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

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Ann Marie Raddell]

I have shared this before a few weeks ago, but it also fits within this week’s topic. I took a music class with my daughter when she was just a few months old. She just turned seven on Friday, which is hard to believe. The wasn’t a great experience, and I often found myself thinking about what I would do differently if I was facilitating the class. After staying in the class for a few months, I looked to see if there were any other music class offerings for children of my daughter’s age that may be a better fit for what I wanted for her. I never found another option. So, at that point, I approached the community based agency for which I work (still do!) to ask permission for me to start an early childhood music program. They jumped at the offer. I always introduce my groups by explaining that I am a music therapist. And often times families are really intrigued and excited by that information. It also opens the door for them to approach me with questions regarding development. I try to provide for families what was not given to me and my child in that class I took. I am very grateful for that class though, because without it, I may never have gone down the early childhood music path, which I enjoy so very much. And I also was able to get a glimpse of what works and what doesn’t. Early childhood music groups are an absolute need. And my classes are always packed, because there are not a lot of them offered in my area. I truly believe it is even more valuable because of my background in music therapy.

[Noelle Larson]

Community-based music therapy work is an area that really interests me. Almost all of my experiences so far as a professional and during my music therapy training have been institution-based, providing me with some great experiences of contiguity and structure but also lacking much of the vibrancy and unpredictability of community-based work. I believe that one of the beauties of being a music therapist is that we can be so highly flexible, adapting ourselves and our therapy to the needs of both types of environments. In community-based work, clients typically enter the session having come from some kind of commute, having done other things previously and going to do other things next; the music therapist can recognize the energy and needs of her clients, whatever they may be that day, to meet that energy, and to help transition her clients into a healthy state for music therapy to take place. Working in the community also means a broad variety of client backgrounds, experiences, needs, goals, and diagnoses; it is the music therapist’s responsibility to formally asses these needs, when called for, to advocate for the needs of the clients, and to make referrals and recommendations if additional treatment or services are required. Music therapists dwell in the realm of possibility and empowerment; we focus on what our clients can do, and the value their personal and musical voice brings to our community. This unique perspective and orientation makes our work highly valuable to our clients and our communities as a whole.

[Ashley Carroll]

As I have shared previously I’m not currently practicing. In my “time off” I have realized that community based music therapy is really my calling. Before I moved I was in talks with a yoga teacher to collaborate on a wellness venture combining music therapy and yoga practice. Although some folks are often pensive when the word “therapy” is used, with a bit of education of what it means for the program, most folks realize how beneficial it is to have the facilitator of the group have the level of expertise we do as music therapists. We are observers, we assess needs, areas of growth, I know I sometimes do this subconsciously! I agree with Noelle, music therapists are able to create an environment for the participants in the community based program to be present in the session. Not worrying about what else is on the itinerary for the day. I also share the experience of Ann Marie, I have taken another community based music class. It was disappointing (especially when all my mom friends raved about it). The need for quality, music therapy based program is there, they don’t know what they are missing! Everyone can benefit from music therapy and I can’t wait to get started spreading the music therapy love.

[Laetitia Brundage]

When I think of community based music therapy, I think of bringing people together and fulfilling a need that might not be so apparent in day-to-day life. Beyond early childhood music classes, we have the ability to create strong communities in very unique ways. Whether it be a drum circle, community center music choir, an after school program, or adaptive music lessons, we are able to modify our skill set to meet the needs of the places we live. While clinical music therapy is amazing and very necessary in our world, community based music therapy brings us out of the closet, out of the institutions and into the public eye. In a way it is advocating for additional clinical music therapy. We can build relationships in non-threatening settings, which can lead to folks pursuing private sessions or groups. You never know who’s going to show up at that drum circle in the park!

[Kelsy Gati]

Community based music therapy, to me, is an opportunity for people to connect through music in a supportive, exploratory and comfortable environment. I think the beauty of music is that it has the ability to bring people together and creates opportunities for connection in a unique way. More specifically, as music therapists we are trained to be flexible, goal oriented, task specific, to adapt to the needs of the clients on any given day and to observe and respond to those observations. Our specific skills are so valuable to community music because we can apply theses skills as needed. In the first video you mention that Sprouting Melodies Classes do not have the same structure, methods or specificity of a typical music therapy session. I think that we can certainly maintain that relaxed, exploratory environment but maintain our training and music therapy thought processes to enhance the community early childhood classes in a unique way!

[Belinda Adams]

I find that community based music therapy is really needed in my area, I”m sure you’ve gathered that from my previous posts. However, people continue to be pensive about actually calling it music therapy. In an effort to include everyone I have taken the avenue of providing music making classes with a music therapy structure. I am slowly implementing additional education for parents, community and location where I am doing this–thanks to this class!

[Sarah Szymanowski]

I remember discussing community based music therapy in a college class and how it felt like a very abstract concept to me. Till that point we had been so focused on specific settings, diagnoses, behaviors, etc. How could MT fit in the community without these concrete directions and goals? “Wellness” can be such an overused buzzword, but when a music therapist works in a community setting, we can address (or at least acknowledge and observe) the well-being of whole person under the guise of “fun” or “education” or “distraction.”
I also appreciate what Laetitia said about advocacy and that “we can build relationships in non-threatening settings.”

[Anonymous]

Each of your submissions was a pleasure to read. I love how you each see the unique avenue of community music therapy and how you can help your communities. Laetitia brings up a wonderful point about advocacy and non-threatening settings.

