Bonnie Hayhurst, MT-BC
The Value Add of Virtual Music Therapy Services
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges to the field of music therapy, and small businesses were not exempt. Bonnie Hayhurst, a music therapist in private practice, shares how she convinced families to try out virtual sessions at least one time. One of her lines was, “Let us harnessing the power of music through a virtual format.” Offering individual, group, and little enrichment sessions, her team reached young children and their families in the comfort of their homes. Social engagement, learning, and development all happened in the virtual environment and demonstrated to caregivers that more is possible than anticipated. While there have been many roadblocks such as internet lag time during music making, the positives far outweighed the negatives. Hence, Bonnie predicts that virtual sessions will be the fallback for continuation of services and an asset to in-person services.
Resources:
- Devlin, K. (2020). Lights, camera, telehealth [Online Course]. https://www.musicforkiddos.com/store/lct
- Leavell, S. (2020, December 4). Music for kiddos [Symposium].https://www.musicforkiddos.com/store/music-for-kiddos-symposium
- The Groovy Garfoose Team. (2020, July 22). Telehealth music therapy activities [Blog post]. https://groovygarfoose.com/telehealth-music-therapy-activities/
- The Groovy Garfoose Team. (2020, June 18). Telehealth music therapy tools for success [Blog post]. https://groovygarfoose.com/telehealth-music-therapy-tools-for-success/
About the Interviewee:
Bonnie Hayhurst, MT-BC owner and clinical director at The Groovy Garfoose, serves as internship director and is an active blogger. During COVID-19, she kept her business afloat and pivoted by applying her technology skills and offering virtual services. She and her team documented their lessons learned in blog and social media posts.
Contact: bonnie@groovygarfoose.com
Suggested Citation:
Humpal, M. (2021, May 28). The value add of virtual music therapy services: An interview with Bonnie Hayhurst [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz