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"Music is the universal language of mankind" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow together we can make a difference...
WHAT WE DO
WHAT IS MUSIC THERAPY?Music therapy is an allied health profession and is the therapeutic use of music to meet non-musical goals. Through planned and creative applications of music, the registered music therapist can address the wide-ranging needs of an individual, including physical, speech and language, cognitive, behavioural, and emotional, in order to attain and maintain health and well-being. These non-musical goals differentiate music therapy from music education or music performance. Thus, the focus of music therapy is not on how well a client can play the music or whether or not they have a musical background. What more important in music therapy is the active music making of an individual and the therapeutic relationship that develops between the music therapist and the client as the music therapist supports the client to grow and achieve the goals.
WHAT DOES MUSIC THERAPY DO?Music therapy can look like many things. It allows individual clients or group abilities to be strengthened and new skills to be transferred to the other areas of a person's life. The goal areas can be communication, motor, social, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive skills development, as well as relaxation, stimulation, panic/stress management, self expression, and increase of motivation, independence, and self-esteem. Therefore, music therapy can be singing songs to work on speech skills; it can be playing a drum kit to improve impaired arm movements; or it can be playing together in a group to develop social skills, such as taking turns and listening to others.For example, at DSAQ music therapists run groups for infants and toddlers, as well as a primary school age group and some adult choirs. In the infants and toddlers group, the focus is more on the social skills, as well as the motor and communication skills, whereas in the adult groups it is more about socialisation and bringing people together. It can also be about self expression and communication depending on the people's individual needs.Therefore, the role of music therapists is to assess these needs and skills that need to be strengthened, design a musical program that focuses on these developments which they sometimes work with other health professions such as speech pathologists and physiotherapists to better achieve the goals for the clients, and monitor on the clients' progress as the program goes.
WHO CAN BENEFIT?Everyone and anyone can benefit from music therapy! Many people have not heard of music therapy as a profession and we do not have to know what music therapy is necessarily but we all know the value of music in our society and as part of ourselves. In a hospital environment, not only do the clients themselves can benefit but families, doctors, nurses, staffs, and whoever around can also benefit from music therapy. It changes the whole working environment and everyone's mood and it contributes a positive impact on anyone who gets in touch with music therapy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Helen Carrington - Registered Music TherapistMany of the clients that I work with have a range of disabilities, from physical limitations to speech impairments to intellectual differences. One of the most compelling effects of music therapy is that it can give these clients a voice. Whether they are singing a song that they have written about themselves, or using the smallest finger movements to play the chimes along with the music therapists accompaniment; music therapy offers these clients the chance to be heard. It can be adapted to suit individual needs, so clients who struggle to participate in other therapies can be catered for. Billy (not his real name) was one child who really benefitted from music therapy. Billy has autistic spectrum disorder, and when he began his music therapy program he would scream any time he was put with a group of children and kick and fight to escape. After several weeks of perseverance, Billy was able to take turns on the drum with his classmates, sing all the words of many of the songs (e.g. Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald), and follow instructions on how to play the instruments (e.g. loud/soft). Not only that, but Billy was also able to apply these new social and communication skills to other situations in his preschool.Music is seen by children to be fun and exciting. Add a registered music therapist, and this enjoyable activity can also be an opportunity for growth and the development of new skills.
Jacqueline Chow - Registered Music TherapistMusic therapy is not only helping the clients. In my practice, music therapy also helps those who are around during a session. I had a client who passed away after a few music therapy sessions we had together. During these sessions, we achieved many health-related goals with the use of music. When he passed away, I was asked to play a song that we did together at his funeral. Not only did the song he wrote express how he felt about what he was thinking, his recordings of the song also let everyone know how much he had achieved in his life when he was still alive. After he passed away, music therapy also served another purpose rather than just the therapeutic one to the client. In fact, it benefited everyone who attended the funeral and everyone who loved this boy because the song really did soothe everyone's heart and bring comfort to them. So really, music therapy can help and benefit anyone and everyone!
Rhiannon Sheilds - Parent Rhiannon experienced every mother's worst nightmare when her six-week-old son Flynn stopped breathing. She wondered if he would ever smile again, until she discovered power of music therapy.Flynn was born four weeks premature and has always had problems breathing. After undergoing a few surgeries, Flynn's chest and throat were so sore that he would not speak. Physiotherapists, speech pathologists and nurses had worked with Flynn but he always felt sore and he would cry every time. When the music therapist Maggie came to visit Flynn and sang with her guitar, it brought smiles on Flynn's face and he stopped crying. As Maggie said, the music was acting as a distraction and a replacement of Flynn's memories with happy ones. So in time he would forget to be scared. Flynn is now making a fantastic progress and is able to join in with his parents in singing.*Please click here for the full story. * Please click here to meet Flynn and his mum Rhiannon.
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DID YOU KNOW...?Did you know...Even though we all know the value of music in our society and as part of ourselves, not many of us acknowledge the importance and value of music therapy.Did you know... Even though music therapy is an allied health profession no different from Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech Therapy, with Music Therapy you cannot make your service claim with your health insurance (e.g. Medibank Private) while you can do so with the other therapeutic services in Australia.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE?The ultimate aim for music therapy is to improve the quality of human life and to attain and maintain health and well-being. Therefore, your support and feedback would be of high value to us in order to keep this project going - i.e. to raise awareness and funds in the public for music therapy and families who are/will be receiving this service. By reading the information and related articles on this webpage and watching the related videos below, and by completing the survey below, you help us to gain a better understanding of what the public knows about music therapy as well as their views towards music therapy, which will then help us to improve our promotional strategies to better increase the chance to support music therapy and our society.Your involvement can help us give the support to those who need it most!Survey
OTHER LINKSThere are more links attached below to assist you in understanding more about what music therapy is and how music therapy is affecting an individual and our society.Websites:Music Therapy RadioMedia Stories and Press about Music TherapyPasadena Child Development Associates, Inc. on Music Therapy Medical Information Blog on The Benefit of Music TherapyMusic TherapyQueensland Health on Music TherapyQueensland Health on Music Therapy at the Royal Children's Hospital Australian Music Therapy AssociationVideos:How does music therapy use music to achieve non-musical goalsMeet Music Therapist, Maggie LeungWatch a Music Therapy SessionWhy am I a Music Therapist?
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