Sound Principles: Ethical Brand Building for Music Therapists is pre-approved for 5 CMTE Credits (and 3 Ethics Credits) by the Certification Board for Music Therapists! Find more about this opportunity here.
 
Marketing music therapy isn’t just about visibility and virality… it’s about marketing ethically and responsibly.
 
Marketing is more than a one-music-therapist job. Visual identity development in healthcare spaces include photographers, brand designers, and healthcare communication professionals. The hospitals and healthcare systems you know and trust? They have whole marketing & brand management teams. And these teams work to ensure healthcare messaging is clear, truthful, and compliant with ethical standards.  
 
Music therapists should have marketing support, too! A strong visual identity communicates your value, credibility & trustworthiness. And it’s essential. Websites, social media, and flyers are not accessories. They are how our services are discovered, shared, and remembered. 
 
But impactful visual identity goes beyond choosing colors, fonts, and logos. It’s thinking strategically about how your brand will be accessed and who will be accessing it.
 
This course guides music therapists through the principles of ethical brand building. Participants will learn how to develop a clear, authentic visual brand that builds client trust and aligns with healthcare ethics & accessibility policies. Special interest will be given to ADA digital standards like Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, considerations for obtaining media consents, ensuring visuals release the least amount of PHI possible, and ethical portrayal of music therapy services in digital and print spaces. The course will also share how music therapists can partner with marketing disciplines to develop & support a sustainable and compliant brand presence.
 
This course is right for you if you say “yes!” to any of the following:
You are a music therapy business owner
You have a professional digital presence (like a Website, Instagram Account or Facebook Page)
You oversee marketing for a music therapy business
You are considering partnering with marketing professionals, like brand designers, website designers, or photographers to advance the message of music therapy
You want to put music therapy in the best light possible, both online & in-person
 
In this course, you will get:
An overview of ethical branding, with an emphasis in visual marketing in music therapy & healthcare spaces
Guidance for increasing digital accessibility for websites and discovery points for services
Direction for how to ethically obtain media consents 
Considerations for how to keep dignity and privacy prioritized when using client likeness in promotional materials
Key points for working with marketing professionals in healthcare spaces
Ethical Branding Checklist
Marketing Ethics Reflection Exercises
6 Video Modules 
A 25 page workbook to help you apply marketing ethics immediately into your practice
 
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Apply at least 3 accessibility factors into digital marketing materials to ensure compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in music therapy marketing & access to care. (5B-2, #57, Code of Ethics 1.3 & 1.6)
 
Identify at least 3 components of ethical brand identity and behavior to ensure accurate representation of music therapy in marketing to potential clients and community partners. (2B-1, #11, 5B-2, #57, Code of Ethics 3.3)
 
Describe at least 3 attributes of media consents to ensure ethical use of client likeness in music therapy imagery & marketing materials. (3A-4, #34, 5B-2, #57, Code of Ethics 1.5 & 4.7)