FAQs
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In music therapy sessions, each person actively engages with a Registered Music Therapist through music improvised uniquely with them, as well as through favourite songs and musical activities. Clients interact and communicate with their therapist, expressing their personalities, ideas and emotions in whatever musical way they can – through instruments, voice and movement. At Raukatauri, we have over 500 different instruments, which are high-quality, resilient and individually chosen to meet each client’s preferences and needs. The instruments used in music therapy are accessible and can be played and spontaneously explored, without clients having to “learn” to play them.
In addition to instruments, our therapists use singing, movement and play to motivate and interact with our clients. Sessions often begin and end with a familiar hello and good-bye song and the activities in between are all designed to work toward the individual client’s goals. A young child who is just beginning to develop expressive language skills might use animal puppets and noises to playfully practice different speech articulations. An adolescent might write a song with her therapist’s support to express how she feels about being ‘different’ than her peers. A group of young adults with intellectual disabilities might choose from a list of favourite pop songs to sing and play together and then share how those favourite songs makes them feel. Family members may be present in sessions, depending upon the individual client’s needs and goals, and this is something that will be discussed during the initial consultation.
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A music therapist is a skilled musician who has been trained to use music to help develop a person’s potential, whatever their disability, difficulties or diagnosis. All music therapists at the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre are registered with the Music Therapy New Zealand Registration Board and have completed the relevant Master’s (or equivalent) qualification. They have had extensive training in music, psychology and human development and continue to receive frequent clinical supervision and take part in Continuing Professional Development.
Our music therapists are leaders in their field and are frequently asked to present at conferences, give media interviews, participate in research and submit work for publication. Raukatauri’s staff have also published journal articles, book chapters and book reviews as well as contributing to large-scale research projects. Hailing from various backgrounds our team work in a variety of ways with our clients, always taking their cultural history into account.
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In general our sessions are 30-40 minutes in length. Group sessions are often 45 minutes.
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As clinicians working within an allied health profession, our music therapists document their sessions through both data collection and narrative documentation, which are recorded electronically and regularly reviewed. These written measures are supported by the weekly video recording of our sessions. Progress reports produced every term, measuring achievement and, where appropriate, reassessing goals, and optional progress review meetings are available at six month intervals during which the therapist shares video footage and progress towards goals with family member. We also ask organisations and families to complete service evaluations on a regular basis to ensure we are providing a service to fit their needs.
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Music has an enormous impact on our brains and bodies, allowing our therapists to work towards cognitive, emotional, communication and motor goals. Regardless of age, disability, illness or trauma, we all have an innate response to music and music is also highly motivating, which means that the children and adults we work with often engage with music therapy easily and enthusiastically. Music grabs and sustains attention which helps with learning tasks, it entrains muscles which makes gross motor movement more fluid, it evokes memories and emotions, encourages shared experiences – and makes us feel really good!
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Music therapy is still a relatively young practice in New Zealand, and yet music therapy as a credentialed profession emerged in the 1940s. It is widely used across the world, most notably in Europe, Australia and the United States, not only in music therapy centres but also in hospitals, hospices, schools, rest homes, mental health treatment facilities and prisons. However, music therapy is still largely unknown in New Zealand and therefore a large part of the Centre’s work to date has been in raising awareness and education of the field, along with its benefits, especially for children with special needs. The benefits and effectiveness of music therapy are thoroughly supported by research, both in New Zealand and internationally.
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In order to practice as a Registered Music Therapist in New Zealand, you need a Master’s (or equivalent) qualification in music therapy. Here at Raukatauri, some of our music therapists trained overseas, and others completed the Master of Music Therapy at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington, NZ.
Training as a music therapist involves learning clinical improvisation skills, child development, psychology and psychotherapy theories and music therapy theories that underpin the clinical work. You also go on placement in a range of settings, including working with children and adults. After training, music therapists continue to develop their skills by taking additional training in a range of areas. Currently The New Zealand School of Music in Wellington is the only educational facility in New Zealand to offer a Master of Music Therapy Degree (MMusTher). For more information visit the training section of Music Therapy New Zealand’s website here.
