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

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Jessica Bogacik]

I like Meredith and Beth’s discussion about using the word “classes” when describing and marketing Sprouting Melodies. I believe, as Meredith said, that is a term very familiar to parents seeking to enrich their child’s life and it is very welcoming and friendly to the parents. I agree that it is still important to refer to ourselves as music therapists, because WE ARE, and we’re using our music therapy training to help facilitate the growth of the parents and their children.
As everyone has mentioned in previous postings, music therapists are so uniquely trained to provide services to communities, and I guess here I would just reiterate that we can use our training to support the families in knowing what to look for – what is normal and what might be a red flat. Also, I believe music therapists are just going to be more keenly aware of the distinct needs of each child and each group.
Finally, music therapy within community based settings is such a great opportunity to grow the profession by helping that community gain acceptance of the field, and of the use of the word “therapy.” Bringing music therapy to a wider range of people means that they will begin to understand that alternative therapies can be helpful not just when something is “wrong” with you. I can imagine parents thinking, my child is fine – he/she doesn’t need therapy! But I think often people’s misunderstandings of music therapy are quickly corrected when they actually see it happen

[Leigh Ann Walberg]

I too agree with the wording used in Meredith and Beth’s discussion. Advertising Music Therapy in the community is going to leave a lot of parents out, as they will not think their child needs therapy. But, with the therapist being called a Music Therapist, they are going to think they got a bonus for their class fee. They will enjoy the educational opportunities they receive for their money, besides the music time with their children, and they will most likely feel there is some safety in sharing any developmental concerns with this therapist. For those children that might need more early intervention, this is a safe place to learn that.

[Melissa Hentges]

I think music therapy can have a significant role in community based settings because it is so flexible. Our training allows us to respond to what our community needs and create groups based on those needs. Because we are trained to work with so many different populations, we can really be inclusive in our classes/groups. People from different backgrounds can come together and share in a music experience focused on something that connects each one of them – their love for their child. Having a music therapist as the facilitator of the class guarantees that no matter the differences of our clients, they can all be successful in this shared experience.

Leigh Ann makes a great point about creating a safe space for parents to share concerns. By making parents aware of our education and training, they may feel more comfortable bringing questions or concerns about their child’s development to us.

[Michelle Nettle]

I think expanding our music therapy clinical practice to also include community based groups is a wonderful opportunity to bring greater awareness of the music therapy profession to more people and it also allows us, as music therapists, to use our skills to not only help those with ” developmental needs”, but also to promote “wellness and healthy development” in typical children and their families. Our ability to meet the needs of ALL children and their families is something we as music therapists offer that is TRULY UNIQUE!

[Amanda Goff]

I believe the role of Music Therapy in the Community is extremely important and to provide early childhood programs to families within the Community is also extremely important. Families in the Community may not be aware of what is available out there. Of course educating the Community on what Music Therapy is and the help it can give to families is apart of that as well. What we offer is unique because we are Music Therapists and can address a child’s needs in a different way. I agree using certain words when educating is a huge part of this and using words that parents can relate to is vital because they may hear or see the word “therapy” and think this will not be right for my child. But when using the word “class” instead of “therapy” it sends a different message. That is why getting the word out into the Community and educating families is so important.

[Mikhala Majeau]

As many people stated, parents/community members can be hesitant when seeing the word therapy. In this light, it would be beneficial to advertise SM as a class. It is also more of a “class” as it is not music therapy with a treatment plan for the groups/individuals. I feel as this distinction is important for the integrity of our field, as parents may view a music class as music therapy. By providing a music therapy based class/program, we educate the community about music therapy by proxy. Community members would be likely to ask what a board certified music therapist is. Music therapists would be able to advocate and educate to community members about our field, while providing quality music to families.
Music therapy in community based settings is a great opportunity to increase the wellness of a community. I have read many articles that discuss how head start and similar programs can improve quality of life. When the members of a community are well, the community thrives. In this case, music therapists can provide a safe and supportive environments for children and families to grow together. Sprouting Melodies acts as a tool to bring music therapy principals and practices to the wider community. With this program, children and their families are practicing a wellness model and improving their community. As I said earlier, SM will also be a good way to advocate for music therapy. It could be a gateway into more music therapy programming in the community.
With our profession, we have the unique ability to serve all members of our community, from the cradle to the grave. I would love to see a shift towards a wellness model, where music therapists could provide music therapy to the whole community without the stigma of therapy.

[Steven Clarke]

I agree with that it is important to differentiate between music therapy services and music therapy based community services. I also feel that as music therapists we can equally provide quality services in both areas. Music therapy provided through community based programming is hugely important for educating and advocating about the field and the value it has for whole communities. Although it is not clinical music therapy, the programs capitalize on its principles and practices. I had the opportunity to work for a semester at a Senior Day Center based in the Fenway Community here in Boston. At the time, as a music therapist in training, I was using music therapy approaches and practices, in a non-clinical setting, to address quality of life, depression, loneliness and to facilitate development of meaningful connections between those at the center. I am looking forward to continuing to learn from the Sprouting Melodies training so that I can provide services in early childhood.

[Natalie Condon]

I think music therapy in a community-based setting is hugely important in getting our name out there. It allows families to have a support system and a sense of community. They don’t have to feel alone with whatever personal life experiences they are going through. It also allows us as music therapists to get a feel for the overall needs of the community. We can provide services based on what populations we see lacking in support. By being visible in the community we become approachable and accessible for others seeking music therapy as a service and support. But like others before me stated, I feel it is important for us to advocate for ourselves and make the distinction between the community-based classes and other music therapy services.

