John Alex Nunnery
Editor
Students majoring in Music Therapy are finally almost able to open their doors to groups for the first time in two years. Since the spring of 2020, the faculty of the Department of Music have been transitioning from Poindexter Hall to Cromwell Communications Center to host clinicals for their clients in a more open and confidential space.
By the time the move was complete and they began to open for a few test trials, disaster struck. The pandemic and the subsequent semester-long closure of Cromwell in Fall 2021 kept them from returning to the building to see groups of in-person clientele until now.
“We were very fortunate where we could use a virtual format for our clients, but some of them, based on diagnosis or just their general physical condition, were at a point where it was safe for them to meet in person following COVID restrictions,” said Amy Azwell, a Music Therapy Equivalence major at Mississippi University for Women. “With Cromwell, we are trying to create a space that is inviting for clients to come in and do their sessions, and where we have all the necessary materials we might need and in a space that has enough room for us to do whatever kind of movements activities we need or to host groups.”
While there have been opportunities to meet with people in person under the CDC guidelines, the students are also hoping that the building will offer more opportunities to reach out to the community. In the future, they plan to offer services that will work as a benefit to Columbus, as well allowing students to get in some fieldwork.
“We have more space to do like more group activities and bring people in from the community to do music therapy sessions. It’s just a better, greater, bigger facility for us to use,” said Payton Tanner, a second-year Music Therapy Equivalency student at The W. “Right now, it’s just open to clients who were already coming to get music therapy in the past years, but, in the future, we’re going to do music therapy groups and individuals in Columbus, so that means stuff like kinder music and music together.”
Though regular classes for Music are still held at Poindexter, Cromwell offers a bigger and more conductive space for clinicals. Faculty are just as excited by the opportunities that come with finally being able to move into Cromwell as the students.
“For confidentiality and security reasons, Poindexter really just wasn’t the right space for clients, but the clinic already set up at Cromwell in terms of the rooms and observation rooms makes it much easier to manage,” said Carmen Osburn, professor of Music and director of the Music Therapy program. “I think this move will make our program in general and the university more visible. There really are no music therapy clinics in Mississippi, at least not specifically for music therapy, so I think we could draw people from not just Columbus but other communities as well.”
For now, the clinic plans on opening for more public use once it is deemed safe to do so. It seems that time is coming near, and they are excited to dive deep into group work.
“When you’re working one-on-one, you are gonna target on cognitive or emotional needs, but the group dynamic allows you to focus on more social interaction,” said Dr. Jon Fessenden. “We want to give our students as wide a variety of experiences as possible, so that means working with children and adults, and I think the clinic has the possibility to really help with that.”
There are big hopes for the future of the program and what they believe it can accomplish. Though the program is small right now, the faculty remain optimistic that it will grow and continue to achieve success.
“I have lots of dreams of what I think would be great for the clinic itself. I would love to have an inclusive children’s choir that would involve neurotypical as well as neurodivergent children,” said Osburn. “Somewhere down the road, and this is a dream, I would love to be able to hire a music therapist to run the clinic as either a part-time faculty or as an independent contractor who could supervise students in working more. We have a ton of room for growth.”