Music Therapy
What is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is the therapeutic use of music and its elements – rhythm, melody, tone, metre, lyrics and harmony – to support a client’s well-being emotionally, mentally, cognitively, socially, spiritually and physically.
Music therapy is helpful for getting in touch with your inner child for self-exploration, to break out of ruts, try something creative, explore feelings. At times we find ourselves at a loss for words to express a feeling. Playing with simple instruments and our voices can help to open up places where the feelings have been stuck, and support insights and personal growth. There are techniques to help in understanding family dynamics, as well. Music therapy can also be used as an adjunct to talk therapy, to help open up areas when the client is particularly stuck.
Some of my clients include adults who are working through transitions, for example mid-life issues or facing death, either their own (palliative care), or another person’s. Others are interested in spiritual healing, stress reduction, or alternative approaches to understanding illness.
Other clients include people with special needs like those with developmental challenges where language and cognitive development is limited but learning music skills helps both self-expression and to stimulate global development and learning.
Children on the autism spectrum are often very drawn to music, which provides opportunities for self-expression,relationship skills, sensory integration, and the use of music learning for global development, opening creativity and flexibility and many other avenues for learning.
With the elderly in retirement homes and long term care, music therapy helps to break through depression, anxiety, support relationships and integration into a new facility. Music Therapy has a well proven track record for people with dementia, including Alzheimer’s, helping them to remember and process the events from their life, and be alive in the present moment.
Teenagers who are struggling with self-esteem, stress, anxiety and similar types of issues benefit through therapeutic approaches like lyric analysis and songwriting, along with learning music skills, if they wish.
For more information please go to Deep Soul Singing
Contact Pamela at email hidden; JavaScript is required or 613-829-1556
