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.

[Adrienne Salmon]

I have a client who has limited vocabulary and has in previous sessions, had some difficulties vocalizing, as well as voicing preference. In our most recent session, he started singing “NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!” along with me, clear as day. His mother almost cried. It was a beautiful, inspiring experience, and really showed me how much music therapy can help a parent access their child in ways that other therapies may not have allowed or opened them up to. I think that the value that music therapists bring to their families is really limitless, and patience and fun are paramount. Furthermore, I have a family who has requested to put music and lyrics to address certain behaviors of the client. This is something that I learned about time and again in studies, and getting to put it into practice has been wonderful. Now, after watching this video, I understand that my value in that role means a lot to the family, whereas it seems just standard for us, the therapists. It’s really nice to think back to clients and families and realize what you can bring to them to enrich their overall quality of life as individuals and family members. The knowledge we have gained through studies and training allow us to come to families from a perspective that touches upon fun, but is also deeply rooted in neurology, biology, etc. making us attractive to families with young children because childhood should be all about the fun, shouldn’t it?

[Shonda Malik]

I would like to talk about the live music we provide as compared to programs like Kindermusik that rely heavily on prerecorded music. Our live music approach allows us to be more in the moment with our groups and use silence, surprise, repetition, dynamics, voice timbre, etc etc. We are also better able to adjust mid-session to the needs of our clients because we have such a large repertoire of music within ourselves and therefore don’t have to fumble with a digital device. We also have, at the least, a bachelor’s degree in music therapy which brings with it abundant knowledge about child development, psychology, biology and a tremendous understanding of how music can be used as a therapeutic medium. This expertise puts music therapists in a league of their own as compared to music leaders of other early childhood music programs.

[BJ Waelz]

As a music therapist I feel that I am very flexible. My training allows me to meet clients where they are at and help them move to where they want to be. Our profession is GOAL Driven, we have learned how to gently guide clients from one place (emotional state, physical state etc.) to another. We think in forward motion and for developing children that is exactly where they are, in forward motion through stages of development, at their own pace of course. As a music therapist I have an extensive background in music and I bring to the table my musical talent, knowledge and a deeper understanding of music’s effect on body and brain. Other providers of music programs, understand their program and follow a set curriculum. We as therapists are able to assess needs, set goals and provide appropriate interventions / learning experiences based on that assessment.

[Anonymous]

Each one of you shared some excellent values we bring as music therapists. I have found that my Sprouting Melodies families, especially those that have been to different music and movement programs, see how our background and training as music therapists help us to provide a high quality and unique program.

[Laura Myers]

Music therapists have our education and training. Through this education and training we are able to adapt to whatever our sessions give us. We learn how to pace our sessions and how to allow our families the opportunities to “be” with the music. We can musically support our clients and families. I think every session I have ever done has needed adapting while I’m in the middle of it. Sprouting Melodies supports this need for possible adaptation by being an open session model.

[Kristina Rio]

It’s so wonderful to read all of your posts. One thing I love about Sprouting Melodies is that we have strong foundation from this training with songs and materials to use, but because we don’t have a program book that we have to stick to for each class, we run classes unique to the music therapist and group. At Roman Music Therapy Services, we currently have three Sprouting Melodies Providers, and each class we run is unique and adaptable. Group dynamics can be so unpredictable and with our skill set and flexibility, we are able to meet the groups needs from moment to moment and explain to the caregivers why we are doing what we are doing.

Keep up the great work!

[Ericha Rupp]

You all have amazing comments. It’s hard to follow. I too agree that music therapists bring a unique experience to every situation. We are adaptable, we provide education to not only our families but to our co-workers and other community members, we provide a unique approach towards any skill for a variety of developmental levels, and we are Amazing!

[Ian Crawford]

I agree with Ericha that it’s hard to follow up the great comments in all of these posts, so I’m going to write this one without reading anyone else’s first! (except the first sentence of Ericha’s)

When I stop and think about it, we offer such amazing value as music therapists! We have gone through extensive training, we provide individualized services, we are trained to support individuals of all developmental levels and with a variety of disabilities, behavioral issues, etc. We are trained to adapt to the needs of the situation and we don’t flinch when something doesn’t go as planned. We can provide helpful information and support to parents. Lastly, we can provide a highly structured, yet flexible, social environment involving music, which many families are not experiencing elsewhere in their lives.

Go us!

[Kristina Rio]

Ian, I love your enthusiasm. I know when I did the online training, it was hard to follow the previous answers. It’s easy to second guess how good our answers are and psych ourselves out if we read other responses first, so good for you for trying a different approach!

[Lysa Wright]

Great responses from everyone! I agree, we as music therapists are able to provide a great quality of music. We have had extensive training in the different instruments we play, so much so that we are able to make the music as somewhat of a background to the therapy and teaching we are doing! This was a great exercise to remind us of how valuable we rarely are and how special our services can be to this audience.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

It is so empowering to read these posts and remind myself of our value. One of the things we work to create here at Raising Harmony is a community that will continue to support and inform each other long after the course is finished. Together we can accomplish so much for our children and families.

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