Share your thoughts with the board members on the role of music therapy in community based settings.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Kristina Rio]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I will be away this week on my honeymoon, so I will not be checking in. Please contact Erika, Meredith, or Beth with any questions you may have, and I look forwards to reading your posts when I return!

[Megan Calabro]

Hi, all. I found this to be a pretty thought provoking discussion and question. One of the things I’ve personally always struggled with is the question, “well, is it, or is it not music therapy?” Perhaps it’s because of my experiences of being within a medical facility, but I feel like I have a tendency to get caught up in the “clinical” mindset, which I think comes from a need to “justify” the why of MT. But, that’s also an understandable mindset when there is a drive to essentially prove the efficacy of what we’re doing (ie all of those observable and measurable outcomes). So, thinking about MT from a community standpoint is almost (but not quite) foreign to me. That all being said, though, there is also a push in the medical world to look at things from a wellness perspective, which I think MT can fit into pretty naturally.

With regards specifically to early childhood development and this particular model, I think it makes a good deal of sense to look at it from a community and wellness perspective. When you consider the rising instances of things such as prematurity or low birth weight that can negatively impact development, and when you consider how parenting styles are changing due to societal and economic challenges, it goes without saying that we’re going to meet more and more families who are struggling in one way or another. So, why not have programs available that can help foster and support healthy development both for the child and for the family regardless of where the family is coming from? Yes, there are several other early childhood music programs out there, but I think MT has a unique advantage with regards to the fact that it can be clinical, within a community/wellness model, when need be. MT’s can appropriately identify red flags, provide support and direction, and can also really support what is happening between the parent and child. MT’s can also recognize and appreciate that it may not be developmentally appropriate for a child to sit still or do A, B, and C, the way it may be expected in another early childhood music program. And while other programs may have an end goal of having children/families actively making music, two other primary goals of MT are to ultimately strengthen the relationships that exist within the family, and then to use those relationships to support a child’s ability to develop to his/her fullest potential. Just food for thought on this one… As I’ve shared, I also went through the training for DIRFloortime, and I think this quote from Stanley Greenspan nicely sums up my thoughts: “All children have within them the potential to be great kids. It’s our job to create a great world where this potential can flourish.”

[Megan Calabro]

Just in case I didn’t fully answer the question.., I think MT can function naturally within a wellness model. There are a good number of people who are looking at preventative care, which is something that MT can support. One clear example of that is stress management. MT is unique in the fact that it’s not one specific thing for stress management. This can be achieved in so many ways from actively creating music, to creating art in response to music, to engaging in guided imagery. One particular intervention I did with our eating disorders population was to critically evaluate how we each use music within our lives on a daily basis. I then challenged them to create four different playlists based on the following themes: (1) a chill-out playlist that may include songs/selections specifically geared for relaxation; (2) a “feel good” playlist that may include songs/selections that promoted a “happy go lucky” feel; (3) a “pump up” playlist, which is pretty self explanatory; and (4) an “emotional release” playlist that may include songs that allow us to cry or be angry, but then intentionally shift towards acceptance. Exercises such as these, or as another example, those that support mindfulness, can be extremely beneficial and effective as part of a wellness model. And again, MT’s have a unique advantage in that they can be more clinical when needed, and more loose when needed as well. Happy day, all!

[Anonymous]

Thank you Megan, great answers! I definitely find that the SM families I work with along with their children benefit from the wellness perspective. They all need that time in the week to relax and have fun together. Thank you for the playlist experience you used with the eating disorder clients. If you don’t mind I am going to borrow that with some adolescents I work with. They will really benefit from it!

[Megan Calabro]

Erika – no problem, and be my guest! =)

[Dina Breaux]

