What value do music therapists bring to families of young children? Post your thoughts and comments to the board. Reply to the contributions of the group.

Hello from the middle of the video! I think I’d like to answer your question the way you posed it in the video. First I think that music therapists have the knowledge base to provide the best services because of the sheer amount of knowledge that we have gained. Every experience with music- and imagine how many we’ve all had- has taught us about the relationship between humans and music. And every experience with clients has taught us about human psychology, development and disability. Each day and session brings in a new combination of those circumstances and relies on a different skill set. I think individually I bring passion, understanding and dedication to my clients which is why I am confident I could provide the best services to parents. Ok! back to the video.

Coleen said it very well! I have taken an early childhood “branded” music program that once completed you are certified provider. It is geared toward typically developing 0-5 year olds. You do not have to have a music degree of any sort – just a desire. When comparing this program with “Sprouting Melodies”…well there is no comparing. There is so much more that an MT can provide with our clinican training and especially experience. There are no better teachers than our clients. After observing a parent/child group during this training I was very aware of what my observations were as compared to non- MT’s. I wanted more for those parents and kids!

I agree with the above. Music therapists bring a unique education, training and understanding of music, relationships and development. There is simply no comparing the quality and VALUE provided by a trained professional versus someone who has taken only a few hours of training in kid music and activities. Those running “branded” early childhood program have little training in modifying and adapting to meet the child developmentally where they are. I am not a parent, but I know that no two children develop exactly the same ways and in the same time frames. Music therapists are the only professionals adequately trained to provide the most effective experience for all involved.

I completely agree with all of you! Music therapists have a much stronger understanding of how music can help foster development in so many different areas. As an educator that goes into a lot of different preschools, I see the music groups that they have and the activities that they do, and they’re not always they most appropriate activities that could be done. The leaders don’t always seem to understand how to modify the activity to have it be appropriate. Often times I feel like they just look at music as just an entertaining time, and not enough of a learning time.

To echo what the ladies have posted above, as Music Therapists we come to the table with a deeper well of knowledge and training. Not only do we have the musical skill, but we also bring our previous training, experience with groups and individuals of all ages and abilities, creativity, flexibility, and skills to tailor our sessions for the individuals and groups we work with.
We are able to apply our knowledge and skills to enhance the children’s and families lives through musicking together.

Without repeating everybody’s sentiments here, I would like to emphasize the flexibility of the music therapist. As part of our/my training, our experience has taught us to be creative with planning and such to fit any situation that may occur in sessions. From the little understanding I have of other early childhood music classes, they have a pre-determined agenda that may not be appropriate for certain situations. Our experience and clinical knowledge would benefit the clients to give them a more holistic experience in each session.

Ditto to all the responses above. I completely agree that music therapists understand the value of music and musical interaction. It is not just- “Oh we are going to use this song (that I found somewhere) so that you can move around and have fun.” Music therapists understand and grasp the potential when music is part of the equation along with relationships and a strong knowledge base of development. The interventions/ experiences we offer are not “willy nilly” they are specifically designed for development and are flexible for success.

I could spend all day echoing the sentiments expressed above. I think another value we as music therapists bring to our families is a holistic view of the child and their family. Instead of looking at the “problem”, we learn to look at the potential – the potential of the child, the parent, and the family as a whole. We search for ways to engage the child and their family to help guide them to reach their full potential. We use our knowledge and experience to provide an environment in which those special moments can and do happen, and help the family to spot and rejoice in even the smallest of successes.

In addition to all that has been mentioned above, I think another valuable asset we MT’s have is the training to know when to refer families for additional help/resources as needed. We are in a great position to recognize developmental delays and help families to seek early intervention services. Plus *we* have the tools assist those families, within our scope of practice, in our classes.

I agree with all that has been said (and also feel that MT pride!). Our training, experience and knowledge as music therapists helps us constantly observe, feel and intuit where children are developmentally. Our training as clinical musicians helps us meet the children where they are developmentally, emotionally, physically and cognitively…and communicate this information effectively to their families.

I feel that we, music therapists, can bring more detailed and insightful information about childs development to parents. We also can recognize quickly when we see some developmental issue in particular child. We are also trained to help parents who are struggling. No other music teachers/ couches are trained like we are. 🙂

Agreed! I’d like to highlight the “therapist” part of music therapist– we have the training in psychology and in development to target growth with a precision that non-MTs lack. Other mommy & me music groups are certainly fun, and certainly the music is good and is good for growth, but it’s like fishing with a net versus fishing with a bait targeted to the fish. Additionally, the training of a therapist allows us to bring our whole self to a group, utilizing our vast training and offering it to the group to foster growth with a foundation of patience and calm. I also like what Toni said about being able to see red flags– again, MT training!

As music therapists, we have the blend of knowing developmental milestones but also allowing for creative exploration. It is the perfect mixture of structure and organization and permission to be a child and not feel the need to do things at a certain speed. We educate families as they learn and have fun.