Music therapy builds connection for those who need it most
Elizabeth Ferguson, founder of Granite State Music Therapy, likes using a guitar for sessions because she can face who she is working with.
Music can open up a pathway for connection for those facing communication difficulties from developmental differences or disease progression.
About half of the clients at Granite State Music Therapy have autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, says Elizabeth A. Ferguson, MT-BC, its founder and executive director.
That statistic is not lost on Ferguson, who is also a music therapist and teacher there.
“(This) is pretty phenomenal to me, to have that many people we get to serve; and that’s through groups and IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) as well,“ says Ferguson.
The number of people diagnosed with ASD has been rising.
According to the CDC, in 2020, about one in 36 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The neurodevelopmental disorder can be characterized by repetitive movements (known as “stimming”), restricted interests, difficulty navigating social situations, unusual responses to sensory stimuli and other challenges. Some are nonverbal or have other trouble communicating.
Music therapy can help improve their lives and the lives of people facing other various diagnoses, like traumatic brain injury, dementia, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or epilepsy.
The American Music Therapy Association defines music therapy as listening, creating, singing or moving to music. For other emotional, cognitive and social needs, music therapy can enhance memory, reduce stress and promote wellness, and increase coping skills.
The AMTA states that music therapy can help people express themselves with words, increase motivation to become more involved in their treatment, serve as an outlet to express feelings, and give emotional support to clients and their families.
Ferguson shared another surprising fact: “Music is the only stimulus in the whole world that stimulates the brain across both hemispheres. It’s where we process speech and motor planning. Music is creating all those connections across both hemispheres.”
Ferguson, a teacher and therapist, is helping people form connections through music.
Even those with ADHD can benefit — another diagnosis that seems to be more prevalent.
“We’re getting more and more calls for that, and just helping build in some coping mechanisms and supports (to help clients) succeed and feel more settled,” says Ferguson.
Ferguson says the very nature of music can help those with ADHD increase their attention spans.
“Music is so sequential that, even if you’re passively listening to it, your brain is anticipating what’s coming next. Physically, that helps you to anticipate what’s coming next and be a part of what is happening in the music, even if it’s just passive listening. You have to be actively engaged in making it. It’s an absolutely incredible stimulus,” says Ferguson.
Music therapy provides the chance for people to take these new coping skills with them once they leave their sessions.
“All the skills we’re working on, we want them to generalize out of our session,” Ferguson says.
Music therapy can be individualized to each person’s specific needs.
ASD clients, for example, can attend music therapy to “desensitize” themselves to bothersome sounds, like loud bells or noisy, crowded spaces, so that they can tolerate them in their
daily life.
Ferguson recalls working with clients who can’t tolerate hearing whistles.
“Whistles just feel terrible to them,” she explains.
Therapy might start with the client blowing into a tissue, which helps practice making the sound. Ferguson has used the song “I’ve Been Working On the Railroad,” specifically the repeated phrase “Dinah won’t you blow,” and the song’s references to a whistle.
Later on, other tools are built into the therapy.
“Then we’re gonna build in, ‘OK here’s a kazoo.’ So you’re in charge of the sound. You could still just blow air, but if you make a sound, it’ll come out of the kazoo, so it’s slightly amplified, but the client still has control,” Ferguson says.
Maybe a couple of months later, the whistle will be introduced.
“Eventually they were able to blow the whistle themselves with some steady rhythms, kind of helping them to feel more grounded,” she says.
Ferguson remembers one client in particular.
“It was a really big success for him; it was exciting. Whistles were very scary — did not feel good. He could not tell me, but I think physically, it is still good for him to hear whistles. But now he can blow whistles.”
Those with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or other memory care needs can benefit in other ways — by hearing songs they know by heart.
“(Music) has all these different neural connections. I have clients who might not know it’s their own family members sitting next to them. They might not have their own affect or personality showing through until they’re singing every word to a song that they know,” says Ferguson.
These familiar songs that they learned sometimes in their teens and late 20s still have a valuable purpose.
“It’ll bring their affect and personality out again so their family members get to see them,” says Ferguson.
Nursery rhymes, for example, have melodies that are so well known that they can promote feelings of safety in a session.
“Those can feel good, and those can feel familiar, and that feels safer, and allows for more to happen in the session,” she says.
But speaking words isn’t the only goal for those in memory care.
”Even if they’re not thinking these things, they’re feeling them. If it helps with word retrieval, for sure. And it decreases agitation, which is big in memory care, because it’s so grounding for them,” says Ferguson.
“It always impresses me how powerful a tool (music) can be,” says Ferguson.
Ferguson’s team of seven board-
certified music therapists serve clients of all ages throughout the state as well as in northern Massachusetts and parts of Maine. Ferguson works with
medically fragile children, but each therapist has their niche. Some work with school-age children who have music therapy built into their IEP; some work with hospice patients, and some work in memory care.
The therapists are musicians themselves.
“We’re all highly trained musicians. When we go to college for music therapy, we are going along right with the music performance in majors, but we’re also doing the therapy and the psych side of things. You need to be a well-rounded musician to be able to support people as a music therapist. We’re using live instruments most of the time.”
Instruments like the guitar, piano, voice and drums, that allow for a close interaction with a patient, make a difference. Ferguson prefers to play her guitar.
“I tend to use guitar way more than any other instruments, because I can face my clients and really feel like it’s more intimate and I’m right with them, face to face. If I had my piano, I have to turn to the side, and already that feels like I’m not as connected.”
“I have been able to witness so many successes through our services, and I have a great team right now, and they all feel the same way. We really have the best job,” Ferguson adds.
This article was featured in 603 Diversity.
603 Diversity’s mission is to educate readers of all backgrounds about the exciting accomplishments and cultural contributions of the state’s diverse communities, as well as the challenges faced and support needed by those communities to continue to grow and thrive in the Granite State.
