MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Parents struggling to find the best therapy for children on the autistic spectrum, hospice patients, and confined prisoners rarely have anything in common.
Morgantown-based practice On A Better Note offers a service that has shown promising results in helping all of those groups of people–and others–in meeting a number of goals through musical therapy.
“Learning some of those simple social cues, but doing it musically,” On A Better Note Director Haley Crane said on Monday’s edition of “The Gary Bowden Show” on the AJR News Network. “Because they are then prompted both with the melody and with the lyrics and with the rhythm.”
Musical therapy is a clinical and evidence-based practice that offers a program similar to traditional therapy, but through the use of music to address physical, emotional, and other social needs.
It can be as simple as a therapist playing a song about how to properly introduce yourself, Haley Crane said.
“It’s teaching them to reciprocate,” she said.
Crane isn’t just a talented musician plucking a few guitar strings. A licensed musical therapist requires board-certification, extensive education in child psychology, and, of course, a passion for music.
“You’re taking all of the theory and ear training and music history sort of classes, but you are also taking some psychology classes and child development stuff and music therapy specific courses that are taught by music therapists and music therapy professors,” she said.
West Virginia still has a relatively small number of programs and musical therapists compared to neighboring states like Pennsylvania. But, Crane said, there are a large number of people who can benefit from musical therapy.
“Especially with the population with Autism, which is what we work on a lot in our private practice,” she said. “There’s a lot of social and some other cognitive and academic skills.”
Crane said each client is going to have different goals. While the music is a constant and the theory behind the practice remains the same, each client requires individual attention. For instance, Crane said elderly patients might respond better to music that resonates with their past–rather than modern-day music.
“Sometimes you can use songs from now, and you’ll use popular day songs,” she said. “But a lot of times we use songs that are important or reminiscent for them and mean something.”
Crane said they also work with at-risk troubled youth and even some people confined to prison.
“Everything is very client specific,” she said. “The music that we use is client-centered. The goals are whatever you see in that person.”
You can read more about On A Better Note here.