Soul Sounds Music Therapy

26/11/2024

SOUL SOUNDS Music Therapy is extremely saddened and disheartened to share the recently announced changes to funding of Music Therapy under the NDIS

Earlier this week, the Australian Music Therapy Association received word from NDIA that music therapy is to be removed as a therapeutic support from the NDIS. This decision was made suddenly, without reason or consultation and with the potential to have a devastating impact on the lives of thousands of individuals with disabilities across Australia.

For many, music therapy is a life-changing support that nurtures their wellbeing in ways other therapies cannot. It is a gateway to communication and memory, a means of connection to the world around them and a vehicle for processing and understanding the most challenging of emotions and experiences.

We, as a profession of extremely passionate and dedicated people, have since rallied with everything that we have and our voices are certainly being heard. Things are changing quickly, but with that means new curveballs being thrown, many of which are misinformed and upsetting for our clients and our entire profession 💔

We have so far been given the gift of time (changes have been pushed from effective Monday to Feb 1st), devastatingly though, it still stands that thousands of participants will lose access as they simply don't have the funding bracket Shorten has demoted music therapy into in their plans!

The most disheartening for music therapists across the country is the dismissal and undermining of the entire evidence-base behind our profession - As a result, the new changes will mean that we are no longer recognised as the research-based Allied Health profession that we are, with music therapy seen as a community support as of 01/02/2025..

We are deflated, but not defeated and ask our communities for support to REVERSE THE DECISION!
Because music therapy IS an evidence-based allied health profession!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please sign and share our petition:
https://www.change.org/p/save-music-therapy-keep-it-funded-under-ndis?fbclid=IwY2xjawGzGKVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUJaRcNMsir9aAz9LAE08dRrBpx-0XF-ZYZjx4jQkRH5MCDwd3Pk5N_t6g_aem_KAgzUaWIX9tLX7bo7T4IQA

And if you have a moment between 9am- 12pm today to join our calling campaign, the more voices Bill Shorten hears the better (guidance points in comments) 💪💪
Bill Shorten's office
Phone (02) 6277 7200
Email [email protected]

For further information on our evidence-base:
https://www.austmta.org.au/public/151/files/Website%20general/2024%20AMTA%20Disability%20evidence%20summary.pdf

With Love, hope and gratitude,
Phoebe
(Director of SOUL SOUNDS Music Therapy)

15/11/2024

What a privilege it is to watch this wonderful group connect and grow together through music 🎶

Music therapy with Phoebe takes place on Wednesday at 11.15am. Call us on 6583 4148 to secure your spot.

11/11/2024

Is there any better way to start the week!? 😍🎶 🏡

22/11/2023

It is a great privilege as a music therapist to be trusted with deeply personal stories, thoughts & vulnerabilities, and to be my client's biggest cheerleader should they decide to bravely embark on the journey of writing (and finishing!) their own original songs 🎼
Soooo i thought it was about time i cheered myself on to actually finish off one of my own too 🙈

'Breathe'~ A song inspired by those who inspire me everyday, and the work i am so blessed to do

25/02/2023

What an honour it was to be in the audience for this heart-warming performance today, supporting one of SOUL SOUND's very own and hearing these courageous stories 🙏

Thank you , and for portraying life with dementia (and the power of music) in such a beautiful way!

And most importantly, THANK YOU to these incredibly brave and resilient ladies and gentlemen, for sharing their stories so honestly and openly and allowing us to better understand what it means to live with dementia & MCI ❤️

25/11/2022

~Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel~
Socrates

It was not too long after starting my masters degree, and realising just how passionate I am about the mental health space, that I thought to myself ‘One day, I think I’ll do a counselling degree as well’…
Weelllll today was that day ☀️

Very excited to delve deeper into counselling skills over the next 2 years and integrate this into my music therapy practice 🤓🎼📚

17/10/2022

Sometimes you’ve got to think outside the box…and the therapy room! 🍃

For clients who find it challenging to be present in the moment and aware of their surrounds, activities like this can be such a wonderful way to encourage mindfulness and connection to our environment.

Swipe ⬅️ for one clients’ ‘something unusual’ photo which then inspired a silly song about ‘The light on the tin on the pole in the ground’ 😂🙌

12/08/2022

One of my favourite interventions this week has been pulling out an old classic, ‘The cup song’.

I remember first learning this from the kids at a summer camp I worked at in 🇨🇦…who would of thought I’d now be bringing it back as a music therapist many years later haha

Not only is this one great for hand-eye coordination, motor planning, proprioception, sustained focus, sequencing, perseverance and memory retention…but maaannn does it feel good when you nail it!!💪💪

Give it a go yourself! 🎼

11/07/2022

Put together this little analogy today for some of my teenage clients who struggle with overthinking and regulating their emotions.

These clients have been loving learning different beats on the electronic drum pad recently, really putting their self-regulation and sustained focus skills to the test, and getting creative with adding in their own drum fills.

Providing a tangible analogy that relates what they are experiencing when playing the drums (going into auto mode as you repeat the same beat throughout a whole song) to how our brains can sometime respond to big emotions,
helps to make this complex concept that bit easier to understand 🎼

26/05/2022

Sharing the intervention love today after finding this gorgeous illustration and adaptation of Bob Marley’s ‘Three little birds’ 🎼

Music has such a unique and delicate way of bringing about meaningful discussion, particularly when it comes to addressing complex concepts such as anxiety, making mistakes and perfectionism.

Bob Marley’s classic is a wonderful vehicle for easing into conversations like this, providing a sense of safety & comfort and motivation to engage through colourful visual stimulation combined with the soothing auditory input of ‘three little birds’. 🎶

04/05/2022

For anyone who needs reminding today…You are amazing! 🌟 🌻

Catchy little positive mantra songs (like this beauty by the awesome Canadian duo - slightly adapted for music therapy) are amongst the favourites and most used in my repertoire!

What better way to reinforce positivity, resilience, persistence and positive self identity than with music and songs just like this one 🎼