Our Approach
In music therapy, board-certified music therapists utilize music/music elements (ex. rhythm, melody, etc.), to help clients achieve therapy goals.
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is a great example of how music therapy is useful. Giffords was unable to speak after suffering a TBI in the area of the brain that controls speech. However, she could still sing words because music engages multiple brain areas. Giffords worked with a Neurologic Music Therapist to therapeutically use singing to relearn how to speak.
By the way, Giffords received neurologic music therapy here, in Houston, at TIRR in Memorial Hermann Medical Center!
Why choose music therapy?
About Music Therapy
When words fail, music speaks, and when you're experiencing pain, distress, or disconnection, sometimes there are no words.
That's where music therapy comes in.
Does your teen close off to difficult conversations? Your child shut down or get upset when you try to help them? Your toddler have meltdowns over things that seem small?
I've seen it all, which is why I know music therapy is a powerful tool to break through to your child and get them the help they need.
It comes down to this:
Music therapy gives words to kids and teens struggling to get across what's going on with them.
Ever heard or sang along to a song that felt like it could've been written about your life? In music therapy, we move this experience into an individualized, processing space to help your child reflect on and understand their emotions through clinical interventions such as song discussions, instrument playing, and songwriting.
Music therapy provides a safe, nonjudgmental space.
Healing comes in all forms, and so does music. Is your child quiet, preferring to listen more and talk less? Or maybe once they start, they don't stop? Something in-between?
In music therapy, we adapt each experience to match your child's personality and preferences so that they feel safe to be who they are.
Music therapy experiences such as instrument playing provide quieter kids a nonjudgmental space to musically express their emotions without feeling the pressure to talk about it. Experiences like lyric discussions give more extroverted kids the opportunity to freely share their thoughts and experiences.
Music therapy helps all ages (yes, even the really little ones!).
Thanks to my clinical experiences at pediatric hospitals, I've helped toddlers (and even infants!) calm down during stressful experiences. I've worked with toddlers and young children experiencing frustration and fear towards the many changes in their life learn to safely express themselves. And I've supported elementary-aged kids all the way to young adults in their healing journeys.
There's no minimum age to start building resilience, coping skills, and healthy emotional interactions, and music therapy is a specialized modality to help your little ones start this journey of growth and guide your older ones as they navigate stress, mental health, and life's obstacles.
Your child's experience in music therapy will be unique to their needs and preferences, but here are some other examples of music therapy from my work experience:
Mental health examples:
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A 6-year-old learning coping skills for anxiety by working with music therapist to practice coping skills through personalized therapeutic songs.
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Pre-teens and teenagers with mental health needs using rhythm, dynamics, and other musical functions to represent, identify, and cope with different emotions.
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Teenager with an eating disorder working with music therapist to build confidence and positive coping skills to manage stressors through therapeutic instrument learning.
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Pre-teen with an eating disorder working with music therapist to build positive self-concept and self-awareness through therapeutic music improvisation and discussion.
Developmental examples:
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A 6-year-old with developmental disabilities strengthening impulse control through music therapy games.
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An 8-year-old identifying letters and numbers through interactive therapeutic song and instrument playing.
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Maintaining focus and engagement of a toddler with multiple developmental disabilities through therapeutic instrument playing and singing.
At Melody Turned Therapy LLC, we believe that every person has the ability and right to reach their full potential - a tenet of the humanistic approach to therapy. Specifically, through humanistic music therapy, we believe that:
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All clients are whole and have a right to dignity and respect regardless of status or circumstance.
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Music is a way for clients to exercise their individual choice and independence, allowing clients and therapists to work together to address therapy goals.
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Through music therapy, the client and therapist work together to support the client in reaching their full potential (self-actualization).
We also utilize Neurologic Music Therapy® (NMT™). Neurologic research shows that music increases the brain’s ability to make new connections (known as neuroplasticity) and strengthen older connections while also engaging multiple areas of the brain. NMT™ uses music as therapy to engage brain areas and neuroplasticity in order to achieve therapy goals. To become a Neurologic Music Therapist, music therapists must successfully complete 36 hours of advanced training and exam.
