Belltree’s Specialist Services

In addition to traditional Music Therapy, some members of our team have additional training and specialisms:

Vocal Psychotherapy – is a specialist form of music therapy which uses breath, vocal sounds and singing in combination with talking to explore the client’s inner experience. Based on Jungian principles, and founded by Dr Diane Austin, vocal psychotherapy enables the client to develop a deeper sense of integration between past and present and a greater capacity to recognise and manage their emotions. Singing together with the therapist offers the client new ways of relating with themselves and others, and explore issues with identity, intimacy and being ‘seen’. Vocal psychotherapy is a trauma-focussed treatment which offers the client a safe space to explore painful memories and opportunities to repair psychological wounds.

Neurologic Music Therapy – Neurologic Music Therapy ® (NMT) is an evidence-based treatment system that uses standardized, research-based techniques to treat the brain using specific elements of music such as rhythm, melody, dynamics, tempo, etc. The Neurologic Music Therapist is a stimulus specialist who is trained in the neuroscience of music perception, music production/creation, and music cognition. The Neurologic Music Therapist uses standardised techniques to address non-musical goals such as speech, physical movement, cognition, and other functional abilities. The therapist focuses on the music as therapy, emphasizing specific elements of music in the construction of therapeutic exercises as research so indicates, to optimise function and/or reroute neuropathways to achieve functionality.

Research has shown that rhythm and music are able to prime motor, cognition, and speech and does so at a subconscious level. Music can be used to help build new connections in the brain (called neuropathways) thus improving brain function and allowing one to lead a more productive and functional life.