Making Waves Music Therapy

05/02/2026

Excitedly announcing our latest offering to our Gulf Coast community in May, "Resonant Roots" is a music therapy support group for adoptees, or those who have been adopted or separated from their bio parents, who are at least 7 years of age.

No matter if you're 7 or 55, if you share the common thread of being adopted and want to share in the complexities and kindredness with others through music, this group is for you.

Guided by Kayla Connick, MT-BC for music making, song sharing, story telling, and support. Find connection and understanding with us on May 14th for this pilot support group hosted by us and
BYOI (bring your own instrument - if you wish) but there will be enough instruments for everyone to play.
Sliding scale with a $10 minimum at the gate.

04/29/2026

Meet the MT-BCs of Making Waves 👋🎶🌊

& both treat from a humanistic approach within music therapy and skillfully provide a client-led experience working with
~ kids, teens, and adults on the autism spectrum and with multiple disabilities
~ adults with dementia within memory care
~ in our communities through low or no cost workshops in partnerships
~ individuals working through past or complex trauma
~ all ages needing mental health support

Music can help! Reach out to book your free consultation if you would like to make waves with us!

Fun fact: Sailor is originally from Olympia, WA & Kayla is originally from Las Vegas, NV 📍

What more would you like to know about your local Gulf Coast music therapists?

04/25/2026

Music Therapy with the Daisies and Brownies of at their Mental Health Summit for Strong Girls & Strong Minds 🎶🧠

This was a first for us to work with the Girl Scouts in Pensacola and we are SO excited to keep music therapy in the wheelhouse to empower, validate, connect, and build resilience!

MT-BCs & were thrilled to get "clipped" with colorful clothespins 🌼🩷 We also got our own patch!

02/05/2026

Help us give a warm Florida welcome to the newest addition to our team, Sailor DeRito, MT-BC! 🎉🎶🌊🌴

Sailor DeRito is a board-certified music therapist with experience working with individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities and medical complexities, residents within memory
care units, and teens within emotional and mental health settings. Sailor is passionate about using music as a tool to empower individuals and explore their creative potential. In therapy,
Sailor prioritizes viewing people as whole individuals that possess inherent musicality and are capable of reaching their utmost potential. In her daily life, Sailor explores her own creativity
through videography, crafting, and knitting. Sailor is originally from Olympia, WA, lived on the East Coast for her time in college and is moving to Florida from the Midwest. From her
geographical experience, Sailor has seen the strong impact that music therapy can have on a wide variety of people across all populations and diagnoses that she has had the pleasure to
work with. Sailor holds a Bachelor of Arts in music therapy from Montclair State University, and is nationally board-certified through the Certification Board of Music Therapists.

To book music therapy sessions or adaptive lessons with Sailor starting in March call us at 702-202-5454 or email [email protected]

01/27/2026

!!! January is Human Trafficking Awareness month !!! Music therapy is vital and helpful for survivors to heal and process.
Thank you mayor DC Reeves for this support and recognition and always my utmost gratitude and support for Survivor Led Solutions for connecting us and other amazing resources & therapies to survivors in our neighborhood and the greater Pensacola area.

12/26/2025

We made it to the end of 2025. Deep breath, then another. To start off the new year I wanted to do something special for all of the folks that I work for and with that spend so much of their time and talents taking care of their (and other's) loved ones. If you're a parent, guardian, or caregiver in any capacity, let's all grab a coffee together and talk roses and thorns, the good, the bad and the just alright. This is a meet-up where we can experience each other's company, learn about new resources, and even learn how music therapy techniques can keep you afloat too.

With care,
Kayla Connick, MT-BC

12/19/2025

WE HAVE A BILL! 🎉🎉🎉
This is a huge deal especially in light of recent events regarding Medicaid and fraudulent providers claiming to be music therapists across our entire state. The license is absolutely necessary at this point and will be so positively impactful for Florida. With so much gratitude and respect, thank you Representative Anna V. Eskamani

Today, we took an important step forward for health, healing, and dignity in Florida.

I’m proud to introduce legislation with Senator to recognize and support music therapy as an essential therapeutic service that improves lives — especially for people with disabilities, trauma history, and those who benefit from expressive therapies.

Recently, local families lost insurance coverage for music therapy, partly due to this lack of licensure. We want to prevent future coverage gaps, increase oversight, and ensure that Medicaid and other payers can more reliably reimburse qualified professionals.

Read more at https://annaforflorida.com/2025/12/18/musictherapy/

11/27/2025

We are very grateful for this work and these partnerships that allow us to work with these amazing women and show how music and expressive therapies really work in our healing journeys.

It is a pleasure to serve! Women from our local recovery programs gather with our indpendent survivors to create connections, support one another's healing, and learn something new. Thank you to our volunteers, sponsors, and providers for making this month's Adulting 101 Workshop a hit!

11/07/2025

☀️MUSIC THERAPY SUNSHINE SPOTLIGHT: MAKING WAVES MUSIC THERAPY!☀️

Making Waves Music Therapy (MWMT) is a private practice owned and directed by Kayla Connick, MT-BC. MWMT serves Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in the Florida Panhandle region through in-home, in-office, facility-based, and virtual music therapy sessions. Their mission is to put certified music therapists in motion with sound waves that carry lives forward.💙

Making Waves serves all ages with disabilities, neurodiverse populations, trauma informed care, adult mental health, memory care, and community music therapy groups free of charge to the public through local partners. They are excited to expand music therapy programs in the FL Panhandle region!

MWMT is currently hiring! You can connect with them on Instagram (), Facebook (Making Waves Music Therapy), and email ([email protected]).

Thank you Making Waves for all the work you do! 💕🎶

(ID: caption on graphic with white background, MWMT black and blue disc logo and 3 pictures of MWMT, including 1) music therapist displaying instruments on a table, 2) headshot of Kayla Connick, MT-BC and owner of MWMT with a mandolin, and 3) music therapist playing violin)

11/05/2025

We are working diligently on the lengthy and tedious process of becoming direct Medicaid providers but this is the reality of what is happening to actual music therapists in the state of Florida. Thank you Tampa Bay Times for such an amazing write-up, we feel seen and heard by you!

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2025/11/03/therapy-halted-kids-across-florida-after-audit-reveals-bogus-therapists/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN2QFRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE3N0dQRnJkYk1vbW9oU21LAR5LLoPmOniK2GHEMBNh066Y6LwYZyLSJ68TSZ4CuPS2Tr42pawciqeEHnzPSg_aem_47F4XCOAe5Mu_JrMw9TTyw

Florida Medicaid program’s therapy network in disarray with providers unpaid and sessions canceled.