0.5932
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 28 7.8214 1.3068

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics,

group leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,

etc.)?

4b. How important do you think yoru' No 7 9.5714 0.5345 0.0201 *
therapeutic skills are (were) to yoru success Yes 28 8.7857 1.2869

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 7 7.7143 0.9512 0.0931
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 28 8.4643 0.9222

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 7 8.7143 1.1127 0.4647
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 28 9.0714 1.0862
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 7 4.1429 1.8645 0.2273
status? Yes 28 5.25 2.7437

6b. To what extent do you think your No 7 6.4286 2.82 0.2737
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 28 5.0357 2.8993

success of your internship?

84

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 7 8.8571 0.8997 0.3508
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 28 8.4286 1.5258

during your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 7 9.1429 0.6901 0.0806
respect you receive (received) from Yes 28 8.3214 1.9636
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

8a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 7 7.2857 1.6036 0.0087“
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 28 9.5357 1.2615

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think yom' English No 7 8.8571 1.5736 0.7661
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 28 8.6429 1.9854

during the internship?

9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 7 6.5714 2.8785 0.6684
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 28 6.0357 2.8085

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 7 5.7143 2.9277 0.6963
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 28 5.2143 2.9859

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think yorn' No 7 8 2 0.0034"
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 25 4.68 2.6255

success of your internship?

t-test significant items: ‘p <.05, I”p<.01
Note. No=not accepted by the first choice of site; Yes=accepted by the first choice of site.

85

Table 19D

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (Native Speakefl

 

 

Item Group N M SD Jvalue
1a. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 5 9.2 0.8367 0.3081
internship experience? Yes 66 8.7424 1.3395

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No S 9 0 <.0001****
performance during the internship? Yes 66 8.3182 0.9792

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 5 7.4 3.2863 0.7480
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 66 7.9091 1.5465

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think yorn' No 5 8 1.5811 0.9072
previous music therapy training influences Yes 66 7.9091 1.7605
(influenced) the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 5 7.8 1.0954 0.8487
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 66 7.697 1.1893
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 4 9.5 0.5774 0.0224*
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 66 8.4394 1.3715

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 5 8.4 0.5477 0.1300
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 66 7 .9091 1.2616

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics,

group leadership, flexibility, spontaneity,

etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 5 9.6 0.5477 0.0972
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 66 9.0606 1.1215

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 5 8 1.2247 0.6159
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 66 8.303 1.0373

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 5 7.244 1.4142 0.9294
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 66 8.6811 1.0507
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 5 4.2 1.6432 0.5934
status? Yes 66 4.6515 2.5145

6b. To what extent do you think your No 5 4.8 2.7749 0.9358
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 66 4.9091 2.6471

success of your internship?

86

 

 

Item Group N M SD p—value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 5 9.2 0.8367 0.0672
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 66 8.2727 1.5743

dming your internship?

7b. How important do you think the level of No 5 8.8 1.3038 0.5416
respect you receive (received) from Yes 66 8.3939 1.7531
professional staff is (was) to your success

during the internship?

83. How do (did) you rate your overall No 5 8.8 1.6432 0.2385
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 66 9.8182 0.4611

speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?

8b. How important do you think your English No 5 8.6 1.6733 0.9059
language skills are (were) to your success Yes 66 8.697 1.7094

during the internship?

93. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 5 5.2 2.2804 0.9550
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 66 5.1364 2.6711

during the internship?

9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 5 5 2.7386 0.7787
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 66 4.6212 2.7888

of your internship?

10b. To what extent do you think your No 5 6 2.2361 0.2584
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 64 4.6563 2.5648

success of your internship?

 

t-test significant items: I"<.05, "<.01, ***<.001, ****<.0001
Note. No=not accepted by the first choice of site; Yes=accepted by the first choice of site.

87

Table 19E

Descriptive Group Statistics—First Choice of Internship Site (International Student)

 

 

Item Group N M SD p-value
la. How satisfied are (were) you with your No 6 7.8333 1.8348 0.6924
internship experience? Yes 5 8.2 1.0954

1b. How do (did) you rate your overall No 6 8.1667 0.4082 0.4078
performance during the internship? Yes 5 7.6 1.3416

2a. How well has (had) your previous music No 6 7.3333 2.2509 0.9592
therapy training prepared you for the Yes 5 7.4 1.9494

internship?

2b. To what extent do you think your previous No 6 7.6667 2.0656 0.9522
music therapy training influences (influenced) Yes 5 7.6 1.5166

the success of your internship?

3a. How do (did) you rate your overall music No 6 8.3333 1.2111 0.8347
skills (instrument skills, voice skills, Yes 5 8.2 0.8637
improvisation skills, conducting skills,

movement skills, etc.)?

3b. How important do you think your music No 6 9.3333 0.8165 0.4552
skills are (were) to your success during the Yes 5 8.8 1.3038

internship?

4a. How do (did) you rate your overall No 6 8.1667 0.9832 0.3224
therapeutic skills (therapeutic relationship- Yes 5 7 .4 1.3416

building, client assessment, therapy

implementation, therapy evaluation,

documentation, professional role/ethics, group

leadership, flexibility, spontaneity, etc.)?

4b. How important do you think your No 6 9.6667 0.5164 0.8415
therapeutic skills are (were) to your success Yes 5 9.6 0.5477

during the internship?

5a. How do (did) you rate your No 6 8.1667 1.3292 0.3691
communication/ interpersonal skills during Yes 5 7.4 1.3416

the internship?

5b. To what extent do you think your No 6 9.3333 0.8165 0.4552
communication/ interpersonal skills influence Yes 5 8.8 1.3038
(influenced) the success of your internship?

6a. How do (did) you rate your financial No 6 4.3333 1.7512 0.3892
status? Yes 5 5.4 2.0736

6b. To what extent do you think your No 6 6.6667 3.266 0.9296
financial status influences (influenced) the Yes 5 6.8 1.3038

success of your internship?

88

 

 

success of your internship?

Note. No=not accepted by the first choice of site; Yes=accepted by the first choice of site.

89

Item Group N M SD p-value
7a. How do (did) you rate the level of respect No 6 8.3333 1.0328 0.7793
you receive (received) from professional staff Yes 5 8 2.3452
during yom' internship?
7b. How important do you think the level of No 6 8.6667 1.0328 0.4460
respect you receive (received) from Yes 5 8 1.5811
professional staff is (was) to your success
during the internship?
8a. How do (did) you rate yorn' overall No 6 7.3333 1.5055 0.1655
English language skills (i.e. listening, Yes 5 6 1.4142
speaking, reading, writing, etc.)?
8b. How important do you think yom' English No 6 9.6667 0.8165 0.1852
language skills are (were) to yoru' success Yes 5 8.8 1.0954
during the internship?
9a. How do (did) you rate the cultural No 6 7.6667 1.8619 0.3437
differences that you experience (experienced) Yes 5 6.6 1.6733
during the internship?
9b. To what extent do you think the cultural No 6 7.5 2.429 0.8243
differences influence (influenced) the success Yes 5 7.8 1.9235

' of your internship?
10b. To what extent do you think your No 6 7.8333 3.5449 0.6003
personal issues influence (influenced) the Yes 4 7 0.8165

REFERENCES

90

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