Carol Shultis

Associate Professor of Music Therapy

Contact

Carol Shultis has over 30 years of experience as a music therapist and clinical training supervisor in medical settings including acute hospital care, rehabilitative care, mental health care, long term care and hospice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She directed the internship program at the Forbes Health System for 20 years and trained 88 interns and supervised over 100 university practicum students before beginning her PhD work at Temple University. During her graduate education she served as adjunct faculty in the music therapy program at Seton Hill University and worked part time as the administrative director of a therapeutic recreation and music therapy program with older adults and rehabilitation patients in long term care. Her doctoral research explored the use of music therapy with patients in the Intensive Care Unit of a community hospital. She is interested in extending that research and exploring music therapy supervision and training in future research.

A lifetime choral singer, she enjoys making music with the Spartanburg Festival Chorus and local church choirs as a source of self-care and recharging her creative energies.

Scholarly & Research Activity

Dr. Shultis has been actively involved in the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) since beginning clinical practice, serving as Advisor to the Mid Atlantic Regional Chapter student association for 15 years, as Chair of the national Student Affairs Advisory Board, as Advisor to the National Student Association, and currently as a Co-chair of the Ethics Board of the AMTA. Carol has presented numerous educational programs for community and professional groups and has offered clinical supervision groups and sessions. She is a frequent presenter for continuing education programs for music therapists and at regional and national conferences. She was privileged to be part of a panel presentation for the American Psychiatric Association; an article describing music therapy in psychiatric care resulted from this presentation (Psychiatric Times, 1999). She co-authored a text for students, “Clinical Training Guide for the Student Music Therapist” (2005) and the 2nd edition, (2017), and a book chapter, “Medical Music Therapy for Adults” in Music Therapy Handbook , Wheeler, B. (Ed.) (2015). She also co-authored several journal articles describing research with music therapy with cardiac and cancer patients conducted with faculty at Temple University during her doctoral studies (2007, 2008).

She received the 2012 Service Award from the Mid-Atlantic Region/AMTA for “significant service to the Mid-Atlantic Region” and an award from the American Music Therapy Association Students (2017) in honoring her contributions to their early development as an organization.

With a background in music education, Carol enjoys working with students in special education settings and with adults and older adults in medical settings including hospitals, long term care, hospice and palliative care. She frequently focuses this treatment on coping skills development including music-assisted relaxation. She is trained in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music and has seen individuals for in-depth psychological work and/or personal growth using music and imagery.

Degrees

  • PhD - Temple University
  • MEd - Penn State University
  • BS in Music Education - Lebanon Valley College
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