Music Therapy in Florida: Everything You Need to Know

In-Person

An in-person music therapy session is what you would expect. You will meet up with a trained music therapist and explore the therapy sessions face-to-face at a specific location. Some groups prefer to meet at a centralized location, while other groups might offer the opportunity for a therapist to visit a patient at a different chosen location. The important consideration is that for this kind of music therapy, you will be in the same room as your therapist.

Telehealth

Telehealth options are a growing interest for those who want to connect with medical professionals from a distance. In this case, telehealth means virtual music therapy. With the help of modern technology, virtual music therapy allows anyone to connect directly with a music therapist from anywhere in the world. Virtual music therapy is just as effective as its in-person equivalent, making it a great option for a lot of people.

There are a few different reasons why you might prefer virtual music therapy. For some, it is all about one thing: comfort. Therapy can be intimidating, even when you get to listen to music and make fun sounds. Sometimes, it can feel a bit overwhelming, and while your music therapist will be happy to help you work through these feelings, the fact remains that they want you to be comfortable. For some of us, putting that screen between ourselves and a therapist can make the entire session a more approachable process.

Beyond general comfort, virtual music therapy is truly wonderful for increasing the accessibility of this kind of therapy. With virtual options, more people have access to music therapy, regardless of their situation. For some, virtual music therapy might be beneficial because they don’t drive. For others, it might be because they simply don’t have the energy to go through the extra steps of attending an in-person session.

There are no right or wrong reasons to choose a virtual music therapy session over an in-person one. Some people even use it while they travel for work or when they are on vacation. Virtual music therapy allows accessibility and consistency that in-person sessions simply can’t provide for some people.

What to Expect From a Music Therapy Session

No one really knows what to expect when they first walk into a music therapy session, and we wanted to clear up some of the mystery surrounding it. While we can’t guarantee what the future of your sessions will look like, we can certainly address where it will start and what you might expect.

Whether you drive over to a music therapist’s office or connect with them from the comfort of your Florida home, you will find that it all starts with an introduction and assessment. Every single one of us is different, and we all have different needs. The assessment will help your music therapist to understand your needs so that they can make a tailored approach that will help you to meet those goals.

During the assessment, your music therapist will get to know you. They will want to hear about who you are, your interests, your life, and what you want to work on. This is an excellent time to bring up any concerns that you might have, but it is also completely okay if you aren’t quite sure what to share. The Florida music therapy professionals in your area will be happy to help guide you through the process.

After you have laid the groundwork for where you would like to go, you and your music therapist can begin to work on certain exercises. This can differ from one person to the next, so don’t expect your sessions to go exactly the same as someone else’s. Sessions can cover creating sounds, moving to music, listening to music, singing, or even discussing certain music that resonates with you. As you get further into your sessions, you can expect to explore more exercises.

Does Music Therapy Follow a Specific Program?

With music therapy, people tend to imagine that they are walking into a music class equivalent. While music therapists might rely on some of the same principles as general tools, it is important to remember that music therapy is therapy.

Music therapy might look a little different than the therapy that you see in movies, but it can have many of the same results. For some, it actually works better than traditional therapy by helping to break down barriers and build confidence. There is no one-size-fits-all approach here, so you can expect your program to change as you go along.

To understand this, think of each practice as a different set of tools. You might start with one set to work on one thing, then switch to a completely different set of tools to discuss something else. At some point, you might circle back to those original tools to address an entirely new concern. Music therapy isn’t linear. It changes and adapts, just like our minds.

Does Music Therapy Work?

When people hear about music therapy, it can raise a few eyebrows. They might wonder if it actually works—or if it is as effective as other common forms of therapy. The good news is that music therapy is effective regardless of whether you choose traditional sessions or virtual music therapy. Plenty of people have gained a deeper understanding of themselves using music therapy throughout the years.

Addressing the effectiveness of any kind of therapy is a little confusing for a lot of us. We have all known people who attended therapy and didn’t receive the results that they were hoping for. However, the truth is that there are a lot of different factors that can influence the effectiveness of therapy—and they might not apply to your situation at all. People can struggle in therapy because they haven’t found the right therapist, or even because that specific style of therapy doesn’t work for them on an individual level. This doesn’t mean that the form of therapy is ineffective, just that their experience was not a good one.