Bill > HB563

This bill amends the Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Act to include professional music therapy as a regulated profession in Pennsylvania. The bill establishes a comprehensive framework for licensing and regulating music therapists, defining the practice of music therapy as a clinical and evidence-based approach using music interventions to achieve individualized therapeutic goals. It expands the State Board of Social Workers to include two professional music therapists and creates specific licensing requirements for music therapists, including educational qualifications, certification through the Certification Board for Music Therapists, and good moral character. The bill specifies that licensed professional music therapists must collaborate with healthcare providers and treatment teams, cannot replace services of other healthcare professionals like speech-language pathologists, and can only use the title "Licensed Professional Music Therapist" or "L.P.M.T." if they hold a valid license. The legislation outlines detailed professional standards, including requirements for treatment planning, client assessment, and collaboration with other healthcare providers, while also establishing penalties for unauthorized practice and providing mechanisms for licensing, reciprocity, and professional conduct for music therapists.

Labor and Employment

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=563