What is Music Therapy?
Watch a short explainer film about music therapy
Music has a profound effect on us, stirring emotions, soothing the soul, and even changing our perspective. But beyond its inherent beauty, music possesses a remarkable capacity for healing. This is the foundation of music therapy, a growing field utilising music’s power to address physical, emotional, and cognitive needs.
Music therapy isn’t just about listening to calming melodies; it’s a formal health profession. Trained music therapists utilise music-based interventions, grounded in research, to help individuals reach their therapeutic goals. These goals are as diverse as the individuals themselves, ranging from reducing anxiety to improving communication skills to aiding in stroke recovery.
How does it work?
Music taps into our brain’s intricate responses, evoking emotions, reducing stress, and even enhancing motor skills. This makes it beneficial for individuals facing a wide array of challenges, including:
- Mental health conditions: Depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD
- Developmental disabilities: Autism, Down syndrome
- Neurological conditions: Stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s
- Physical disabilities: Chronic pain, rehabilitation
- Life transitions: Grief, end-of-life care
A music therapy session can involve creating music, listening to music, moving to music, or even discussing lyrics and their meaning. It’s a personalised approach, tailored to the individual’s needs and goals.
Ready to explore the transformative power of music for yourself or your loved ones?
At Whale Song Music Therapy, we offer individual music therapy sessions tailored to meet your unique needs, as well as a variety of enriching group therapy programs designed to foster connection and support. We also provide specialized training workshops for professionals interested in integrating music-based approaches into their work.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation, enquire about our current group offerings, individual therapy, or discuss your organisation’s training needs. Let us help you discover the healing harmony of music therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to our FAQ section, where you can find quick and comprehensive answers to the most commonly asked questions about our services. We’ve extended our section to provide even more valuable insights into our offerings.
Music therapy is a psychological therapy delivered by a qualified music therapist. Sessions can include using music improvisation, songs and activities to achieve social, emotional and physical results. More information about music therapy can be found on the British Association of Music Therapy website: www.bamt.org
We believe that music is a powerful communication tool that can be used to explore personal feelings and emotions safely. Music therapy can help people whose lives are impacted by disability, mental or physical ill-health by providing a safe and supportive environment that allows people to express creatively and freely the feelings and thoughts they would usually find the most confusing and difficult to think or talk about.
To access our services, the first step is to complete a referral form here. Once we have received your referral form we will be in touch to discuss next steps. If you are an organisation that would like to partner with us to run a music therapy project or deliver services at your site please contact us here
At Whale Song Music Therapy C.I.C. we are committed to making music therapy as accessible as possible. Any surplus or profits raised from company activities are placed directly back into the company to provide free therapy to those who cannot afford it, we work hard to ensure that our rates stay as low as possible. We offer subsidised rates to some statutory and voluntary sector organisations, funding permitting and are committed to always having a limited number of free group and individual sessions available to Waltham Forest residents.
Individual sessions are charged at £65 per session and we recommend weekly sessions for at least 12 weeks. Please get in touch for our group session and day rates or to find out about our free sessions here
All of our current open group services can be found here.
Sessions are led by a HCPC registered qualified music therapist. Instruments and voice will be used by the therapist to encourage expression through music, this includes responding to body language, movements and emotions. Through individual or group work a therapeutic relationship will be built to improve wellbeing by supporting self-expression and communication.
Yes! You do not need any trained musical skill to access music therapy, the therapist will provide a space for you to explore the instruments in your own way and engage with the music in whichever way makes you feel comfortable.