Music Therapy

What is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is the use of music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages within the context of a therapeutic relationship. Music therapists are trained professionals who have undergone rigorous training, including completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher in music therapy and 1200 hours of clinical training. Music therapists must also pass the National Board Certification Exam and keep their certification current through ongoing music therapy education.

Who We Serve

Neurodivergence & Disability

Seniors

Therapeutic Music Lessons

Music Works NW offers mental health support through therapeutic music lessons for kids and teens. Facilitated by board-certified music therapists, these private sessions start with instrument-learning as an entry point for addressing other mental health and wellness goals. We can explore coping skills for anxiety and depression, self-confidence, creative self-expression, music and mindfulness, or music leisure skills. Therapeutic music lessons are available for voice, piano, guitar, and ukulele, and are open to all ages and musical backgrounds. Lessons are not intended to replace the help of a mental health counselor.

At Music Works, we specialize in working with children, teens and adults who identify as neurodivergent or disabled. Treatment goals and interventions are individualized and centered around the strengths, interests and needs of the client. Some common interventions used are:

· Movement to music, to promote motor coordination and self-expression

· Singing and vocalizing, to work on expressive communication and language

· Instrument play, to improve fine and gross motor skills and impulse control

· Songwriting for self-expression, communication, problem solving and teamwork

For those students who wish to focus on musical skills, our team can also provide adapted music lessons on voice, piano, guitar, ukulele or percussion. Adapted lessons are intended to be flexible in order to fit a variety of learning styles.

Music therapists at Music Works Northwest provide private and group music therapy services for seniors who are experiencing dementia or medical concerns, as well as healthy seniors. Music therapy services can nurture community and reduce isolation, facilitate reminiscence and meaningful connection with friends and loved ones, and support mental health and wellness goals.

Our Approach to Music Therapy

At Music Works, our music therapy approach is client-centered, and our first priority is to create a safe space where each client can explore, grow and make personal discoveries within the therapeutic relationship. In addition, we hold a neurodiversity-affirmative approach to music therapy. For us this means that:

We view Neurodiversity simply as a part of human diversity, not as a problem to be fixed.
As we continue our self-education as music therapists, we prioritize learning from Neurodivergent communities and Neurodivergent self-advocates, which informs our language, our goals and priorities in therapy, and everything about our practice. We prioritize and center Neurodivergent voices above Neurotypical voices as we work with this community.
We recognize that we will make mistakes as we do this work, and will strive to acknowledge them and fix them as we continue to learn.
We will not encourage individuals to try to fit into neurotypical norms.
We default to identity-first language (i.e. Autistic individual instead of individual with Autism) unless person-first language is preferred/requested by the individual or community that we’re referring to.

Private Music Therapy

Private music therapy services are available Mondays through Saturdays during the academic school year, and Mondays through Fridays during the summer. We are currently offering in-person services at our location and telehealth music therapy services.

After the initial package is complete, you can choose to continue services by registering for the remainder of the Academic School Year, or by registering for Short-Term Packages.

To sign up for private music therapy or for more information, contact MTProgram@musicworksnw.org or call (425) 644-0988.

Group Music Therapy & Summer Camps

Group music therapy is a powerful tool for working on social skills, impulse control, emotional regulation and teamwork with other neurodivergent peers. We offer a range of music therapy groups for ages 3 and up. We are currently offering virtual and in-person music therapy groups and in-person music therapy camps. Visit our Classes & Groups or our Summer Camps page for a full listing and to register.

For more information about group music therapy and summer camps, email MTProgram@musicworksnw.org.

Special Events

At Music Works, we love partnering with community organizations to create specially tailored events for your members or constituents. Recent collaborations include songwriting workshops with cancer survivors, open mic nights with summer campers, and singalong socials with individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injury. Low- or no-cost options are available for nonprofit organizations.

Contact MTProgram@musicworksnw.org to partner with us!