At Melody Turned Therapy LLC, our priority is to meet clients where they are at. We use a humanistic approach to music therapy meaning we believe that every person has the ability to reach their full potential. Specifically, we believe that:
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All clients are whole and have a right to dignity and respect regardless of status or circumstance.
-
Music is a way for clients to exercise their individual choice and independence, allowing clients and therapists to work together to address therapy goals.
-
Through music therapy, the client and therapist work together to support the client in reaching their full potential (self-actualization).
With advanced training in Neurologic Music Therapy, we also use a neuroscience-based framework by engaging the brain's ability to make new connections (neuroplasticity) and strengthen older connections through music to achieve goals such as processing, learning, and growing.
Humanism & Neurologic Music Therapy
Cela Patras, MA, MT-BC, NMT
Cela is a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC), meaning she completed a degree in music therapy (MT), 1200 clinical training hours (including a 6 month clinical internship), and passed a national board exam. She is also a Neurologic Music Therapist (NMT) after successfully completing 36 hours of advanced training and exam. As an NMT, Cela can utilize 20 unique MT techniques that draw from music neuroscience to address MT goals.
As a recent alumni from Vanderbilt University's graduate school, Cela looked into how MT can help people with eating disorders (EDs) build identity and help music therapists facilitate empathy towards their client with ED(s). She also analyzed the experiences of sexual assault (SA) survivors in disclosing their assault history to healthcare providers (HCPs) to identify the kinds of injustices survivors may face when disbelieved or otherwise invalidated by HCPs.
Cela has a wide experience of working with infants, children, teenagers, and young adults with various diagnoses including depression, anxiety, EDs, developmental delays and disorders, physical rehab needs, cancer, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, stroke, and more. She worked with pediatric patients with these diagnoses during her two music therapy internships at pediatric hospitals - Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas and Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
She also has a well-rounded viewpoint on health, wellness, and care thanks to her three undergraduate degrees from Southern Methodist University. Cela triple majored in Music Therapy (BM), Biology (BA), and Health & Society (BS) with a Neuroscience minor. Her BA and BS provide a biological and socio-cultural understanding of how music therapy can help others.
Cela is a big fan of Radiohead, Nick Drake, Arctic Monkeys, Townes van Zandt, and Fiona Apple. Proficient in piano and guitar, her primary instrument is double bass. She has two sweet dogs: a dachshund-lab mix and a German shepherd.
Meet Your Music Therapist
Education and Training
Master's Degree | Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN | 2023-2025
Master of Arts, Medicine, Health, & Society
- Addressed how MT can help people with EDs build identity and help music therapists empathize with their client with ED(s)
- Analyzed the kinds of injustices SA survivors may experience when an HCP disbelieves or invalidates a survivor's assault
Internship | Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR | Jan-July 2023
- In partial completion of required 6 month music therapy internship to fulfill 1200 clinical training hours
- Patients with EDs: supported patients to decrease post-meal stress and increase coping and emotional expression; ages 11-19
- Patients with mental health needs: supported patients to emotionally process and express medical experience through songwriting, lyric analysis, and instrument playing; ages 2-18
- Patients with physical and developmental needs: worked with patients 1:1 and with physical and occupational therapists to support patients in physical and developmental rehabilitation goals; ages 4 months-14 years
Internship | Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX | Sept-Nov 2022
- In partial completion of required 6 month music therapy internship to fulfill 1200 clinical training hours
- Patients with mental health needs: supported children, pre-teens, and teens with psychiatric needs in processing/expressing emotions, building coping skills, working on communication skills, and having positive social interactions through group therapy; ages 4-18
- Patients with physical and developmental needs: supported patients by using music therapy to decrease pain perception and stress, and increase participation in therapy and progress towards developmental goals; 4 months-14 years
Bachelor's Degrees | Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX | 2018-2022
Bachelor of Music, Music Therapy
Bachelor of Art, Biology
Bachelor of Science, Health & Society
Neuroscience Minor
Certifications
Board-Certified Music Therapist
Certification provided by the
Certification Board for Music Therapists
Certification Number: 18435
Neurologic Music Therapist
Certification provided by the
The Academy for Neurologic Music Therapy
Certification Number: 7059
Certifications
CPR and BLS Certification
Certification provided by
American Red Cross Training Services
Certificate ID: 0205CO2
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