Music Therapy
Music Therapy has been developing as a clinical discipline in this country for over 60 years. It is widely used in hospitals, schools, hospices, care homes and other settings. There are now seven training courses in Britain providing Post Graduate qualifications.
The North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre, a registered charity, was founded in 1987 by one pioneering music therapist who, with her husband, wanted to establish a service for children in this largely rural community. They developed a mobile unit, a Luton van, equipped with all that was required for sessions and parked in a strategic position to provide sessions inside the van. This established the service and as the therapy became more accepted, rooms were provided in a range of situations. These now include hospitals, day centres, care homes, schools - special, primary and secondary and occasionally clients' homes.
In this country, music therapy frequently involves improvised music making using a range of accessible musical instruments. These can include a variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments, a keyboard and guitar. Some music therapists use technology to assist the music making and this is particularly valuable for those with restricted movement.
It is not necessary for the person in therapy to be musically skilled in order to express themselves and communicate with the therapist.
The therapists use their music to support, to encourage communication through the musical interaction and to stimulate the growth of a therapeutic relationship.