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In order to ensure the privacy of our clients, we do not offer observations of sessions.
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There are plenty of resources online which are included below, as well as some fantastic media coverage featuring the Centre over recent years.
Artefact series on Taonga Puoro featuring music therapy (only available in New Zealand)
Other Key Information
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The Centre is open during the school holidays, but closes for two weeks at Christmas. Sessions are held regularly during the school terms, and can be scheduled with your therapist if you’d like to continue sessions during the school holidays. We also run special school holiday programmes, information for these will be posted to our Facebook page.
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The cost to the Trust for each music therapy session is over $155. However, we realise this is not affordable for all families and ask for a weekly contribution of $80 for children and $110 for adults. Financial support may be available to those who are unable to make the suggested contribution. See our Fees & Funding Factsheet for information on Carer Support, Individualised Funding, organisations, and trusts who fund music therapy. If you have any questions or concerns over our costs please contact us on 09 360 0889 and we will be happy to discuss this with you.
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We never want financial concerns to prove a barrier to our service and work with families and organisations to find a solution. Payments for sessions can be supported by Carer Support or Individualised Funding, as well as grants and trusts such as the Wilson Home Trust, Jubilee Trust and Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand. Full information on funders can be found on our Funding Factsheet.
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Sessions and review meetings are invoiced weekly, and payment is due within 7 days. You can apply certain MSD and MOH/Whatu Ora funding streams to your session costs. The simplest way to pay is through our invoicing system, but we can accept cash and credit card (not eftpos) at the Grafton Centre.
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When sessions are cancelled by the Centre there is no charge. The therapist will make every effort to provide a make-up session at a later date.
Sessions cancelled by a client or whānau will incur a fee based on notice given: no charge for unforeseen circumstances (e.g. illness or family emergency), 25% with more than 4 weeks’ notice (up to four sessions), 50% with less than 4 weeks’ notice, and 100% with less than 24 hours’ notice or no reason; cancellations beyond 4 weeks will result in ending services and returning to the waitlist.
Ending services
Clients may attend the Centre for a few months or several years. When a decision is made to end therapy, a notice period of two weeks is required. This allows for a planned and supportive ending process for both the client and therapist. If less than two weeks’ notice is given, the remaining sessions will still be invoiced unless exceptional circumstances apply. During the initial eight-week Assessment Period, only one week’s notice is required.
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A client should stay home when …
Any symptom of COVID19: Such as cough, high fever, or shortness of breath.
Vomiting: If they have vomited two or more times in the last 24 hours.
Diarrhoea: Defined as 3 or more watery stools in 24 hours, we ask that all clients are symptom free for 24 hours before returning to sessions.
Eye infection: If they have an eye infection – thick mucus or pus draining from the eye.
Coughs and cold: If the client has a persistent cough, a continually running nose or a sore throat, with a fever or swollen glands.
Fever: Clients should be fever-free, without the use of fever reducing medications, for 24 hours before coming to music therapy. A fever is defined as over 100°F.
Common childhood diseases: A client should remain home until they are no longer contagious for diseases such as chicken pox, Hand, Foot and Mouth etc.
Rash, lice or nits: They have a body rash, especially with fever or itching, lice or nits.
A client may attend when …
They have an upper respiratory infection without a fever. If they have a persistent cough or a constant runny nose however we would prefer they stay home. To prevent the spread of diseases we encourage covered coughs and sneezes where possible.
Full sickness policy can be read here.
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Our Privacy Policy is available to read and download here:
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We believe the strength of our work lies in the diversity of those who shape it.
We actively uplift and support voices from communities that have too often been overlooked within music therapy and beyond.
Our team should reflect the communities we work with. For this reason, we warmly welcome people from all backgrounds, especially those whose lived experiences and perspectives challenge dominant norms and help us grow.