Making music work
After gaining his Master of Music Therapy in 2009, Ajay Castelino spent more than ten years practising as a music therapist. During that time, Ajay says he noticed a gap in how music therapists could support families and children in their own homes.
“I work with disabled pre-school children and their families, and over the years I began to see that there must be ways we could better support these children and their families with music therapy in their homes—especially because children this age spend most of their time at home.”
A lot of music therapy involves children and their families coming to a clinic, or sometimes a space at kindergarten or daycare, to follow a music-based therapy plan using the instruments and resources available at those locations. The problem Ajay saw here was that many families didn’t have these same resources at home, so they couldn’t engage in the same kind of therapy in the family home—where they spent most of their time.
Ajay decided to research how music therapy could be included in the home life of these families.
“I found that I could see great results for the children and their families by creating a music therapy plan using the resources the families had at home. That includes physical resources—everything from musical instruments to pots and pans—that can be used to make music, but also the skills and talents unique to each family.”
The approach Ajay developed through his PhD research involved everyone working collaboratively and collectively to bring their skills to the table—including the music therapist, the family, and other support services for the child.
“That way we are all working in a way that suits the child and their individual circumstances,” Ajay says. “That makes the music therapy much more valuable for each family, and it becomes much more likely that they will take part in the therapy for a long and consistent period.”
Ajay says this approach has a huge impact on quality of life for children and their families.
“Music therapy gives the children a way of expressing themselves and their emotions, which many of them find difficult to express verbally,” he says. “It gives the family a great way to communicate and bond at home.
“It also gives the family something fun to do together. Many of these children and families spend their lives in hospital, or at appointments, or in other pressure-filled situations, so it can be very healing for them to come together as a family to make music, especially when that music works so well with their home environment and their skills and interests.”
Ajay has already begun working with organisations around New Zealand and creating resources for families and music therapists to help implement this home-based approach. This includes workshops for families to attend to learn about music therapy at home, songs for families to play together, and research publications for other music therapists to learn from.
Ajay had always been interested in music, but it was the chance to combine music and psychology that drew him to music therapy. He gained an undergraduate qualification in music, and then went on to gain his Master of Music Therapy from Victoria University of Wellington. Since then, he has practised as a registered senior music therapist at a range of special schools, district health boards, and community organisations in Auckland.
“Music therapy is such a great way to support people and help people at a deeper level,” Ajay says. “You get to empower people through music and use something a lot of people are already interested in to make a real difference in their lives.”
Want to make a difference through music? Learn more about the Master of Music Therapy or PhD study.