Therapy in action

A behind the scenes look at how Sarah and Vicky use Music Therapy in their work with Place2Be

One-to-one sessions

Often, when a child is struggling to communicate we will encourage them to ‘play how they are feeling’. Emotions can sometimes feel over-whelming, so this is a way that we can make it a safe space for the child to be brave and start expressing themselves without any judgement or pressure.

Building relationships

When we get to know each other it’s not always activity led. We need to be sensitive to where the child is and allow them to lead or be gentle and compassionate, finding the threads that bring us together. Sometimes it’s as simple as chatting about their favourite music, or singing together. Developing therapeutic relationships is a first step to creating a calm and kind space and open up slowly to one another.

Group wellbeing sessions

Group activities can be really great ways to unlock nwe and positive emotions. We will do activities like changing the lyrics to well known songs to express particularly strong emotions (such as feeling around lockdown and what had been missing during that time). It gives us a chance to process these thoughts and feelings as well as engage our bodies in finding positive ways to express ourselves.

Sometimes we may engage in more mindfulness activities and introduce new music that the children may never have heard before, like classical music. This can help them explore their feelings further and lead them in a positive direction. We are always mindful of the kinds of music and use our training to identify how to best add new music or techniques to help reach our therapeutic goals.

Staff wellbeing

Staff wellbeing – self care tips using music as a tool, creating music based video for Christmas. Using music listening and relaxation during team meetings.