Unlocking potential
Using the power of music, the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre unlocks the potential of young people with a range of special needs.
From the 2010 Annual Report
The Auckland-based centre employs five music therapists who work with about 100 clients each week, including outreach programmes in several Auckland schools.
The therapists, all skilled musicians as well as having postgraduate qualifications in music therapy, use a wide range of instruments and voice to encourage young people to make music too - to sing, move or dance in whatever way they can manage.
The therapy focuses on the client's strengths, helping reduce isolation, develop skills that can be transferred to other aspects of life and creating new possibilities for participation in the world.
Supporting those with physical, intellectual, behavioural, developmental, and emotional issues, music therapy helps with conditions such as autism, learning disabilities, communication disorders, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.
Centre Director Anne Bailey says the young people make huge gains, improving motor skills and speech, self-confidence and self-awareness, strengthening social skills, while improving memory, behaviour, and concentration.
The centre shows strong alignment with ASB Community Trust’s health sector strategy - to support and strengthen community organisations that improve health outcomes by focusing on health promotion and preventative projects.