Have you ever heard of music therapy? While it’s possible that you have, the average person has not heard of this excellent therapy that is being used to help children and adults all over the country to learn, improve and, when necessary, rehabilitate after injuries, surgeries and accidents.
The fact is, people from all types of backgrounds and interests, including those who have no musical skills, will benefit from music therapy. It has been found that the human mind’s response to music is much different than its response to almost any other type of stimulation. A child with mental or physical challenges will sometimes respond better to music than to any other type of therapy.
Children with behavioral problems, anger issues and even ADHD respond very well to music therapy and it has been used successfully in many cases and in many different situations. The fact is, music therapy can help a child to better communicate, socialize with other children, increase their overall motor abilities and even help with their cognitive skills.
Because it’s such a flexible medium, there are many different types of music therapy modalities that can be used in any given situation including but not limited to improvising with instruments, songwriting, auditory processing and more. Not just children but people of all ages have been helped with music therapy and, here at Southwestern Music Therapy, we have programs set up for all levels, ages and abilities.
When it comes to teaching and learning with music therapy we have set up a number of adaptations to help people of differing skills and ages. For example, for a child who is not able to read music we have a color coding option that’s very helpful. We also use a number of visual aids and scripts so that there is less frustration and anxiety, and we make a point of focusing on a particular child’s favorite types of songs and musical genres.
Here at Southwestern Music Therapy we have a highly trained team of board-certified music therapists and highly specialized treatment programs that are designed with each client’s particular case in mind. If you live in the Dallas / Fort Worth area of Texas as well as Houston, Austin and also Atlanta, Georgia, and you have any questions or need help, please let us know and we will get back to you ASAP.

If you want to help a child improve their cognitive skills as well as their psychological, physical and communication skills, there is no better activity than music therapy. A research based profession that has been established for many years, music has long been known to have therapeutic value and music therapy gives a child the opportunity to acquire skills that will help them throughout their life.

Music therapy, when used as an intervention option for children, can also foster skills for the special needs child that will help them throughout the entire spectrum of development. Through music therapy a child is encouraged to follow their natural sense of exploration and to focus on the wonder that they feel. For some children, music is like a sixth sense that can help them to see the world more clearly and give them a stronger connection to it.

With music therapy, the words and language that are incorporated into the songs give children functional verses and also phrases that they can use and also then generalize, helping them in other areas of their young lives. Music that’s written for music therapy is intricately and carefully crafted so that it provides not only motivation but encouragement and positive emotional feedback.
When involved with music therapy a child will learn to sing songs and use different types of musical gestures as well as be taught to play basic instruments. In this way a child will learn to meet their own goals and objectives and the music therapist will be able to teach them about specific academic concepts, how to interact properly with other children, why cooperation is so important and how they can use music for communication, among other things.

In many cases a child will gain self-confidence and organization skills while also improving motor skills and increasing their competence overall. The fact is, learning to sing and play music can be extremely motivating, lots of fun and set up a child for success later in life.

Music therapy can be provided in a wide variety of different locations and settings and, depending on your child’s needs, is usually easy to find with a little bit of searching online. Local libraries, school classrooms, daycare sites and even some music stores provide music therapy and, if you have a special needs child or just a child who’s curious about music, music therapy is an excellent choice. If you live in the Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, or Austin areas and have questions or comments please let us know and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Southwestern Music Therapy, L.L.C.

Visit us at www.southwesternmusictherapy.com