Children's National Hospital logo
Children's National Hospital
Washington, District of Columbia

Music Therapist I/II

CounselorFull-Time

Listed compensation

$55k-$97k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 40m ago · Verified live

Job Description

111 Michigan Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20010

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department: 10286 Child Life and Integrated Care

Pay Range

$54,683.20 - $96,616.00

The Music Therapist I provides foundational music therapy services to support the emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychosocial well-being of patients and families.

Under general supervision, this role implements developmentally and clinically appropriate music interventions in inpatient and outpatient settings and contributes to creating a calming, therapeutic environment.

The Music Therapist I fosters positive relationships with patients, families, and the healthcare team while developing core competencies in assessment, intervention planning, documentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Music Therapist II is an experienced clinician who independently delivers advanced music therapy services to diverse patient populations with complex medical and psychosocial needs.

This role contributes to program development, evaluates the effectiveness of interventions, and serves as a clinical resource within assigned areas.

The Music Therapist II collaborates closely with interdisciplinary partners, mentors students or junior staff, and actively supports initiatives that enhance patient experience.

This role also assists in developing educational programming and promoting a healing environment through leadership in clinical practice and patient- and family-centered care.

The Music Therapist I provides foundational music therapy services to support the emotional, cognitive, physical, and psychosocial well-being of patients and families.

Under general supervision, this role implements developmentally and clinically appropriate music interventions in inpatient and outpatient settings and contributes to creating a calming, therapeutic environment.

The Music Therapist I fosters positive relationships with patients, families, and the healthcare team while developing core competencies in assessment, intervention planning, documentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Music Therapist II is an experienced clinician who independently delivers advanced music therapy services to diverse patient populations with complex medical and psychosocial needs.

This role contributes to program development, evaluates the effectiveness of interventions, and serves as a clinical resource within assigned areas.

The Music Therapist II collaborates closely with interdisciplinary partners, mentors students or junior staff, and actively supports initiatives that enhance patient experience.

This role also assists in developing educational programming and promoting a healing environment through leadership in clinical practice and patient- and family-centered care.

The Music Therapist II is an experienced clinician who independently delivers advanced music therapy services to diverse patient populations with complex medical and psychosocial needs.

This role contributes to program development, evaluates the effectiveness of interventions, and serves as a clinical resource within assigned areas.

The Music Therapist II collaborates closely with interdisciplinary partners, mentors students or junior staff, and actively supports initiatives that enhance patient experience.

This role also assists in developing educational programming and promoting a healing environment through leadership in clinical practice and patient- and family-centered care.

Minimum Education

  • Bachelor's Degree in Music Therapy (Required) Or
  • Master's Degree in Music Therapy (Required)
  • Minimum Work Experience
  • Music Therapist II - 2 years of Music Therapy experience in a pediatric care setting (Required)
  • Music Therapist II - Completion of Music Therapy Internship (Required)
  • Required Licenses and Certifications
  • Music Therapist II - MT-BC (Music Therapist Board Certification) (Required)
  • Music Therapist I - MT-BC (Music Therapist Board Certification) (Required w/in 6 months of hire)

Functional Accountabilities

Provides music therapy services to patients and families in inpatient and outpatient settings, utilizing developmentally appropriate and therapeutic interventions; documents assessments and treatment according to departmental and regulatory standards.

Participates in departmental and psychosocial rounds to support coordinated, patient- and family-centered care.

Collaborates with hospital staff and programs to ensure integrated services and to address patient needs within the scope of the role.

Assists in providing support to music therapy students as appropriate, under the guidance of senior clinicians.

Supports program sustainability activities as needed, including assisting with grant-related tasks, contributing to fundraising efforts, and helping maintain program materials and resources.

Supports Data Collection for Service

Collaborates with Public Relations, Marketing, and other hospital departments to promote the Music Therapy Program internally and externally, ensuring accurate representation of services and contributing to community engagement.

Contributes to program sustainability efforts, including participating in grant writing, supporting fundraising activities, and assisting with donor stewardship as needed.

Participates in the development, refinement, and evaluation of the student training program to ensure high-quality educational experiences.

Orients, trains, supervises, and evaluates music therapy students; supports onboarding and training of new staff members and contributes to in-service education for hospital personnel.

Engages in psychosocial or clinical quality improvement and/or research projects relevant to music therapy practices and interventions; assists with data collection, literature review, and dissemination of findings.

Provides mentorship, guidance, and clinical support to Music Therapist I staff, fostering professional growth and consistent application of therapeutic standards.

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children’s National believes an individual’s base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range.

The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children’s National compensation philosophy.

These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual’s combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications.

Children’s National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The “Know Your Rights” poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here: Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a “drug-free” work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.

Key Responsibilities

The music therapist provides developmentally and clinically appropriate music interventions to support the emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of patients and families. They also contribute to program development, clinical research, and the mentorship of students and junior staff.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Music Therapy and possess MT-BC certification. The role requires experience in pediatric care settings and the ability to work effectively within an interdisciplinary healthcare team.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Clinical assessmentPatient-centered careClinical supervision

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 72% are remote, 36% have no call, 68% require no weekends.

Mental Health Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is up 2.4% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for District of Columbia is 109.9 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$76k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $69k in an average-cost state. 64.3% of District of Columbia clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Counselor Jobs

31 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution31 jobs · 17 employers

5
<$90k
6
$90k-105k
7
$105k-120k
11
$120k-135k
2
$135k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks27 jobs · 17 employers

401k / retirement match
100%
CME allowance
33%
Sign-on bonus
30%
Loan repayment
11%
PSLF eligible
7%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

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$125k-$140k
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Work-life snapshot

median 6.1this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 8,002 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site

Living in Washington

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$642k≈ 11.7× annual pay
Typical market rent
$2,517/mo≈ 55% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
30 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.9
State income tax
Up to 10.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

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About Children's National Hospital

Hospitals and Health Care
Washington, DC
5,001-10,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Comprehensive benefits package