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

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Caroline Gillott]

I see a great need for music therapy to continue making it’s appearance int he community. I was first introduced to the term “community music therapy” during a presentation by Ken Aigen. Ever since then, I’ve been intrigued by the idea. In my community music therapy is not widely understood or even known. However early childhood music definitely is. I love the idea of music therapists facilitating an early childhood community based group because it will bring awareness and advocacy to both sides. That is just want my community needs. Another thing is funding–I’ve worked for a facility that has been dependent upon medical assistance funds–MA covers clinical MT (as long as it is focused on behavioral health goals) 100%. On the surface that sounds great, but the struggles are also great. Every year there are new stipulations and ground rules that are not in the best benefit of clients. My community needs a stable, affordable and understandable service. Not something that is always changing because of state mandates. They need something that is at their level of understanding- once you see it and participate in it, it’s obvious that there will a benefit. Then, they know for sure that it is worth every penny out of their pocket.

[Katie Maurer]

I think community based music therapy is an important part of how we can bring our services to a wider range of people. Through community settings, we can make people aware that music therapists can work with people of all needs on their path to wellness.

Sprouting Melodies groups are a good way to do this in early childhood, for adults I think of relaxation groups, and for older adults, music based exercise groups. Like Meredith said in the video, no formal assessment or treatment plan, but still using music to support development and wellness.

[Jennifer DeBedout]

I think community based music therapy helps build a supportive environment with opportunities for music participation while supporting wellness and interaction. The music therapist is able to use their training to meet needs in the group and facilitate development and this, in turn, through effective communication by the music therapist, helps raise awareness about our profession, training and expertise.

[Kate St. John]

I agree with everyone about the need and value in community-based music therapy. I have to think about “community-based” differently than the way it sounds to me because my practice is purely clinic-based rather than providing community-based therapy in client homes or other community settings. So all our clients come to the clinic. But when I think of “community-based music therapy” in how it relates to my clinic-based practice, I think it still works in the sense that it is accessible to the community of Colorado Springs, just like they have to drive to the park or the library to access those within the community. Since Colorado has almost the lowest funding in the country for special needs services (we’re 47th out of the 50 states), it’s very difficult for families to access affordable music therapy services. If there was more awareness (and our state is working very hard on this), then we could gain more support and therefore more funding, which in turn makes music therapy more accessible for everyone. It’s definitely a need and I hear a lot of families express interest, but our biggest barrier is lack of funding.

[Elyse Suhay]

I believe that Sprouting Melodies will fill an important gap in my community. There have recently been a lot of funding cuts to agencies that normally get government funding, and that has resulted in a decrease in services available for parents of young children. Once I start providing Sprouting Melodies, they will have a place to go where they will be able to learn about their baby’s development and how they can support that at home. I also think having a music-based program for parents and children will give them a unique opportunity to bond with their children. In this town, there are many opportunities for children to play sports, but nothing musical unless you happen to attend a church that has a children’s choir. I played soccer in elementary school, and my parents supported me by attending every game, but they were never actually out on the field playing with me. But Sprouting Melodies gives parents an opportunity to actually engage with their children DURING the activity, and I think that’s something they will enjoy being able to do very much.

[Dany Orozco]

I live in Mexico and I also think a community based program would be a success. I haven’t seen many community music programs, but I am sure there aren’t any given by a certified music therapist since I am the only one in my city. I’ve been starting to think of places where this could happen, but I’m sure they would be well attended.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Hi, Dany. I am so glad that you are part of this forum and a larger on-line community of music therapists. Please let us know how we can continue to support you and your work.

[Cassandra Mulcahy]

Again some great thoughts! I am catching up on this class slowly but surely.
I feel that music therapy in community based settings is just a great way for people to connect. As a music therapists, we have a great tool to discover strengths and help other people share their strengths with each other. I love that this format is a bit more open and less of a closed therapeutic space and can be taken almost anywhere – libraries, town halls and perhaps even spacious coffee shops.

[Nancy Bair]

I agree with everyone that music therapy can be a real assest in a community based setting. Allowing the community to understand the have access to a music therapy program would be absolutely amazing. I lean a little more towards Kate’s answer. I think it is important (at least in my area where I live-Portland/Seattle area) that a distinction needs to be made between “music therapy” and “music wellness.” Music therapy isn’t as well known here as it is in other parts of the country and some of us are still fighting to gain recognition in the field for our clinical work. I have had people refer to situations or experiences as “music therapy” when, in my opinion, it has been more in the “music wellness” range.

If the goals and objective of a community based music therapy program were able to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound), I think it could be a smashing success! In my experience, when you can show why you do what you do, musically, to meet a goal–and how it is changed if it didn’t work or what you did to make the goal attainable, it is very well received and it “clicks” for people. I think you can easily incorporate this into our session of sprouting melodies.

[Sarah jane Mason]

Music Therapy in community based settings is actually part of my focus for marketing for my re-establishing of my business here in Buffalo. I unfortunately have had to move a few times and it has broken the flow of what I was trying to accomplish in each city. (This is the 3rd town I have had to establish my practice in since 2008.) It’s also been pretty heartbreaking to make such great strides and then have to move again. Yet through this I have gained so much knowledge and through trial and error have determined that these community based programs are going to be crucial to my success as a small business. I’m excited to include Sprouting Melodies to my service offerings. I appreciate the comments about differentiating between community based music therapy and music wellness also. I offer a “community based” service called “Drumming for Wellness” which is focused on adult and corporate drumming groups. I’ve struggled with having appropriate language for Drumming for Wellness and Sprouting Melodies so I appreciate the video discussing that.

QUESTION… For consistent language, what exact wording are you using for these types of programs?
1) Community Based Music Therapy
2) Music Therapy Enrichment
3) Music Therapy based program/class/session
4) Other?

From a marketing perspective I need to choose language and stick with it to increase search optimization online!

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