Matadoc

Training: First level training

• A 13.5-hour online training (excluding breaks) with additional training videos
• Suitable for music therapists who are experienced with minimally responsive populations with any of the following: disorders of consciousness, late/end stage dementia, late-stage neurological illness, profound and multiple developmental disabilities, late/end stage terminal illness
• Suitable for student music therapists with clinical experience of minimally responsive populations described above
• MATADOC is also appropriate for other professionals working with these populations who are interested in learning more about using music with this population. However, the skills required in implementing the MATADOC protocol and assessing patient responsiveness require those of a trained music therapist. The decision to open the MATADOC training to non-music therapy professionals is at the discretion of the organization funding the training.
• Participants will leave Level 1 training being ready to use the MATADOC in clinical work immediately, including the following resources
o Powerpoint training materials that provide a full review of the latest research materials on the topic of Disorders of Consciousness (DoC). This includes information about research not yet published, received through personal communication with the world's leaders on research on this topic. Note that all the slides are updated for every training to ensure that the latest evidence is included and summarized for the participants
o Publications on the MATADOC from 20 years’ research (made available for participants, not usually available without institution library access)
o Authoritative publications on DoC (made available for participants, not usually available without institution library access)
o One powerpoint presentation is provided to participants to take and use to present on the MATADOC to their own clinical / research teams.
o Ongoing access to training videos after the MATADOC training
o Completed practice sheet examples of the assessment documentation to guide participants in rating and scoring the MATADOC
o Examples of materials (written reports) to guide the participants in preparation for competency and reporting the findings of the MATADOC
o Ongoing personal access to the approved provider by email with any inquiries

Second level competency development

(independent study and application of learning from first level training)
• Optional
• Demonstrated through applying the MATADOC protocol with patients
• Supervised through on-line supervision 
• Competency demonstrated in 3 components: delivering the protocol and assessing observed patient responses; completing assessment and score record documentation; and communicating the outcomes of MATADOC assessment through a summary report.
• Competency (completion of level 2 training) is acknowledged with a certificate provided by the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, London.
• Normally achieved within 1-2 supervisions within 6 months of training

Timeframe of training through to competency.

• This usually depends on the availability of minimally responsive patients for demonstrating competency. 
• The minimum timeframe to train and receive competency would be 3 months (with adequate patient access), and it would be more usual to gain competency within 5 – 6 months.
• Competency is not essential to use the MATADOC, but would support trainees in applying their learning to practice. 
• Competency is essential for professionals involved in using the MATADOC in research. 

Benefits

Benefits for therapists working in different settings The MATADOC has been validated for use with:
• Adults
• With a disorder of consciousness
• Within rehabilitation settings for purposes of providing a diagnosis and identifying individualized goals, treatment planning and evaluation of ongoing treatment
• In nursing home settings (and other continuing/skilled care) for diagnosis, re-evaluation of earlier assessments, treatment planning and evaluation of ongoing treatment.
However, the MATADOC is currently being validated for:
• Children
• Who have a disorder of consciousness stemming from acquired brain injury
• Within rehabilitation settings for purposes of providing a diagnosis and identifying individualized goals, treatment planning and evaluation of ongoing treatment
• People with end-stage dementia
Although the MATADOC has not been validated for other populations, it provides a rigorous system for 
• identifying patient responsiveness to music
• setting individualized goals
• monitoring change (including very small changes) over time as an evaluation tool.

Therefore, it is useful for populations who have chronic conditions in settings other than rehabilitation, where small changes need to be monitored over time. This might include people with late/end stage terminal illness; children and adults with profound and multiple developmental disabilities; people with late/end stage dementia.
Some feedback from the most recent trainings follows:
• Thank you for sharing your wisdom and expertise! I just had the opportunity to do the full assessment for the first time recently. It was immensely helpful for my own understanding but also for gaining a detailed clinical picture of the patient and how to support their ongoing treatment (my rehabilitative colleagues were very interested in all of my observations as well).
• It's really exciting to have a validated music therapy assessment tool to bring to our site and integrate into the broader work of the rehab and medical teams. I am so excited to see how we might be able to add this to the workflow of the music therapy team in partnership with our OT/PT/SLP colleagues, as they are already looking forward to hearing about the training! 
• I appreciate how standardized the MATADOC is compared to so much of my previous music therapy training. I am grateful the training shared so much research and cited sources to the evidence supporting the MATADOC which will inform other areas of my practice as well.
• This was a wonderful training, and I think it is going to add a lot to my current practice. 
• The clinical examples and discussion were very helpful in building understanding and confidence with the assessment process. I also appreciated the evidence-based references to share with our healthcare team.

Qualifications and credentials of the trainer

Wendy Magee PhD, Music Therapist (registered with the Health Professions Council, UK) is Professor of Music Therapy at Temple University, Philadelphia. She has practiced in neurological rehabilitation since 1988 as a music therapy clinician, researcher, manager and trainer. Her primary work has been with adults and children with complex needs stemming from acquired neurological conditions, including brain injury, stroke, degenerative neurological illness and, most significantly, disorders of consciousness. Her work as a full-time professor since 2011 has afforded her the opportunity to become an experienced teacher, during which she has become committed to diverse learning styles.

References

Magee, W.L., Lipe, A.W., Ikeda, T., Siegert, R.J. (2022). Exploring the clinical utility of the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC) with people with end-stage dementia. Brain Sciences, 12, 1306-1331. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12101306

Magee, W.L., Narayanan, A., Chu, B., Delargy, M., Gray, D., Haughey, F., O’Connor, R., Schnakers, C., Seu, A., Siegert, R., Tyas, R.. Wegener, E., Yeldon, K. (2023). Validation of the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 104(7), 1107-1114. 

Magee, W.L., Siegert, R.J., Taylor, S.M., Daveson, B.A., & Lenton-Smith, G. (2016). Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC): Reliability and validity of a measure to assess awareness in patients with disorders of consciousness. Journal of Music Therapy, 53(1), 1-26. doi: 10.1093/jmt/trv017 

Magee, W.L., Siegert, R.J., Lenton-Smith, G; Daveson, B.A., & Taylor, S.M. (2014). Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC): Standardisation of the principal subscale to assess awareness in patients with disorders of consciousness. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 24 (1), 101-124.

Pool, J.W., Magee, W.L. Siegert, R.J., & Wood, C. (2025). The Development of Face Validity of the Music Therapy Sensory Instrument For Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA). Frontiers in Psychology, 16.  doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441178

Pool, J., Siegert, R., Taylor, S., Dunford, C. & Magee, W.L. (2020). Evaluating the Validity, Reliability and Clinical Utility of the Music therapy Sensory Instrument For Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA): protocol of a validation study. British Medical Journal Open, 10 (8). https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039713.full