MUSIC THERAPY
Our Mission
Our mission is to meet the comprehensive needs of those who are differently-abled due to neurological disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, physical limitations, hearing impairments, and more, with geriatric, hospice, or palliative needs, with mental health challenges such as eating disorders, addictions, trauma, anxiety, depression, and more.
What is Music Therapy
According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy is “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program” (AMTA, 2016).
Furthermore, music therapy is defined as an allied health profession that fuses music, neurology, and applied behavior sciences to dynamically use music as therapy. Music therapists are trained to assess an individual’s needs and strengths and foster clinical progress or growth in all applicable human health domains such as cognition, communication, sensorimotor, physical, psycho-emotional, social, and spiritual and to assist an individual in general progress in everyday life. Music therapists (“MT-BC”) are trained to safely harness the neurological, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual impact of music based therapy on multicultural demographics, strengths, and needs. It is important to note that although music can be utilized to supplement other clinical disciplines such as counseling, social work, or medicine (ex: hospital musicians, iPod programs, etc.), actual music therapy is a separate field explicitly facilitated by a credentialed and experienced clinician. No music experience or skill is required to receive music therapy.
Client Reviews
Music Therapists
Jay Koseki
Melinda Korte
Patricia Blair
Jay Koseki
Jay Koseki teaches the Music Therapy class at Kapiolani Community College and the Guitar and Hawaiian Ensembles at Punahou School and has been a practicing Music Therapist since 2008.
Jay has received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from Chapman University, he is a board certified music therapist (MT-BC) and has also received a Master of Music in Guitar Performance from Arizona State University. He has been a practicing therapist from 2013-2016 at Kapi’olani Women and Children’s Medical Center providing music therapy to children in the pediatric oncology unit and bedside therapy in the pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric ambulatory unit as well as at the Special Education Center of Oʻahu from 2013-2019 where he provided group music therapy for adult clients with special needs and created and implemented a music therapy program to address clients’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical goals.
Melinda Korte
Melinda Korte has been practicing music therapy in Hawai’i since 2018.
She received a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from Marywood University in 2013 and a Master of Science in Music Therapy from Radford University in 2018. Melinda is a board certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) as well as a Level III Trainee of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music; a music psychotherapy strategy practiced around the world. Melinda has completed a clinical internship at the Center for Neurological and Neuro-developmental Health in Voorhees Township in New Jersey. As both an intern and full time music therapist at this outpatient interdisciplinary facility, Melinda provided a wide array of clinical needs and worked with healthcare and educational professionals of many different backgrounds. She also worked as a Director of Quality of Life for a geriatric facility and Music Therapy Clinical Supervisor for both undergraduate and masters level students. Melinda uses many strategies such as but not limited to therapeutic voicework, mindfulness, songwriting and production, structured imagery work, music improvisation, movement, adapted music lessons, and nature-based experiences to foster healing for her clients. In addition to her clinical work, Melinda is also passionate about and experienced in education and music therapy advocacy.
Patricia Blair
Patricia Blair earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy from Arizona State University in 2010, and completed her music therapy internship at the Center for Creative Therapeutic Arts in Las Vegas.
She has been practicing music therapy professionally in Hawaii since 2011 and has worked with a variety of ages and client populations in her private practice, HI Notes Music Therapy. Patricia has also obtained post-baccalaureate education in Communication Sciences and Disorders through the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. She plays the clarinet, guitar, ukulele, and piano. When she is not making music, Patricia enjoys hiking, running, and dancing hula.
