What are the needs of the families and communities that you work with?

[Julie Palmieri]

What are the needs of the families that you work with?

What are the needs of your community?

How can music meet the unique needs of your families and community?

[Kimberly Werner]

Working in a hospital setting, the core need of the families that I work with largely centers around normalization of an unfamiliar/scary environment. This unpredictable, unfamiliar environment is a large contributing factor to anxiety, stress, depression, and feelings of isolation, which then can manifest as an increase in pain symptoms. Using music to normalize an environment, whether it be through singing and playing songs that are heard at home, or songs that may be heard at school/daycare, helps to bring a familiar container into a space where nothing else is predictable (you never know when a nurse/doctor will come in, blood draws/IVs/procedures may not follow a predictable pattern, etc.). Giving children and families the opportunity to engage musically allows them the opportunity to explore through sensory play, predictability, and express their choices and preferences in an environment that they otherwise don’t get to say “no.”

The needs of my community – a diverse, urban setting, with all socioeconomic statuses, cultures, languages, and ideologies represented – is connection, ideally on a level playing field that crosses cultures/languages/social standings. Music is a perfect medium for this, as music in some form is found throughout all cultures of the world, and does not require participants to speak a common language (or even require them to speak at all). Intergenerational and multicultural music groups can be hugely effective for this reason.

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Kimberly,

Thank you for sharing, with us, your insights about the community you work within. I hear how important building a sense of community is for those that you support. I also hear how music plays a multifaceted role in validating experience, giving individuals a feeling of autonomy and ownership over their environment, and also on being the bridge that is needed to create community and is essential for well being.

[Leslie Aldrich]

The needs of families in my community are just developmentally appropriate resources for kids in general. We are a fairly small community so there are no childhood music classes in the area at this time, and there’s not a lot of parent/child bonding activities here in general. Music can meet these needs by providing a space for kids and the people who love them to learn about their development both in and out of the music world, to bond with the children, and to bond as a family.

[Christine Wick]

Same! I’m in a smaller community as well so it’s tough to find a regularly occurring activity or group specifically for early childhood and their caregivers. I’m in Juneau, AK so I think something that would work especially well here is a fall/winter group when the weather gets nasty. It can be so hard to find productive and fun things to do indoors for families with little ones during these seasons.

[Leslie Aldrich]

Gosh, I bet winter is tough there! We are kind of in the same boat during the winter really because most things just shut down until spring, so I could see this being pretty successful during the time of the year as well.

[Christine Wick]

What are the needs of the families that you work with?
Tailored supports that work toward functional outcomes that are meaningful to their everyday lives and routines.

What are the needs of your community?
Access to more person-centered strengths-based services that bring community together.

How can music meet the unique needs of your families and community?
Music and music therapy can meet these needs by providing that safe positive environment for individuals of all abilities to come together and participate. The organization and structure to music creates that necessary reptation and predictability needed for building trust and learning while also providing unique outlets for creativity to come in and shine! Music can help individuals access their strengths and when engaging with others can provide that special opportunity to share in that together.

[Erika (TeamRH)]

I appreciated each of your responses. Thank you for your wonderful insights.

[Melissa Neitzel]

The needs of the families I work with are to provide normalizing and developmentally appropriate music experiences. They are seeking out opportunities for their child to feel connected and to socialize through their favorite thing- music. I am relatively new to the community I work in. Families have expressed that there is little to no opportunities for their child to engage in music at the moment. I think music is built to do exactly what is stated above- it can bring people together. It can be a vehicle to connect to one another, verbally and nonverbally.

[Maggie Johnson]

The most common need with my clients and families and why they seek services include self-expression, community connection, improved mental health, development of the musical self, stress reduction, and assistance through difficult life transitions. Portland families may struggle with poverty, access to services, violence, abuse, and more. We are a very gentrified city and Oregon as a whole has its own unique iteration of social & structural inequality. I would say that Oregon families have very little access to music therapy services as a whole compared to other states.

There are a lot of young families who are struggling with the effects of COVID, specifically the social impact that it’s had on young children. In a recent in-service we provided, early learning educators said that they wanted to learn from music therapists more musical cultural competency in the form of songs in different languages including songs from the cultures of various local immigrant communities.

Portland boasts both a lot of high-quality children’s entertainment as well as more music-centered developmental spaces. For example, Portland has one of the most successful “Music Together” programs in the nation. One of the challenges is finding our footing within this rather large ecosystem of options for families.

[Katelyn Caruso]

I have to agree with Maggie’s response! We work together and in the same area, and most of the clients I work with have goals of self-expression, relaxation and stress reduction, and connecting with their family, peers, or the wider community. The greater community in Oregon does seem to have limited access to music therapy services, and a lack of education about music therapy in general. I agree that young children and their families are still feeling the effects from COVID, as my mom is a teacher and talks about the deficits in socializing that her students have the past couple of years, as well as learning from preschool educators that their students just aren’t ready for kindergarten. I think the community of Portland has a great love for music but families lack understanding and resources to use music as a tool for development and growth.

[Melissa Neitzel]

You and Maggie bring up a good point about COVID’s social impact and it will be something I need to keep in my mind. I was not working in the community during the first few years of it and have compartmentalized it with that time in life. Such a good reminder!

[Author]

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