[Linda Madler]

Music therapy in a community-based setting has the advantage of being more accessible and perhaps less stigmatizing to families. It may help identify children who might otherwise fall through cracks. Also, parents of non-typical children may feel more comfortable taking their children to a class staffed by a board-certified music therapist, not only because of the training but because the therapist may be perceived as more flexible, understanding and able to adapt to individual needs. I wrote down one phrase that Elizabeth said about community-based MT: promotes healthy development, not about getting rid of specific symptoms. Community-based music therapy provides a safe, accepting environment in which parents can learn about and nurture their child’s development through interactive, age-appropriate music activities that are easily transferred into the home.

[Robyn Rutland-Coleman]

I really like the way Mikhala termed our role as music therapists in Sprouting Melodies as “music therapy by proxy”, as it describes how we can be a channel for exposing others to what music therapy is (and is not), as well as providing a service to our community for which we are uniquely qualified. In my opinion, the major role of community-based music therapy is to provide support and, well, a sense of community! I remember being in a “prepackaged” music class with my firstborn, and feeling worried about his behavior in class. It turns out that he is on the spectrum, but having a music therapist with knowledge of development and the ability to communicate with parents about typical development (and one-on-one, about a parent’s concerns) would have been a boon to me as a parent. That’s not to say that he could have been diagnosed at that age, but just having the resource of a caring music therapist could have exposed me to the range of musical responses one can expect from children of certain ages.

We can be supportive of growth and development in both community-based and clinical settings, but our goals are different, and that is something I am still working to integrate into my understanding of an expanded view of the potential roles of MTs.

[Kayla Hamilton]

I love the wording that Meredith and Beth suggest we use. At the clinic I work at, we use the word “class” to describe Sprouting Melodies and people seem very receptive to that wording. Music therapy is a great tool for a community. We have a very unique skill set; we are flexible, musically trained, therapeutic, and can help foster the making of genuine connections. We are able to support growth and development of the individual and the family unit. I feel that we also give the families a safe place for their child to explore. I know some parents feel their child is behind developmentally or is “misbehaved”, so giving them a place that reminds them that every child and every journey is different can be very beneficial.

[Jamie Sacca]

I am, and have been, one of those MT’s that hesitate to call anything I am doing a “music class”, mostly due to the general assumption that happens in the early childhood preschool community in which I work and how I am sometimes viewed in a non-clinical light. I do see, however, that this would be a better way to reach parents with programming like Sprouting Melodies and would give an, oddly enough, more inclusive view of what we can offer. I have not had much community music therapy experience but this is an area I am looking to grow in as a relatively new professional, particularly as I begin to formulate the plan for my private practice. This could be a great way to not only broaden my skill set as an MT, but also reach more children and families with what I know how to do- use music developmentally.

[Lauren Servos]

I agree with the posts above! I especially agree with Melissa when she said that our training as music therapists allows us the flexibility to create specific groups based on the need in the community, and that we can be so inclusive in our classes. I don’t mind using the term “classes” for early childhood classes, as long as I continue to refer to myself as the music therapist. I’m wondering if anyone has had many individual music therapy clients come out of their work in early childhood classes. Does this have the potential to increase our caseloads of individual MT clients?

[Anonymous]

Hi Lauren,

My company and Sprouting Melodies classes are pretty new so I am still building before I would probably get referrals. But, I have passed your question on to Meredith, Beth, and Kristina because I am sure they have had a lot of experience with this. Check back to see their responses.

[Kathy Odenkirk]

I believe that music therapy has a place in community based settings both in the traditional therapeutic sense and as a part of a wellness model. It can also play an important role in child development for both typically developing children and those who may be at risk. The contract that my business has had for 24 years is with a local Community Action program (Head Start). I created the music therapy program. Interestingly, now that there is new management (the old director who helped me create my program retired) my music therapy program will be coming to an end this summer. Although I’ve submitted ideas to keep music therapy with some variations and to do a program for children and their parents (included in the proposal that I was taking this course) the new management is no interested.

[Amanda Barnett]

I too like Mikhalas wording of educating the community with “music therapy by proxy”. I know that if I were to offer “music therapy for young children & families” in my small rural community I would probably not get much of a response because of the T word. I asked on my Facebook if anyone would be interested in “music classes with their young children” and I had several people ask how soon we could start, even after telling them it would be a music therapy based music class that focuses on development & bonding. People seem to be scared away from therapies and don’t want anyone judging them or their children because of involvement in anything therapy related which is truly a shame. I believe that introducing music therapy in community based settings allows for individuals who involve themselves in the services to learn that “therapy” is not a derogatory term. I also see it as beneficial to the community, not to sound like a broken record, because we as trained music therapists do have a unique skill set that allows for us to handle multiple situations. We have the ability to involve children of average functioning levels in the same group as children who have disabilities equally, therefore educating children and parents alike on how to correctly associate with someone who may be a little different than them. I am definitely an advocate for equal treatment of all children but not all children have the opportunities to associate with children with special needs other than passing their class or seeing them at lunch at school. Starting them at an early age of appropriately interacting with all peers equally in fun environments, such as SM, can give them a jump start in life to learning how to treat all peers equally.

[Anonymous]

Hi Amanda,

After becoming a provider and with Meredith and Beth’s help, I have learned how to highlight my unique skills as an MT-BC but to be very clear that the program is not music therapy. So when I present SM to others I do share about my training and skills as an MT-BC, how that makes helps to make the program unique from other programs, but it is not music therapy.

[Author]

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