[Kristina Rowles]

I think that community music therapy is a great asset to any community. I see the importance of using the music to bring people together. I have heard of the idea of community music therapy before but never gave it a lot of thought. After reading some of the responses I realize that I have a group once a month that would be considered community music therapy. We as music therapists have a unique set of skills and knowledge to help us in these environments. Once a month a work at a Teen Night, a place for teens with autism to go on a Friday night to be in a social environment just like any other high school teenager would do on a Friday night. I provide music activities to promote a social environment for the teens during part of this event and it is a great way to be a part of the community. Like Laetitia mentioned, I know it has helped the practice that I work for build connections in the community for clinical music therapy services. I think this is an important area for music therapists to be involved in.

[Kristina Rio]

I enjoyed reading all of your contributions. It is definitely interesting thinking about all the ways in which we can bring music to our communities. Instead of trying to fit into a box, we can flexibly create opportunities for people to be music makers!

[Katy Hutchings]

I love the idea of music therapy in the community. Sometimes big institutions and medials or clinical sites can be intimidating or impersonal. Within the community, we as a music therapists have the opportunity to reach a more diverse group of people as well. As a few of you have mentioned as well as in the video, community music therapy really strives toward the idea of wellness for everyone. One of the first things I was taught in my introduction to music therapy is that music therapy is all about bringing out the health in people. We find people’s strengths through music and help them grow and continue to strengthen through music.

I currently work in a community-type setting rather than clinical and I still get asked (and ask myself at times) whether what I am doing is music therapy and not just preschool music. While my work may not be clinical, it is certainly goal-oriented and assessment-based. All my interventions and music-making with preschoolers is driven by the developmental needs of the children and working toward those importnat milestones.

[Kristen McSorley]

I love what Sarah said. I was also intrigued by the idea of community music therapy in college, but never gained a concrete understanding of how it could be realized. I always thought it was a beautiful idea, but… where is the money?! When paying as part of a group, caregivers don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for services, and at times, libraries and other community centers are willing to financially support the program. I think community music/music therapy services are extremely important and have the potential to make change on a systemic, societal level. This is my own personal opinion, but I think it also brings music therapists down a notch, from our role within the medical/illness model. It makes it easier for us to directly empower individuals through working in an empowering setting, rather than a setting that may limit/diagnose abilities. That may sound harsh.. one concern (which may be addressed later) is about the ability for communities to pay for services. I know that higher income communities will have more access to community services, which further sustains the gap between socioeconomic communities. Is there anything we can do to ensure that all communities have access to community music therapy groups regardless of income?

[Stephanie Harris]

We have found in our practice that the ‘community’ that happens in the waiting room with the parents connecting to one another and sharing resources is as beneficial for their child as what we’re doing with them during our sessions. These families start to recognize one another from week to week and share their stories, it’s really a neat thing that happens. I know I have found that same connection with other moms while I wait for my daughter in dance class. You put folks with some similar interest or situation together and they will naturally try to support one another. Our city is also a wellness oriented city with many seeking out these types of opportunities for their families.

[Tracy Wanamaker]

I think that the role of music therapy in community based settings is to provide opportunities for people to connect and interact in a nonjudgmental environment using a medium where everyone can participate and be successful. Music therapists are key in this because we are trained in how to provide these experiences and adapt them as needed in such a way that everyone actually can participate fully in the experience.

I read some research not long ago by where Leonid Perlovsky, a physics and cognition researcher, stated his theory that the reason the human race “created” music is because “music is an evolutionary adaptation, one that helps us navigate a world rife with contradictions”. He goes on to say that “music’s power comes from its ability to help human beings overcome cognitive dissonance, the feeling of emotional discomfort we feel when we learn novel information that contradicts existing beliefs.” This research really spoke to me and helped me realize that as a music therapist, my role is to help people engage in music as a community to help them overcome this emotional discomfort. For young children this is giving them a safe place where they can use music to explore and sort out the world around them. If you are interested here is a link to one of his articles – http://www.leonid-perlovsky.com/8%20-%20ESM%2015%20Music%20E.pdf – it really gives you something to think about!

[Tracy Wanamaker]

I meant to include this link too – http://mic.com/articles/116300/science-may-finally-have-found-out-why-music-is-so-important-to-humans#.hV0zovQTj – it’s much more reader friendly!

[Kristina Rio]

Thank you for sharing Tracy!

[Jennifer Whitlow]

To me community based programs should be inviting, non judgemental, and a way for people to connect. I feel as music therapists, we provide a great avenue, music, for this to happen. I feel like new moms can be really challenged at finding a “community” they can connect with. Often time their circle of friends and support changes. I feel like any chance to provide opportunities for mom’s to bond with their babies, build connections with others, and learn educational activities is a positive for any community.

[Tiffany Lee]

I think music therapy belongs in the community, but that this can easily be neglected. Due to the nature of our practice, we can become a “niche” for certain populations, even in the eyes of the public, rather than a resource for the community as a whole. I believe that music therapy can play an important role in the community by educating the public and becoming a vital presence and resource for support. This can be through advocacy, collaborating with other professionals and programs that have common goals as ours, and making ourselves available to our community in addition to our MT clients.

[Vanessa Quirarte]

I have experience in leading a community music therapy program for children on the autism spectrum who’s ages ranged 7-11. It was also a unique experience because it was held at a cultural center and most of the families were Hispanic. The community that I was working in lacked programming and resources for families and children with disabilities. I noticed that the parents began to confide in each other and assisted one another with school questions, docotr questions, behavior questions, etc. I think that this also brought the actual group of children together because their parents came together. The cultural center also offered other classes, such as art, acting, guitar lessons. About three times a year, all the classes put on an exhibition to show off their achievements. My group performed and everyone had a part that fit their ability. They were fully integrated and accepted into the community. It was set up for success so that they may continue leading fulfilling lives an be part of their community.
The program also promoted music therapy and guided the parents to look at other services within and out of the school system.

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