The Contributions of Wayne Ruppenthal to the Field of Music Therapy

This paper examines the career of Wayne Roppenthal, considered one of the early pioneers in the field of music therapy. He began his practice in the late 1940s and his clinical accomplishments at Topeka State Hospital spanned nearly two decades during the height of Freudian psychoanalysis and “milieu” therapy prescribed by The Menninger Foundation. Ruppenthal received his education at The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, and was the first graduate of the Master's of Music Education in Functional Music program in 1948. His contributions to the profession were significant and enduring and included establishing formal clinical practice and training standards, assisting with development of the National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT), and promoting the credibility of music therapy through published research. He retired from Topeka State Hospital in 1968. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Wayne Ruppenthal, who died on August 31, 1997.