The ARCHIE Foundation

ARCHIE Music Therapist

Music Therapy is not teaching music, entertaining people with music or just sitting listening to music.

It involves a relationship between the therapist and child in which the therapist oversees the use of music or sound in a way, which promotes growth or change in an area where the child has difficulties. Music making forms the basis for communication in this relationship.

Through the skilled use of music, supported by psychological insight, music therapists encourage personal growth, development, self expression and improved quality of life for the many children and adults who come for music therapy sessions. These clients have a wide range of special needs, including learning difficulties, physical disabilities, emotional and behavioural problems, chronic and terminal illnesses.

A music therapist sees children individually and in groups. For those children who find it difficult to access group settings, individual sessions are provided.

Music is increasingly used as part of early intervention programmes for children with autism, as it has been recognised that musical interaction stimulates similar communicative behaviour to the early emotional interaction between mother and infant, which is crucial to the later development of social skills, but is usually severely limited by a child’s autism. For any age group, music therapy is most usually part of a multi-disciplinary programme, offering an enriched learning environment for development of communication and other aspects of a child’s personality. Music is essentially a social activity involving communication, listening and sharing. These skills may be developed within the musical relationship with the therapist and, in group therapy, with other members.

Music can be a great motivator and can be used to promote developmental work, for example with children with physical and/or learning disabilities. Involvement in creative music-making can assist physical awareness and develop attention, memory and concentration. Obviously, as each child’s needs are different, the various possibilities offered by music therapy will not be so easy to separate. Rather, there will normally be a considerable overlap between the areas described.

MUSIC THERAPY GOALS

Communication Skills

• to improve expressive language (i.e., ability to communicate thoughts/feelings)
• to promote effective use of non-verbal communication
• to improve ability to follow directions and ability to imitate
• to increase participation and improve turn-taking skills
• to maintain/improve fine motor functioning
• to maintain/improve gross motor functioning
• to promote identification of body parts
• to improve reach/grasp/release skills
• to maintain/improve range of motion

Emotional Skills

• to increase attention span
• to improve social interaction with others
• to improve appropriate eye contact