A University of Indianapolis music therapy student supports a child strumming a guitar. The university recently launched a music therapy center, treating southside residents while also addressing the need for more providers. Submitted photo
At a glance
The Music Therapy Center, housed within UIndy’s Community Music Academy, operates on a fee-based model with need-based scholarships available to those who qualify, with sessions currently costing $790 a semester. At this time, the center is not able to accept the Medicaid waiver for payment, according to the university.
More information about services, scholarships and enrollment is available on the UIndy Music Therapy Center webpage, uindy.edu/cas/music/community-music-academy/music-therapy-center.
Those looking to support the center, including with music equipment donations, can contact Foley at 317-788-2119 or foleyan@uindy.edu for more information.
A new music therapy center at the University of Indianapolis is hoped to address the need for more providers while treating southside residents.
The UIndy Music Therapy Center officially launched in January, offering individualized music therapy services for people of all ages and abilities to work on skills to enhance their lives. All services provided are supervised by a board-certified music therapist and could be led by an advanced music therapy student completing their clinical training, according to the university.
“It’s been really exciting to see that we’ve got it actually started and are using the music therapy space now for outside folks to come in and our students to get to learn right here on campus,” said Amy Foley, a board-certified music therapist and director of music therapy at UIndy. “I’m also excited to see the growth over time and to see how we can get that awareness out into the community.”
Music therapy is an evidence-based profession using music to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs. It can benefit a wide variety of people, from those with traumatic brain injuries, mood and anxiety disorders, developmental disabilities and even acute and chronic pain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The way the therapy works varies depending on the age or diagnosis of the person being worked with. For example, an older adult with dementia tends to have a hard time recalling things as their memory will be severely impacted by the disease. If the person goes to music therapy, a practitioner can use it to stimulate their cognition, she said.
“Music is really powerful because it uses the whole brain, and so we can recall things when we hear music, and we can be transported back to a time and place where that song was maybe relevant in our life,” she said.
This can be a catalyst for remembering a certain event. It can also open up active blood flow that can hopefully lead to additional conversation or enhance stimulation for a period after music therapy, Foley said.
Music therapy can also help a child with developmental delays with communication or motor skills. A practitioner could encourage motor skills development with a musical instrument or facilitate communication through song, Foley said.
“Building up those communication skills through music, because music has a really natural way to do some back and forth, and you can have nonverbal communication really take place through music and then bridge that gap to some of the verbal output,” she said.
Creating a music therapy center at UIndy came about as a way to integrate the music therapy program’s clinical training model with the community.
Music therapy students, as part of their four-year training, have to do a rotation of different clinical placements. Most of the time, students travel to different parts of the greater Indianapolis area to work under another board-certified music therapist as part of their training hours, Foley said.
“However, we thought it could be fantastic to bring about this idea on campus,” she said. “And so during the COVID timeframe, I took a grants writing class and really developed the concept of creating a music therapy center here on campus for that dual purpose — to engage the community, but also for student training.”
It took about five years to get the center fully approved by university officials, Foley said.
The community focus of the UIndy Music Therapy Center is especially important. While the state has some funding streams for music therapy, it is often very difficult for people to access music therapy services if there isn’t already a “built-in” way for them to access it through other services, Foley said.
“They have to pay privately, out of pocket for it,” Foley said. “We thought that this could fill a need in the community where folks are generally on a waitlist, or maybe having a hard time finding a music therapist to provide treatment when they’re not already integrated into another team that has a music therapist.”
“Filling that void was something we wanted to do,” she continued.
On the other side, students get a much-needed first-hand experience. They can see the initial interactions between a music therapist and a participant and see the treatment plan from the beginning stages, whereas at a lot of the community sites, they often step into a treatment plan that is already in progress, Foley said.
They also get opportunities to work at the campus center while still under the supervision of board-certified music therapists.
“We get a chance to say, ‘This is as if it’s your real job, like you’re preparing for this as a real job,’” Foley said. “And so they really get a little bit more autonomy with that treatment process, as a student facilitator of music therapy, than they might in some of our community partnerships. It fills a different need for their readiness for the future profession.”
Foley also sees the center as an opportunity to explain more about what music therapy is and have the community engage with the program. There are often misconceptions about what music therapy is, she said.
The music therapy sessions are typically 50 minutes long and held weekly for a minimum of one semester, or approximately 15 weeks. Each client receives personalized care that includes an initial assessment, the creation of an individualized treatment plan with specific goals and ongoing evaluation of progress, according to the university.
Depending on the individual’s goals, music therapy may include methods such as improvising music with instruments, recreating a song through singing or movement, listening to a song to discuss its meaning or writing an original song. Musical training is not required, but participants need to be willing to engage with music as a tool for growth and healing, the university says.
While right now there aren’t group sessions, Foley hopes there could be some in the future as the center continues to grow, she said.
The Music Therapy Center, housed within UIndy’s Community Music Academy, operates on a fee-based model with need-based scholarships available to those who qualify, with sessions currently costing $790 a semester. At this time, the center is not able to accept the Medicaid waiver for payment, according to the university.
More information about services, scholarships and enrollment is available on the UIndy Music Therapy Center webpage, uindy.edu/cas/music/community-music-academy/music-therapy-center.
Those looking to support the center, including with music equipment donations, can contact Foley at 317-788-2119 or foleyan@uindy.edu for more information.
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