Music Therapy
We believe in the power of music and its ability to transform lives regardless of age or ability.
The aim of music therapy is not to educate but rather to focus on therapeutic change and growth. Music allows the communication of feelings and emotions for times where it might be too difficult for your child to put how they feel into words or if your child is non-verbal.
Sessions are family-led and during sessions our therapist will aim to build a relationship with your child using sounds and music, with the aim to support and encourage your child’s emotional, social, and physical well-being.
Music Therapy allows your child to feel heard through their music. We all have innate musicality and by developing a therapeutic relationship through music, we can explore difficult emotions and give those feelings a ‘voice’.
We often use musical improvisation to encourage sensitive and immediate musical responses to your child’s own sounds, gestures, or movements. This responsive process will engage and encourage your child to develop a sense of themselves, the world around them, and the possibilities for relationships.
About Music Therapy
Watch this short film to find out more about Music Therapy at Noah's Ark and how it can support you and your family.
The Theory Behind Music Therapy
Music therapy takes inspiration from the musicality of parent and infant communication, which is non-verbal and highly musical.
When a parent and baby are communicating, and the parent is attuning with the baby, they are sharing their emotions and experience. The parent can communicate to their baby that their feelings are recognised, heard and shared.
In a similar way, when our music therapist and your child are communicating through sound, they too are creating a shared meaning and experience to build a therapeutic relationship. This shared musical play, enables those even with no language or at times when words can’t express what is needed to reach out to others and communicate their emotional experience.
Our music therapy is family centred, and our therapist will work with your whole family to gain an understanding, with the parent/carer very much a part of the music therapy work.
Resources That We Use
We have a wide range of musical instruments and sensory equipment available at The Ark, which allows us to create bespoke sessions appropriate to your child’s age and interests, which encourage their development.
Our sensory instruments offer both tactile and auditory stimulation.
Traditional instruments like the piano and guitar are often a popular choice, but we also offer more unusual instruments, like our resonance board, which is a sensory tool designed to provide tactile and vibrational stimulation.
Our Music Therapy team can offer services including:
- Making and recording songs – often editing and adding beats to songs afterwards.
- Lullaby making – writing songs with families using words and melody that hold meaning and capture memories.
- Heartbeat recordings – use a heartbeat recording to create a piece of music.
- Capturing audio or video – create treasured moments and memories for families to record and keep.
- Creating a playlist – finding meaningful music with families that can be enjoyed at anytime.
- Accompanying music – finding or creating music to support the family at key times.
- Music making – this is also offered as part of our end-of-life and care after death services.
