The story below is a preview from our November/December 2018 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Photo By Tyler Godsey
How music therapy helps our emotions and physical health.
Noel Anderson, Founder and Director of Anderson Music Therapy Services, is a board-certified music therapist, neurologic music therapist and certified teacher of music. She focuses on music therapy’s positive effects on attachment, trauma and relational skills.
Laura Wade: Why music therapy?
noel anderson: “We all have used music at one time or another to express our emotions. We use music to meet a need. The music is serving as a “container” for our emotions and helping us realize we are not the only one who feels this way. It’s a safe space with a clear beginning and end. Simultaneously, music can help us “label” our emotions. When we identify how we are feeling, it feels less ambiguous and more in control.
Singing also has a physiological effect on our bodies. Depending on the music we hear, it can alter our blood pressure, increase oxygen saturation, and release neurochemicals such as dopamine and oxytocin, which create positive feelings for strengthening relationships and increasing motivation.”
Lw: How does music therapy work?
NA: “Music therapy uses these seemingly mysterious characteristics of music to meet individuals’ ‘non-musical needs.’ Board-certified music therapists are trained in how to use music’s nuances (timbre, dynamics, tempo, etc.) to facilitate growth in their clients in areas including emotions, relational skills, communication and motor skills. Since music is flexible and accessible for all ages, music therapy can be used to address a wide variety of needs.
It is highly individualized and focuses on the goals specific to the participant. Interventions typically focus on enhancing social, communicative, motor/sensory, emotional and academic/cognitive functioning. We often work with individuals to address needs associated with autism, ADHD, attachment disorder, special education, trauma, mental health, brain injury and aging.”
Lw: Why did you start Anderson Music Therapy Services?
NA: “When I moved to Roanoke, I had a hard time finding music therapists. I also noticed the challenge families had in getting services for their children with special needs. I created Anderson Music Therapy to fill that need and be a resource in helping families find the support they need within this community. We provide individual and group therapy in our two clinics as well as schools, daycare programs and nursing homes throughout Roanoke and surrounding counties.
When I became a parent, my mission expanded to supporting not only my clients, but also their families. Seeing our encouraged and supported families continues to fuel my passion!”
… for the rest of this story and more from our November/December 2018 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
