Baselines in Music Therapy Joe Thompson

My interview as a guest on SurroundSounds. Listen to SurroundSounds on...

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Today I speak with two UK-based music therapists about their journeys to Neurologic Music Therapy Services Of Arizona.

Emma Bailey is a UK-based Music Therapist and music therapy Supervisor. Originally trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Emma has studied infant mental health and child development at the Tavistock Clinic and the School of Infant Mental Health in London, and she completed the additional NMT training in 2019. As a Music Therapist in a National Health Child Development Service, as well as in private practice, Emma specialises in short-term interventions with children with significant developmental needs, and their parents or caregivers. Emma has been published in the British Journal of Music Therapy and has presented her work at the European Music Therapy Conference (EMTC2022). In addition to her music therapy practice, Emma also runs developmental music groups for pre-school children and their families in her local community. 

Mary-Clare Fearn is an experienced clinician, trainer, and consultant within music therapy.  She qualified from Roehampton UK in 1990 and since then, her clinical experience has been varied, including work with young people and adults with learning and physical disabilities, autism, brain injuries and children that are looked after or adopted and their families.  Mary-Clare is an affiliate of the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy and has expertise in blending approaches and supporting diverse groups of staff to develop their understanding and working practice, she is also a music therapy supervisor.  She plays and sings in local amateur musical ensembles. Mary-Clare writes about her work and has presented at national and international conferences.  Some notable publications are ‘Attachment theory and attachment difficulties: supporting autistic children and young people in residential school settings’ in Good Autism Practice, Volume 22, Number 2 (2021),‘Music and Attuned Movement Therapy’ in Collaboration and Assistance in Music Therapy Practice, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2017), ‘Collaborative working at the Cheyne Day Centre, London’ in Integrated Team Working: Music Therapy as Part of Transdisciplinary and Collaborative Approaches, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2008)
You can contact Emma at emmamusictherapist@protonmail.com or find her on X as @emmalisabailey 
You can contact Mary-Clare at maryclaremusictherapist@aol.com  
References for show notes:
Fournier et al (2010) “Motor Coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 40:1227–1240 DOI 10.1007/s10803-010-0981-3 Donellan et al (2013) “Rethinking autism: implications of sensory and movement differences for understanding and support” Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience  Vol. 6. Article 124 doi: 10.3389/fnint.2012.00124 Jansen & Thaut (2018) “Rethinking the role of music in the neurodevelopment of ASD” Music and Science Vol. 1 1-18. DOI: 10.1177/2059204318769639

Ingrid Gruett completed her Bachelor of Music degree from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, her Music Therapy Equivalency from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, and her Master of Music Degree from Alverno College.  Ingrid is a board-certified music therapist, a Wisconsin Music Therapist-Registered and a Certified Dementia Practitioner who specializes in providing evidenced-based services and 1:1 support to persons with dementia and to their caregivers. Ingrid is the owner and director of Middleton Music Therapy Services, LLC.  

Her master’s thesis is a philosophical inquiry entitled, “Music Therapy Techniques for Dysregulation in Autistics Applied to Agitation with Late-Onset Alzheimer’s: A Case Study" which is the topic of our discussion today.

Joe Thompson is a Neurologic Music Therapist currently working at Spring Forward Family Centre in Penrith, NSW. He specialises in using the properties of music, especially rhythm, to support Autistic people to navigate their sensory and movement challenges. Much of his approach is informed by experiences he gained while working overseas at Neurologic Music Therapy Services Of Arizona in Phoenix, USA. 

As well as a clinician, Joe has served as past chair of the AMTA NSW branch, and creator and host of this podcast.

Suzanne Oliver is the founder and executive director of Neurologic Music Therapy Services Of Arizona - an NMT clinic based in Phoenix, AZ that has been serving the community there for over 40 years. Over the years, she has employed up to as many as 21 therapists at one time, and currently has 6 NMTs working in their clinical setting serving a variety of children and adults with neurologic impairments. Additionally, from 2007 thru 2019, NMTSA  had a school for non-speaking students with autism, providing them with grade level curriculum and communication and behavioral support at a 1:1 level. 
Suzanne is also the chair of the NMT Academy Advisory Council, and is Academy assistant faculty for the NMT International training institutes. She is considered one of the world’s leading clinicians in the field of NMT with developmental disabilities, and in particular Autism. 
Throughout her career she has impacted the lives of countless clients, families, NMTs, interns, mentees and other allied health clinicians.  

Today’s guest on baselines is Samantha Schoeler Jones. This episode continues with our international theme, but allows for a hiatus from the people I met on my America trip, as we follow Sam’s own extraordinary journey which took her to the other side of the northern hemisphere. There are few people who can claim to have a more colourful answer to ‘how did you become a music therapist’ than Sam
 
Samantha completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance in flute at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with the late Richard Gill as the Dean in 1991. After graduating, she commenced her performance career, which included performing casually with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about teaching flute, Samantha taught extensively across Perth, including having a teaching position at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In 1995, she was accepted into the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Musik in Weimar, Germany, to complete further studies with Professor Robert Winn, former Principal Flautist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. In 1997, Samantha moved to Berlin to complete a degree in Music Therapy at The Institute fuer Musiktherapie. On returning to Australia in 2004, she decided to combine her experience as a music therapist and educator completing a Diploma in Secondary Education at The University of New England. Between 2007 and 2017, she worked as a classroom music specialist with the Department of Education, teaching and conducting recorder ensembles, choirs and school band programs across several schools in the Blue Mountains.  As a Registered Music Therapist, Samantha has worked with Sing&Grow since 2012 first as a contractor before becoming a clinical specialist in 2017 and Community Partner with Mission Australia in their Communities for Children program, providing early intervention music therapy services to families and children 0-5 in South West Sydney.