Why Music Therapy?
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Music therapy is an established psychological intervention that can help people of all ages and backgrounds. When life feels hard and we’re going through difficult times, it can often feel hard to find the right words to explain how we feel, and we might not know where to start. Music can help us to express ourselves and find our way through.
Music and the arts activate the brain and body in a way that can feel safer and more accessible, especially for people who find that words are not possible perhaps due to injury, illness, disability or trauma.
As a music therapist, I will work with you to deepen your relationship with music and together we will use the music to help explore what has brought you to therapy.
What happens during a session?
Every session is unique just as every client is. It’s important to know that you don’t need to have any experience playing an instrument. Having no prior experience doesn’t make the therapy work any less effective.
Sessions are adapted to suit each individual or group, and may include playing music together, improvising, listening to music, writing songs, and spending time speaking and reflecting together. I am directed by you and what you feel you want to do or play. Some sessions we may not play music at all while others might be filled with music, there is no expectation or pressure either way, you are welcome just as you are.
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I have a selection of instruments including a piano, guitar, tuned and untuned percussion.
My approach
I work in a psychodynamic and music-centred way. This means that I understand that our past experiences, especially those from our childhood, influence our present feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. As we work together, we can make space to explore these past experiences at a pace that feels manageable for you, and together make sense of things, seeing how these past experiences might be contributing to how you are today.
I am also committed to person-centred and trauma-informed ways of working, respecting each person as an individual with a unique story, and working with you to make the therapy space feel as safe as possible.