What value do music therapists bring to families of young children?

[Meredith Pizzi]

What value do music therapists bring to families of young children? Post your thoughts and comments to the board. Reply to the contributions of the group.

[Claudia Eliaza]

As music therapists we bring a tremendous wealth of knowledge and information to our families. I actually had a session today with a new family inquiring about MT. Recently the family noticed that their child was struggling academically in school. His delays were impacting his ability to learn in the classroom, and because of this he was beginning to dread going to school. Mom and dad see their sons love for music and decided that they wanted to explore music making for him.
He was quite shy, but as we engaged in the music, his level of trust was strengthened. He explored vocal play and even shared a song with me that he wrote. He left the session singing and skipping down the hallway. He even yelled, “See you next week”, before leaving the building. It was such a touching moment for the parents because they were looking for a space and environment where their son could just thrive and make music for the sake of making music!

My role as music therapist was extensive. I was there to support the family while being sensitive to their needs, I was also able to point out some of the educational moments that were happening throughout the session. I also found that my role today was to serve as a place of refuge for this family. They needed a landing pad, a win, a moment for their son to feel smart, creative, and appreciated. They didn’t want to focus on diagnosis or what their son “couldn’t” do. So I’m reminded of how cool a role we play in the lives of these beautiful families that we work with.

[Alison Barrington]

Claudia, thank you for your comments. I really loved the way that you supported the family that you were working and the delight to see a child succeed. I was also delighted to listen to the mom who was recorded by Sprouting Melodies. She reminded me that one thing we offer as music therapists is our enthusiasm for our work. Carers are really relieved to see that their child/children are valued and nurtured.
Another aspect that I was reminded of when listening to the information this week was that it’s important to inform the parents of what and why we’re doing certain activities and what we notice about their child’s participation. I believe that is one major aspect that music therapists can bring to the work. It enables the parents to take something away from the group and gives them confidence because they know that the information comes from a deeply informed and professionally developed strategy.
I have worked within schools for years. It felt that there was little overlap between school activities and home life. But I have come more and more to see the value of bringing the whole family into a music therapy environment so that everyone is gaining and learning. The family dynamics are fundamental to growth and I have seen and read much to support this.
Finally, I like the 5 stages that have been included in this model: awareness, trust, independence, control and responsibility. As well as being developmental stages for the infants I am also wondering whether these can be transferred on to the child/carer relationship and also onto the music therapy/child/carer relationships within Sprouting Melodies. The training offered to music therapists means that we can be more aware of these issues and be adaptable/flexible within the sessions.

[Laura Pruett]

I also appreciated that, Alison, of hearing from that mom’s interview how MT’s bring enthusiasm and energy to the groups. It seems obvious to me, because I do that each session, so I hadn’t considered that would be out of the ordinary. The enthusiasm that mom experienced probably helped her feel more comfortable engaging in the music with her daughter.

And Kimberly, yes! Your point 1 and 2 also seem so run of the mill to me that I didn’t even think of those things. But they definitely help set us apart! I love how you phrased your 4th point: “We are able to provide specific strategies for parents to use outside of the session so that they are paying for more than an hour a week, they are paying for tools that they can implement in daily life.” That is great marketing talk =)

[Anonymous]

Wonderful insights! Thank you both for sharing. I’ve enjoyed reading how you each see the value that music therapists have, for not only our clients, but also their families. If you decide to become a provider you will be given a wealth of information that will give you ways to communicate and support the families you work with in Sprouting Melodies.

[Kimberly Rodgers-Melnick]

Claudia and Alison, thank you for sharing your insights, I would agree with your comments, and especially the emphasis that as a music therapist we take on many roles in our sessions and bringing our expertise in multiple roles into the early childhood music class environment can really impact the experience of the children and families we work with. I think that as music therapists we have many advantages in leading early childhood groups, in no particular order 1. We often play an accompaniment instrument such as piano or guitar that adds value to the experience 2. We are able to adapt experiences in the moment to fit the needs of families and children 3. We have knowledge of child development and development in music that we can share with families 4. We are able to provide specific strategies for parents to use outside of the session so that they are paying for more than an hour a week, they are paying for tools that they can implement in daily life.

[Laura Pruett]

(Blagh, I tried to edit again and it deleted my comment altogether. I’m so glad I have a Word document where I type things out first, that was a great suggestion, Erika, thanks!!)

Some of the things I initially thought of were things that any child development professional (like preschool teachers, day care workers, other professionals who provide services to young children) can do. Things like:
*ability to notice and point out possible delays
*ability to notice and point out what is/is not developmentally appropriate
*education on child development

And honestly, I don’t know that much about early childhood development, other than what I’m being taught in this course. I took one child development class in college, but not much has stuck in my brain. I’ll have to review the book and slides from this course on a regular basis to make sure I retain what I’m learning, and then go learn some more in research and books, etc.

But then I thought of some other things that Music Therapists specifically are good at, like:

*noticing and pointing out what the child is successfully doing
*providing reassurance to parents
*providing support for child development
*modeling and teaching positive reinforcement, redirection and replacement
*providing opportunities for parents to bond with their children
*providing a community of other parents and children
*providing music to be integrated into everyday life

Music can be so great for our brains, especially little young developing brains! Having that Board Certification as a Music Therapist is what sets us apart from any other non-MT music group for early childhood. While music can be so awesome, it can also be overstimulating, so knowing what is appropriate and what is not is the HUGE value we provide as Music Therapists. I can’t believe it took me 4 paragraphs to come to that conclusion. It sounds so obvious, but it took me a while to get there.

[Alison Barrington]

Hi again,
This is a completely random and ‘not to do with Sprouting Melodies’ request!!
I have to take the CB-MT exam soon (no date set yet). Has anyone done this recently and/or can anyone give me advice please?
I’ve already done a practice exam (self-assessment is not bad but could do better!) And I am about to re-read Wheeler’s handbook of music therapy.
Anything else I can do to pass (I can’t begin to tell you how different MT in the USA is from MT in the UK!)
thank you!
Alison

[Anonymous]

Alison- you could contact Dr. Kathy Murphy at Loyola in New Orleans. She has a group she is conducting to help individuals study for and pass the exam. You do not have to be at the university to participate.You can email me directly and I can forward you her information.

Laura- The great thing about Beth’s book is that it is intended to be a working manual. Something that you frequently use to be on point with development. Beth has shared, in the past, that she too regularly uses the book in her own work. Child development is quite vast and it can be quite daunting and difficult to know everything. I have to admit that raising my daughter has really helped me to understand development more fluidly because I am watching it happen. If you have the opportunity to spend time with “typically” developing children and then also “non-typical” development you can definitely start to see this process. And remember it is a process not a product of check off points. Children, typically those with developmental delays do not follow the developments in straight lines they way development lists present them.<

Thank you all for your submissions!

[Jen Hinton]

I have been to a variety of library programs that use books, songs, props, instruments, and sign language. Some are really great…and I have preferences with facilitators. However, I know that as a MT-BC we have a flexibility and ability to be in the moment, adapt, and pull children into the group in a way that other facilitators do not.

We have music. And we have strategies for how to use it. MT-BCs have a broad set of experiences across populations, group sizes, and diagnosis. We support, educate, and model music/play-centered techniques to support child development. And we are required to do continuing-ed…like this…so that we can continue to broaden our resources and create developmentally appropriate practices.

[Carolyn Keenan]

Almost every music therapist I know is passionate about what they do, and that passion can be so contagious when working with families. When the mom in the video spoke about enthusiasm, I found myself nodding in agreement (as others have posted about as well). We also tend to have patience, flexibility, the ability to adapt, which are characteristics which help families feel connected to us because we are really working to bring songs to them in a way that everyone can feel welcome to participate.

[Elana Dietz-Weinstein]

Music therapists bring compassion, understanding, insight, and clinical knowledge to the families we work with. We understand music and relationship on a deep level, and our work reflects our knowledge and training. Not only are we musicians but we are clinicians who train extensively in creating therapeutic relationships.

[Mabel Ortiz]

I think that the value that music therapists bring to families is that we have been trained to address an array of goals, and areas. We are able to not only provide quality music experiences, but interventions that cater to our clients’ needs, and regarding early childhood, to aid or promote to successfully achieve the different developmental milestones.

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