Megan, I enjoyed reading both of your posts! Thank you for the great intervention idea with your eating disorder group! This is one area I have become more interested in and have considered leading groups in adult group homes for substance abuse. Also, DIR FIoortime seems to fit into my love of play with children during music therapy sessions. For me, I’ve found in the past a great deal of success with my younger clients meeting benchmarks when I incorporated a lot of “playtime” or “games” in my sessions. If I decide to take on clients again, I will seriously consider this training!
I agree that wellness programs are a proactive approach for our communities in regards to their physical and mental health. For instance, my husband’s health insurance gives my family hundreds of dollars towards our health spending account if we enroll in their wellness plans and activities. They will reimburse for gym memberships, discounts for exercise equipment, and offer free nutrition classes. It’s this approach to healthcare, providing a wide variety of options that meets just about everyone’s needs, that makes me hopeful that music therapy will fit into this wellness model. Once I finish the SM training, my plan is to go to places like libraries, community centers, Mom’s Club groups, day cares, preschools, shelters, etc… to promote a Sprouting Melodies program. I have always understood that, as a music therapist, educating the public about what music therapy is would be an ongoing part of my profession. What I am beginning to understand is the many ways that MT fits into the wellness and preventative care model and how best to explain it to the general public. We have an opportunity to “showcase” our profession, as Meredith explained, and educate our community that it (MT) can help to promote good health and well-being. The flexibility we provide working with small and large groups of people, within a structured program, is unique to our profession because, though it may not be in a clinical setting, we pay attention to group dynamics in order to fit the needs of the group “ in the moment” that is both appropriate and effective.

[Lauren Klimek]

Music Therapy has a very important and effective role in community based programs that go well beyond just services for children. We, as music therapists, have the training and clinical expertise to offer a unique and invaluable service to the community where there may be established or under developed programs already in place. As music therapists, I think we can all recall a time where we needed to be flexible, adaptable, and capable of thinking ‘outside the box’ when it came to advocating for our services or simply justifying to our employer or contract that our services are important and just as necessary as the rest. With that being said, music therapy and music therapists have many opportunities to provide services in the community without it solely being defined ‘as therapy.’ Here are a few ideas that I have for community based programs- senior group for memory enhancement and socialization, drum circle for stress relief, senior glee club, community children’s choir, social group and meet ups for the ID and mentally ill population (there are no programs for this population in my area), adult education groups at the local high school focusing on stress relief and music meditation, just to name a few. There are so many ways to promote health and wellness through music and the arts and we are capable of promoting and providing each and every one of them!

[Gina Greeson]

I really like what Megan said. There are a lot of low income families in my community. Given that music therapy promotes wellness in all aspects of life, why not use music therapy! We have a very large head start program in sussex county. I also like what Lauren said. We really do have to think outside the box and adapt too. Like Dina, I too plan to go to libraries and moms clubs to reach out. Music therapy with adults who have addiction issues is also a great way to work with the community. You could start a rock band or choir with this population to get them integrated back into the community. You can also use music therapy in the community as a wellness program for working professionals whether it be teachers, doctor, lawyers, nurses etc. You could run a stress management group with music based on the needs of the group.

[Lauren Klimek]

Gina, the idea for a wellness group with healthcare professionals is great. There’s a hospital in my town and I’ve been thinking of offering something like that.

[Joanna Calahan]

I’m finding this question rather difficult to answer. I haven’t really taken the time lately to think about music therapy in the community other than to advocate for and market it. Lately I have been focused more on clinical aspects as I’ve been working on ways to best help my client’s reach their ISP goals and objectives. While I know these are important as we are an evidence based practice, I forget that sometimes we as music therapists have the ability to address the needs of the whole person and not just the specifics listed on an ISP or IEP. It’s the same for addressing the needs of members within our communities. If a community has been hit with a tragedy or disaster music therapists can assist the ailing community with support groups in which we provide non-threatening opportunities to express their feelings about the hardships, but to also provide ways to help community members heal together through healthy coping strategies. I hope this makes sense.

I really like Megan’s answer in regards to how models such as SMT can help provide and support healthy individual and family development. She draws a good point with the amount of “brokenness” families in our societies have whether from divorce, death, economical, or other struggle that we as music therapists can help support a positive developmental or coping experience using our specific MT training and education within community settings.

[Megan Calabro]

Thank you, everyone, for your positive feedback! This is definitely an interesting topic to discuss simply because of where MT is currently at, and the various directions it can go in. It’s been wonderful to read everyone’s comments, and to hear about your thoughts about MT from a wellness perspective. I really liked a lot of the ideas that were shared for wellness/community groups! I’m still waiting to hear if the grant funding for my position was renewed (oddly enough, I was supposed to find out a couple of months ago), but my battle plan, if the funding does not go through, is to start a private practice focusing on both wellness and early childhood. Have a good week, all!

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