Music Therapy Blogger Challenge 1 – So, You’re A Musical Therapist?

As a music therapist, it isn’t uncommon to hear the same questions from people interested in what I do. My co-workers and I even get questions from people who have no interest in services, but just want more insight into what music therapy is.

There are very few of us in the county where I work, so it’s gotten easier over time not to become frustrated hearing the same question(s) day in and day out. I now see answering questions as less of a chore and more of a privilege. I love being an advocate, despite the confusion, comparison, and sometimes sheer unwillingness to accept the value of our work.

Below I’ve listed some of the questions that I’m frequently asked…

• “What does a typical session look like?”
• “How will this help my child?”
• “Oh, so you work with kids who have Autism, right?” 

However, a personal favorite of mine is, “So do you teach music lessons?” Of course I respond with yes, because we do… but I always follow up with how teaching and therapy are two different things. Not only do music educators and music therapists undergo different education and training to prepare us for the work that we do –  we are addressing different things in our jobs. That is the beauty of both fields, and the reason why both are needed. (For more on this, check out our blog post In Perfect Harmony: Music Therapy and Music Education.)

So, now that all that has been addressed, at least on the surface… I can go back and address each question I’ve posed in this post.

So, you’re A Musical Therapist? – Wouldn’t that be nice. However, if we as music therapists used only music from the genre of musical theatre, I don’t know that we’d have many happy clients. 😉

What does a typical session look like? – No two sessions are the same. We can go in with a set plan and idea for what we want to do, and have to change everything based on what our clients may need that day. Flexibility is key to ensure the session is most beneficial to them. One client may need a session that is entirely sensory based, while another will focus on multiple domains. The beauty in what we do is that every session will look different.

How will this help my child? – Change doesn’t happen overnight… It may not happen in a week or a month.  We establish goals and objectives based on current performance to help improve areas of need with music as the tool to reach these goals.

Oh, so you work with kids with Autism right? – People tend to be correct when they make this assumption. That being said, we as music therapists can serve a wide variety of populations and ages. From tiny infants in the NICU to elderly adults with dementia – we have the privilege of assisting clients in all stages of life with whatever their current needs are.

We as music therapists have a unique position, because our work doesn’t end when we walk out the doors of our facilities and clinics at the end of the day. We always have the opportunity to advocate and educate one more person about what we do, and you never know what types of connections can be built…