- What is Music Therapy?
If you have a child with a disability, you are likely actively looking for the best and most effective ways to help your child. Perhaps you’ve heard about music therapy in passing, or went to a conference presentation, or have been referred for services. With so many options on how to help your child, it is difficult to decide what you feel is the best route to take.
When considering music therapy, think of a few key factors first.
1) Is your child motivated by music?
2) Is your child more engaged when music is present?
3) Does your child accomplish tasks or transitions more easily when facilitated by music?
Simply “liking” music does not necessarily mean that music therapy will help your child in a functional way. However, if he or she is motivated by music to do things they may not otherwise do, then music therapy may be just what they need.
If you feel like music is an integral part of your child’s life, bring them in for an assessment! The goal of music therapy is to use music to target non-musical areas such as communication, cognition, and sensorimotor areas, and there’s no telling what your child may accomplish with the addition of this viable therapy!
Persons who complete one of the approved music therapy programs (including a 6-month internship) are then eligible to sit for the national examination offered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists. Music therapists who successfully complete the independently administered examination hold the music therapist-board certified credential (MT-BC).
We work with people of all ages and with a range of conditions. Providing music therapy to infants and children with autism, challenging behaviour, special needs, learning disabilities and communication disorders. We also support adults experiencing: mental health issues, dementia, bereavement, addiction and eating disorders, anger management issues, and stress.
Music therapy can help with speech/language deficits, cognitive ability, motor functioning, or social skills (especially in individuals with Autism). A board-certified music therapist is trained to use music to facilitate the child’s progress.
A music therapist can also help parents better understand how to use music in the home to help in everyday tasks. Transition songs, for example, may make a tremendous difference in helping a child move from one activity to the next with minimized tantrums. Task analysis songs that go through steps of how to wash hands or brush teeth, may help a child more readily acquire the skill. The possibilities of how to use music in the home are endless!
Music therapy sessions can look very different depending on the needs of the individual client. The music therapist designs each intervention to address the goal areas outlined on the treatment plan, and they usually fall under one of the following categories:
Instrument Play/Exploration
Movement
Singing
Relaxation
Improvisation
Most likely, your child will be involved in playing instruments, dancing, singing, and interacting with the music therapist through musical play. Everything the music therapist does is designed to help the child progress in meaningful ways. Please feel free to ask about anything you see or hear during a session to learn how it promotes development.
We hope to soon open enrollment for our onsite music therapy groups to improve social skills, creative skills, performance skills, and attention & impulse control. We offer offsite music therapy groups for schools, treatment centers, nursing homes/assisted living, memory care units, etc. Price inludes extra travel time, session time, and therapy notes.
We offer 30 minute and 60 minute session options. For some of the younger clients or those with attention difficulties the 30 minute option may be best.
We see the vast majority of our clients 1x/week. Some come more often, and others are 2x/month, and it really depends on the needs of the individual, with additional consideration for your budget and what works best for you.
With that said, we tend to see the most progress with more regular sessions (1x/week).
Music therapist will assess the strengths and needs of each client based on a screening completed at the beginning of treatment. Parents and/or Guardians will receive a report from their music therapist including their goals for their child after the screening is completed. The music therapist will take data on their child every week in the form of a documented progress note. We are committed to helping their child reach his/her goals one session at a time.
For every referral made you will receive a $20 credit to your account, which will be reflected on the next invoice you receive.
Our therapist has their own instruments. However if you are interested in long term services it may be in your best interest to develop a purchasing budget in order to have supplies on hand for sessions and throughout the week. The benefit for you is that your staff may have access to some of the instruments throughout the week in order to help patients/clients apply and generalize skills learned during therapy. This should be done after consultation with the music therapist.
Click here to access our online application, or call the studio and let’s find an available time for your screening. We can reserve that spot with just a few steps over the phone, and then you can come in to fill out the screening form at your convenience.