Making music, changing lives.
Music therapy is a process through which children and adults can express themselves, become aware of their feelings and interact more easily. Through making music with the therapist, a range of benefits may be achieved.
The music therapist is trained to improvise music spontaneously with the child or adult. Through improvised music-making an immediate and personal relationship begins to form. There are no 'right' or 'wrong' notes in music therapy. Instead, the person is encouraged to use a variety of musical instruments to find their own personal 'voice' and to develop listening, communicating and relating.
The therapist, a highly skilled and trained musician - accompanies and supports the person in their development. The therapist listens and responds to the person through the improvised music. Together the person and their therapist build a shared understanding through their music-making and this informs the aims and intentions for the therapy. The aims of music therapy are tailored to the needs of each individual, but might include:
"A fundamental aim of the music therapist is to allow the experience of making music to be a positive one that brings comfort, peace, meaning, joy, challenge, insight and hope to a person who lacks and needs these things".
Music can affect our mood. It may help us to relax when we have had a long day at work or school.
Alternatively, it can stimulate and motivate us when we are at the gym or a party. Music therapy is based on the understanding that everyone of us is musical - we are all able to respond to music, no matter what our age, impairment or psychological situation.
Suffolk Music Therapy Services Ltd has been developed and inspired by music therapist, Ray Travasso. Ray is a qualified and state registered music therapist. He completed his Masters in Music therapy at Nordoff-Robbins music therapy centre, London in 2002. Since then, he has specialised in palliative care. Ray is employed by East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) and St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich, Suffolk. Ray has extensive experience in setting up posts across East Anglia. He has been a guest lecturer at several Music Therapy Training Courses, including Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge), Nordoff-Robbins (Edinburgh, Manchester and London). He also runs placements for trainee music therapists. Ray is a regular speaker and has presented at international conferences in Cardiff, Birmingham, London and Moscow. His work has been researched and has also been taken to other music therapy conferences around the world including Argentina and Canada. He also
Since 2008, Ray began consulting with Special School Headteachers on the prospect of introducing music therapy into the schools. During the last 6 years Ray has been working with several special schools in developing a new and innovative model of music therapy to be applied into the special schools. In early 2010 Ray set up Suffolk Music Therapy services, a service that aims to provide better access to high quality music therapy for children and adults across East Anglia.
Suffolk Music Therapy Services is the leading provider of Music Therapy across Suffolk, Essex and South Norfolk. Through the intervention of music therapy, our clients are able to access music in innovative and creative ways, bringing meaning and purpose to people's lives, thus enabling them to realise their unique potential.
Our vision is to provide access to high quality music therapy for children and adults across East Anglia. Through the intervention of music therapy, our clients will be able to access music in innovative and creative ways, bringing meaning and purpose to people's lives.
Suffolk Music Therapy Services is really proud to announce that following a recent Care Quality Commission inspection, Prince of Wales Carehome (Part of The Partnership in Care group) has been judged as 'Outstanding'. The Prince of Wales Carehome is one of the first carehomes in the country to be awarded 'Outstanding' through their new inspection system. Suffolk Music Therapy Services has been providing Music Therapy at the carehome since 2011.
If you have an enquiry for an individual referral, or you run a carehome, school, charity or service and you are interested in accessing music therapy, please don't hesitate to contact us. Suffolk Music Therapy Services is the leading provider of music therapy in East Anglia.
