World Music Therapy Day

On days like today and in times such as this, it can be hard to understand how music really can help and heal.

Today is World Music Therapy Day, and we encourage you to think about how music has positively impacted your life …

How did you learn your alphabet?

What brings a nation together at the start of a sporting event?

What drives home the emotion of the story and can even foreshadow what is coming next in your favorite movie?

What has the power to bring back memories from ones’ wedding day?

What medium is used as an artistic, creative, and emotional outlet when war has raged in our country or in others, and when people feel helpless against forces much larger than themselves?

Music, in and of itself, powerfully effects and drives our emotions, feelings, thoughts, memories, and physical state. When a trained music therapist who has learned when and how to introduce music into the therapeutic setting meets a client who is at the threshold of their desire to seek change within their own life, the results can be astounding.

Music Therapy has an important place in society and should continue to be utilized while our collective mental and emotional health is on the fringe from prolonged effects of the pandemic and heightened international conflict.

Here at Metro Music Therapy, we believe in the efficacy of the work that we do, and we believe in our clients with whom we are working. Our team is proud to be Board-Certified Music Therapists, and we will continue to leverage the transformative power of music to bring healing during life’s most trying seasons.

Stay well, and keep making music!

Happy New Year!

We want to take a moment during this busy week back to work and wish you a Happy New Year! We truly hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and feel excited and inspired to begin another year. But … maybe you don’t feel excited or inspired. Maybe you feel anxious, stressed, burned out, or depressed.

If you feel that you are stuck and need help moving forward or moving on from something, our team is here for those very reasons. Please reach out any time to find out if Music Therapy is exactly what you or your loved one has been needing.

If you want to see what we were up to in December, meet our new intern, or watch Bailey’s Bell Choir performance, you can find all of that in our latest Newsletter here.

 

Helpful or Harmful?

When our team presents to a room of healthcare professionals, one of our biggest points that we drive home is the simple fact that, if we believe music holds the power to help us, then we must acknowledge that it also holds the power to harm us, if and when it is used incorrectly.

Think about it for a minute – if music can positively influence our heart rate, breathing patterns, feelings, and emotions, then music can also negatively influence our heart rate, breathing patterns, feelings and emotions!

Even though introducing music as a treatment option in the healthcare setting is much less invasive or costly than introducing a drug/medicine, scalpel, or some sort of painful physical exertion, if any element of the music is introduced in an inappropriate way for the moment or environment, then it can cause stress, anxiety, aggravation, and can open the floodgates of emotions. Opening the floodgates can be a great thing – but it is important to do so in a safe, therapeutic setting, which is what Music Therapists do best.

How can music be inappropriate to the moment or environment? A few simple answers include: timing, tempo, volume, instrument selection, genre of music, song selection, history of song, pitch and key of song, placement of sound source, and the overall timbre of the music being played. If some of these elements don’t sound simple, but instead very complicated to you, don’t worry! Music therapists are equal parts trained musician and trained therapist — because the MUSIC and the THERAPY are equally important!

We often hear statements like, “Oh we have music therapy in our facility — we have a harpist who plays in the foyer!” And while we truly love that patients have access to music that they may enjoy, we always want to gently remind our audience that music therapy is a clinical treatment option which is provided by a trained and board-certified Music Therapist (“MT-BC”). So while the harpist may be the best at their craft, if they are not an MT-BC, then the music they are providing is not music therapy. And what if a patient is being subjected to music that they don’t like? What if harp music causes agitation, anxiety, or even triggers an emotion or memory that a patient who is isolated in their room needs assistance processing? When not carefully curated and presented, simply stated, music can be harmful.

If you have questions about how to safely incorporate music into your healthcare setting, we can help! Please consult and hire a Music Therapist; and while we would love for it to be us, we understand if you go elsewhere — just make sure they are a Board-Certified Music Therapist who is credentialed by the Certification Board for Music Therapists — and in states like Georgia, be sure they also have their state license to practice!

All MT-BCs should have the below badge readily available to show to you, and should also have a 5-digit certification number. You can also look up certification status of any music therapist here.

Veterans Day 2021

Here at Metro Music Therapy, we truly believe that our Veterans should be honored every day!

We are proud to tell you more about our newest partnership with Emory Healthcare.

Emory Healthcare Veterans Program

It has been our honor to recently come alongside the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program (EHVP) to provide music therapy services to the veterans and service members in their care. EHVP is a part of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Warrior Care Network, a nationwide program which recognizes the stress of military service and the challenges of returning to civilian life. Post-9/11 veterans and service members struggling with invisible wounds such as PTSD, TBI, MST, Anxiety or Depression, may benefit from this free and confidential Intensive Outpatient Program.

During our sessions at the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, veterans collaborate with each other to relax, express themselves, share coping skills, and build confidence and self-esteem. Each veteran brings a unique perspective and experience, and it is my honor to facilitate these groups.
– Hayley Oliver, LPMT, MT-BC

We hope you enjoy the special edition of the MMT Newsletter, wherein we highlight our work specific to Veterans. You can read the entire newsletter here.

