And she is more open to physical touch. She now lets me put my hand on hers. After a 24-session trial, the school board will review the music therapy program to determine whether it should receive funding. While Rosenberg hopes Katie will able to continue the therapy, Smith acknowledges that one of the most difficult things about this treatment remains trying to get people to recognize its importance, despite a recent increase in acceptance. Donna Pollen, coordinator for music therapy at the Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office in Rochester, says that people often confuse music therapy with other musical services.
Music therapy is concerned with the process on the way to make the product.
Pollen, who has been in the field for 20 years, emphasizes that patients of music therapy need no musical talent to benefit from the therapy. The therapy is broad-based, but it can also be very specific for individual needs. It works well with autistic patients, for example, Pollen adds. Often defensive, giving them contact with instruments provides them a powerful way to communicate, opens them up and helps them move. Pollen often uses an improvisational technique in which she plays the piano and her patients play back to her using other instruments like drums.