“Music therapy is the planned use of music to assist the healing and personal growth of people with identified emotional, intellectual, physical or social needs”
Put simply, music therapy is the use of music to reach non-musical goals.
Music therapy is the professional use of music and its elements as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments.
Music therapy can be used with individuals, groups, families, or communities who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and well-being.
Anyone can engage in music therapy; you don’t need a background in music to experience its beneficial effects.
What do Music Therapists do?
And what happens in the music therapy space...
Assessment
Meeting the client where they are at:
Music therapists assess the emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities and cognitive skills through musical responses.
An Assessment Period usually lasts between 5 to 10 sessions where clinical notes are kept so recommendations can be made at the conclusion on continuation and what the goals would be going forward should that be recommended.
What Happens in a Session?
We design Music Sessions to meet Non-Musical Goals using some of the below musical techniques:
Music improvisation
Receptive music listening
Song writing
Lyric discussion
Music and imagery
Musical performance
Therapy Space
We provide all the specialist equipment and instruments each client may need
We have weighted super hero capes.
Cultural instruments and knowledge to inform our practice and hold our clients needs in the forefront of our methods.
Accessible percussion and stringed instruments.
Training in communication boards and visuals to help connect with our non-verbal clients.
Group or Individual Work
Meeting the needs of our clients
Music therapy can be highly personalized, making it suitable for people of any age. It is versatile and offers benefits for people with a variety of musical experience levels and with different mental or physical health challenges.
Music Therapists work with Groups and Individuals, Choirs and Community Groups. We have skills that allow us to work in a collaborative and flexible way. With Covid 19 we have adapted to online Telehealth sessions too.
Review
Keeping our clients safe
We meet our clients where they are and where they are most comfortable so we can help growth happen. We have review periods and follow a Code of Ethics to keep everyone safe in our therapy space.
We often work in interdisciplinary treatment planning as part of a team with ongoing evaluation and follow up. We are required by our registration board to have ongoing supervision and are engaged in professional development.
Benefits of Music Therapy
What can Music Therapy do for you?
Research has shown that music can have a powerful effect on people with dementia and other memory-related disorders. Music therapy can increase positive feelings, like:
Calmness
Euphoria
Confidence and empowerment
Emotional intimacy
It activates regions of the brain that influence things like memory, emotions, movement, sensory relay, some involuntary functions, decision-making, and reward.
Fulfill social needs for older adults in group settings
Lower heart rate and blood pressure
Relax muscle tension
Release endorphins
Relieve stress and encourage feelings of calm
Strengthen motor skills and improve communication for children and young adults who have developmental and/or different learning abilities such as ADHD or Autism Spectrum.