Interdisciplinary Care is Key

Music therapists are able to work in a variety of settings. School systems, hospitals, private practice, correctional facilities, nursing homes/assisted living centers, hospice facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and veteran-care centers are some of the most common locations music therapists provide services. Did you know that music therapists co-treat with numerous professionals on a treatment team? This collaboration between professionals allows for the client to receive the best services possible. 

What does co-treating look like for a music therapist? It’s a music therapists job to share their knowledge on the profession for the benefit of the client. This can include sharing client progress at a treatment team meeting or receiving updated patient information to adapt the intended music therapy session to best meet the clients needs. Music therapists understand and respect that each member of the treatment team plays an important role in the delivery of services to the client. 

Music therapists often work alongside other therapists (Speech, Occupational, Physical, Activity, etc.), nurses, social workers, chaplains, counselors, and doctors to ensure the client’s care is at the forefront. In collaborating with these professionals, music therapists are able to remain up to date with the proper documentation and notes necessary to provide high-quality services. A treatment team is a necessity for excellent patient care and provides well-rounded expertise from multiple domains. 

Metro Serves All

The end of summer is quickly approaching! As enjoyable as this summer was, it’s time to start planning ahead for the fall and back-to-school months. The services Metro Music Therapy offers could be the perfect addition to you or your family’s schedule!

At Metro, we provide one-on-one and group services spanning multiple domains and diagnoses. Our team’s experience as board-certified music therapists allows us to cater to all client’s needs by tailoring each session to meet their desired goals and objectives. Our team serves the following populations…Developmental Delay, Autism, At-Risk Youth, Grief & Loss, Mental Health, Veterans, Refugees, and Hospice & Palliative Care. Visit our homepage, and click each box to read, in detail, exactly how we approach and carefully consider the needs of each client. 

If you think Metro would fit well into your weekly routine, give us a call or reach out via email! We would love to serve you in the near future. The end of summer is a perfect time to bring enhancement into your life! We look forward to hearing from you!

A Pandemic of Grief

One year ago the Covid-19 pandemic startled the world. With over 30 million cases recorded to date, the pandemic has caused a drastic shift in our everyday living. Will life ever be “normal” again? While that question still remains, one thing is known; grief has impacted all of our lives in some way.

Grief is defined as “the natural response to losing someone or something that is important to you.” Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, behavioral, cognitive, cultural, social, spiritual and philosophical dimensions as well. Losses such as a loved one, financial and job related losses, the feeling of normalcy, social and familial interaction, and certain freedoms we may have taken for granted have caused grief to be present in our current lives. Anxiety, depression, sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness are all common symptoms that can accompany grief.

While this is still a difficult time for many, Metro Music Therapy is here to provide ongoing support and comfort. Our experienced staff understand the difficulty and uniqueness of each circumstance faced by our clients. Metro recognizes that grief has no timeline and that your feelings and thoughts are valid. You are not alone.

If you or someone you know are interested in our grief and loss services, please visit the contact tab on our website to fill out our client intake form. You can also call us at 404.510.3799 if you have any further questions.

 

MMT is Expanding!

Metro Music Therapy has served the metro Atlanta area for almost 14 years … and we are thrilled to announce that we are now also serving the state of North Carolina! We will be providing in-person and telehealth services for clients and facilities in the Triangle and Triad areas.

If you are interested in partnering with us to bring music therapy to your loved one or to the clients of your facility, please reach out and let us know!

We can’t wait to begin serving you, North Carolina!

Lunch & Learn: Is Telehealth Effective?

 

We have been providing Telehealth Music Therapy Services for ONE YEAR NOW!

We have learned so much, and want to share our knowledge of the Efficacy of Telehealth with our facility partners, and other healthcare and education professionals.

Join us online next Friday, March 26th, for our Lunch & Learn, “Is Telehealth Effective?” and find out how we are adapting our services to continue meeting the needs of our clients and making progress toward their therapeutic goals!

Bring your lunch & hop online to join us!
Registration is FREE and required – details below:
When: Friday, March 26th
Time: 12:00 – 1:00pm EST
Access the Call hereZoom
Meeting ID: 924 0584 5164
Passcode: 511880

Why Music?

One of the strengths that music holds is that it can encourage, uplift and support. It can and does at times remind us of better days ahead and that we have the internal strength to get to those better days.

But I also believe that, unlike most other things in this world, music has the power to meet us where we are in the dark and deeply sorrowful places. It validates our feelings and acknowledges them without the push to also remind us of the good ahead. Music can just sit with us, free of judgement and opinion, and instead of saying, “this too shall pass,” say, “this hurts so much.”

The power and science behind music therapy comes from knowing what we need from music and when.

We are with you, and we are for you. Let us know how we can help you.

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