Supporting Your Loved One’s Music Therapy Journey

Written by: Gabby Jones, MT-bC, Neurologic Music Therapist

As a person-centered clinician, I interact with so many families, caretakers, and loved ones connected to the people I serve. From parents to spouses to respite workers, I’m constantly delivering reports or updates about my clients’ progress in the music therapy space, and one of my favorite parts about the job is the concept of collaboration. It’s so important to be involved in the care of your loved one to amplify their success, but oftentimes, I find it hard to feel supported in the work that I’m doing with individuals. I think, “Are their parents seeing these differences at home?” or “Are other therapies addressing similar goals with them?”. As a clinician who advocates for continued, practical, meaningful transfer of skills for my clients, here are some ways client’s loved ones can support the music therapy journey:

1. Ask questions! Give feedback! Provide reinforcement!
   1. I love being able to explain my therapeutic thought processes, types of techniques I’m facilitating, or why I feel something might work for my clients. I always act thoroughly and with intentionality - I choose songs, instruments, and intervention styles for a specific purpose each time. Don’t hesitate to pick my brain about why I feel something is or isn’t working. I’m also always open to new ideas. If you think something might work better for your loved one, let me know! Additionally, if you’re curious as to how to reinforce concepts outside of our sessions, I’m open to discussing accessible applications or prompts, redirects, or overall skills. Open conversations with your loved one’s providers are key!
2. Tell me what you’re seeing at home, school, or in other settings.
   1. Every time I see one of my little ones, her mother gives the best updates about home life. It’s so reassuring to hear what is being transferred to life outside the music therapy space, and I’m always happy to reframe my approach to address something more practically, or add something new in. For example, this particular client had been expressing some recent anxious behaviors at home, and because mom had updated me on what she had seen in her daughter, we were able to immediately incorporate emotional regulation and coping skills into her sessions. I want to apply music therapy to real-life, and I want real-life to feel that impact! 
3. Read my emails…
   1. I’m very intentional about providing updates to families. If I see something new in one of my clients, I want to talk to those who know them best. I also send documentation such as quarterly reports and annual re-evaluations through secure emails, so that families have digital copies of everything I’m documenting on their loved one. On my end, I’m always trying to loop the supporters in because again, care is always collaborative.
4. Establish routine!
   1. I can’t stress enough how important it is for some clients to have a routine when it comes to therapy. Illnesses, transportation emergencies, and vacations come up, of course. But, research shows that consistent routine leads to more successful outcomes in music therapy. If your loved one is benefiting from seeing a clinician on Thursday mornings, keep bringing them on Thursday mornings! Too many reschedules and cancellations cause clients to lose meaningful opportunities for growth. 

Overall, collaboration is so important. We see the greatest success for clients whose support systems remain supportive. Music therapy is such a creative and fluid space, and we want to encourage creativity and fluidity outside of the work we do at our clinic. The people we serve deserve to feel as though we’re all in their corner - so let’s work together to achieve that goal!

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