Confident Conversations Charity
Blog post written for Confident Conversations Charity:
https://confidentconversationscharity.org/
The British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT) defines Music Therapy as:
“...a psychological clinical intervention delivered by HCPC-registered Music Therapists to help people whose lives have been affected by injury, illness or disability through supporting their psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, communicative and social needs.” (https://www.bamt.org)
As a Music Therapist working in a Paediatric setting, I deliver long and short-term inpatient and outpatient Music Therapy sessions to infants, children, and young people up to 18 years old to support them when they are having a challenging time in hospital. I offer a therapeutic, musical space to explore their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes words and songs are used in sessions where children can improvise and make music with me. Other times, I might play music following a child’s expressions and non-verbal cues.
I’ve been a Music Therapist for 4 years now and I have worked in a Children’s Hospital setting as a Music Therapist for a year and a half.
A typical day for me is very varied, which is one thing that I love about my work. I usually start and end my day by listening to music on my commute. I find that this helps me to think about how I’m feeling that day and to know what I might be arriving to work with. I feel that it’s really important for myself as a therapist so that I can be really present for the children, young people, and families that I work with. This is something that the Music Therapy training helps you to think about.
On average, I might see about 5-7 children per day (referrals come through to the Music Therapy service). Referrals to Music Therapy might be for preterm babies and parents, for children that are finding the ward environment overwhelming, and for children that might not have the words to express themselves.
I also see the children that have a long hospital admission. Music Therapy might be a space where they can make choices and be playful.
Music Therapy sessions are usually about 30 - 45 minutes. A couple of times per week, I work on the Neonatal Unit - which I really love. Once a fortnight I have clinical supervision and line management. I also attend multi-disciplinary meetings weekly (MDTs). I have a music trolley of instruments that I take around the wards and hospital (you can hear the wind chimes jingle and the ocean drum ‘whooshing’ as I walk around!).
A typical Music Therapy session in a paediatric setting might include a hello song, any of the child’s or family’s favourite songs (eg. ‘song of kin’ - used in neonatal work a lot), some musical free improvisation, songwriting, and a ‘see you soon’ song.
Music Therapists are trained to musically respond by following the non-verbal, musical cues and interactions aiming to “be with” the child whatever that may be. It’s a space for the child to feel heard and understood (whether they’re feeling sad, angry, overwhelmed, happy, confused etc…). The hospital environment can be unpredictable and Music Therapy sessions with children and families that I see might help to provide familiarity and structure in their weeks.
There are so many special moments that I witness day-to-day. For example, seeing a baby smiling and coo-ing to the sounds and songs, seeing a premature baby open their eyes to their name being sung and seeing their parents holding them in their arms, or hearing a child or young person confidently exploring their voice and singing/making up songs with me about their day - where they might have not felt like engaging in very much that week.
Celebrating Allied Health Professions Day
Music Therapists complete a Master’s training programme to gain their HCPC registration. I trained part-time at Roehampton University for 3 years. You have to have relevant experience working with children, adults, etc before undertaking the training programme. You also need the relevant undergraduate degree in Music, Psychology or equivalent. I did a Music undergraduate degree and then trained as a music teacher in a Secondary school prior to my Master’s training. Though, each Music Therapists’ journey is different and unique. During the training, you have to have your own psychotherapy. You have music therapy placements and you complete a research project. My project was about Music Therapy groups for parents and their baby to support bonding and attachment where parents might be experiencing postpartum depression.
To be a Music Therapist, you may be someone that is empathetic, compassionate, a good listener, creative and to be able to think about someone’s journeys and life experiences non-judgementally with an awareness of how this might differ from your own life experiences.
I knew that I wanted to have a career using music to connect with others and I have always worked in ‘helping’ professions from a young age - I used to work at a retirement home as a home care assistant before doing a music degree. I sometimes brought my violin to work and I really loved playing to the older adults and seeing how they responded to the music. As a teacher in my 20s, I enjoyed working with the children and young people that had a lot going on in their home lives and I noticed that music was a way for children to share and express their thoughts and feelings with me, and to help them to build trusting relationships. I was introduced to Music Therapy in my final undergraduate year at University and just knew that was what I wanted to do and learn more about.
The best thing about being a Music Therapist is meeting the children and families that I work with and sharing these musical interactions with them. I love hearing about how music is important to a family and learning about their different health/life journeys, or sharing a song. I also really enjoy working with other psychological professionals, medical teams, AHPs (allied health professionals) and learning from them. This is one of the great things about working within the hospital setting.
I think that I would want parents to know that Music Therapy is an intervention that is accessible to all. There are no limitations and Music Therapists work to meet the needs of the child. Music Therapists can work to support you and your child to offer something different to the medical input your child might be receiving. I find that the sessions with the child can also be beneficial to support parents where they might be experiencing a significant amount of stress and anxiety. Music is a universal language that we can all connect to.
Alongside Hannah’s NHS work at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Hannah has a private practice. You can find out more about Hannah’s work, and contact her, on her website:
