Ms. Alison Wendel is a Board Certified Music Therapist (NOCA/NCCA) who currently works at the Utah State Developmental Center.  She graduated cum laude from Utah State University. Her most extensive experience with the medical community comes from her clinical internship at the University Hospitals of Cleveland under Deforia Lane Ph.D., MT-BC.  While there, she participated in a research study concerning guided music relaxation, levels of anesthesia, and post-operative recovery for surgical patients.  She also provided hospice counseling for parents and children, facilitated after-death counseling, hosted the pediatric closed-circuit television show for the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, worked in the adult general surgical and oncology wards, and was the first music therapist to co-treat with the head physical

therapist in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

 In 1996, Ms. Wendel obtained funding from the Utah Very Special Arts Act to work with special education and behavior disorder students in their self-contained classrooms.  She has also contracted with Garden Terrace Center for Alzheimers Excellence, and worked with the female offenders at the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center.  During her career, she has co-treated various medical professionals, including certified child life specialists; physical, occupational, respiratory, and art therapists; and social workers.

Ms. Wendel is committed to raising the awareness of music therapy in Utah.  She has done this by way of various lectures and presentations including lectures to the U.S.U. student association in 1996; to Salt Lake area AP students in 1997; to the Therapeutic Recreation Conference in April 1998; to the Utah State Developmental Center’s parent committee, where she explained the benefits of music therapy for adults with disabilities; for the Utah Association for Music Therapists on Recertification; and more recently, at the Western Region Chapter of the American Music Therapy Association’s (WRAMTA) Regional Conference in Hawaii on “User Friendly Data Techniques for Individuals with Disabilities.  She is also a seasoned presenter for music therapy conferences and seminars,

where she presents some of the various treatment

techniques that she has developed.

Ms. Wendel developed a National Roster Certified Music Therapy Internship Program which received its first intern in January of 2002.  Since then fifteen interns successfully completed their internships, with one-hundred percent of them passing their Board Certification exams.

Recognition for music therapy has also come by way of her current position with the Utah State Developmental Center.  In the summer of 2000, the Mental Retardation Association of Utah (MRAU) featured her in the President’s Message of their newsletter for her work with the individuals at the center.  August 6, 2001 she received the Jerold C. Smedley Award by the Dividion of Services for People with Disabilities.  In 2003 she was nominated for Outstanding State of Utah Employee. While volunteering as part of the Utah State University and Primary Children’s Hospital’s (PCH) Music Therapy Pilot Program, Ms. Wendel’s work was featured on the front page of IHC Today – Primary Children’s Medical Center Edition* March 30, 2005. USDC awarded her Employee of the Month along with other facility awards., In August of 2007 she was nominated for the Executive Director’s Award. Through her efforts her contract position was reclassified to be a full-time state job.  She led the team which developed the State of Utah’s Job Description for Music Therapy,

and the Job Questionnaire Analysis.

Ms. Wendel has served in various leadership positions in the music therapy community.  She is currently serving a second term as the WRAMTA secretary.  On the state level she served two terms as the vice president of the Utah Association of Music Therapists (UAMT).  Prior to that, she served as the treasurer of that organization for four years.  Acting in these positions, she has organized state and regional conferences and helped to increase the association’s membership by 60 percent.  Also, during the last seven years, UAMT has become a non-profit corporation and gained affiliation with the Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association (UHA). Ms. Wendel has also served as the treasurer of the Association for Music Therapy Students (WRNAMTS); vice president, secretary, and treasurer of the Utah State Music Therapy Student Association; and as a board member of the Utah State University Fine Arts Student Committee.

For information regarding music therapy

please contact Alison @:

awendel@utah.gov

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