MUSIC THERAPY & COUNSELING
With over 20 years of experience in the performing and healing arts fields, Sarah Blacker, Psychotherapist, LMHC, MS, MT-BC (Berklee College of Music Graduate, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and Board-Certified Music Therapist offers interactive, virtual 1:1 and group Music Therapy and counseling sessions for individuals and families of all ages, and all areas of need. Blacker holds certificates in DBT, EMDR, Dementia and more.
She has worked extensively with children on the Autism Spectrum and with Developmental Delays and neurological disorders in school and hospital settings. She has also run group and individual sessions for those struggling with addiction, trauma, anxiety, depression and more in inpatient and outpatient facilities. Her most recent experiences has been in the hospice and substance use recovery fields, providing group and individual Music Therapy and counseling sessions for adults in need.
Blacker provides a process-oriented, person-centered, creative, mindful approach, where each session is tailored to meet the needs of the individual in the moment and along a continuum of goals.
WHAT IS MUSIC THERAPY?
Music therapy is an evidence-based form of treatment provided by a Board-Certified, licensed clinician that uses music-based interventions carefully selected by the Music Therapist, and aims to achieve individual goals for a person or group of persons in the areas of fine and gross motor skills, socio-emotional skills, cognitive skills, general social skills, emotional and also spiritual needs. Goals and treatment plans are created and documented based on an initial assessment by the Music Therapist and person receiving treatment. It accompanies but does not replace necessary or emergent medical treatments.
WHO ARE MUSIC THERAPISTS?
Music Therapists are trained and Board-certified individuals who have completed undergraduate and or graduate level courses in Music (theory, ear-training, improvisation, piano, percussion, voice, songwriting) Music Therapy (5 Practicum courses at an accredited university) comprehensive courses in psychology and therapy, an Internship and a Board-Certification Exam.
Common interventions include:
Songwriting, Lyrical Analysis, Co-active Music Making, Receptive Music Listening, Music and Meditation, Music and Movement, Chanting, and more.
Music activates every part of your brain, helps to regenerate and build neuropathways via neuroplasticity, has been proven to help people cope with chronic pain, heal from stroke and injury, cope with loss and isolation, and can even help to lower blood pressure, decrease stress response, improve mood and sleep and increase connection to others while producing positive endorphins. For a longer list of what music therapy can do, visit http://www.musictherapy.org
