Hello hello everyone, and thanks for stopping by my website and blog. I'm Maryrose and the owner and founder of Song & Story Creative Therapies. If you're reading this blog we have officially launched and are actively receiving client and contract referrals! I figured I'd take advantage of this blog to introduce myself, Song & Story, and what it's all about.
A Bit About Maryrose!
I am board-certified music therapist and certified birth doula currently living in Clayton (near Raleigh), NC. I went to undergrad for music therapy at Eastern Michigan University. I took some time between my coursework and music therapy internship to train as a birth and postpartum doula. Then, I moved to New Jersey to complete my six month internship at a specialized residential facility for individuals with medically complex disabilities. I passed my board-certification exam weeks before the world shut down for the Covid pandemic, and found myself adapting music therapy to the virtual space and continued to attend births in person in birth centers. After working in public schools for a year, I am so excited to integrate my passions for all things birth-adjacent, mental health, celebrating autistic and neurodiverse identities, and music/creative arts therapy.
What I love about this work is the unique opportunities for connection, healing, growth, and creativity that is offered. There are a lot of therapies that focus on behaviors or structured interventions, and similarly, many that are focused on talking. All of these things are good and well, but I am interested in the shared human experience, in holding space for creative exploration, to tell their own stories, and come away with deeper insight. I love the freedom that creating my own practice offers me, and I am looking forward to collaborating within the community as well with individuals across the lifespan. As I finish my masters degree in music therapy and mental health counseling (online) from Slippery Rock University, I am looking forward to the ways those credentials will afford me opportunities to collaborate as well. I have also completed 27 hours of training in perinatal mental health from Postpartum Support International, and feel that this training (among my other trainings) has equipped me to come alongside folks in the perinatal umbrella - from planning for a child, to pregnancy, labor, and postpartum into parenthood. This is my greatest passion.
A Bit About Song & Story!
So that's a bit about me - stay tuned for more blogposts and some social media action. I've been holding the idea of "Song & Story" in my head for over a year, because it encompasses what I believe is beautiful and possible within music therapy and the therapeutic relationship (between client, therapist, and music which is really a co-therapist!). I think that people are eager to tell their stories and that this ancient, human practice not only connects us with others in community, but offers us deeper insight into ourselves. Therapy of all kinds especially the way I practice music therapy, brings this "storying" into the forefront. Sometimes these stories are told through words, sometimes these words are accessed and elevated in music-making, and sometimes the stories are told in music... hence Song & Story. If you're interested in reading more about how I approach therapy in the About Maryrose section on my site. I made the byline of the practice "Creative Therapies because eventually I'll be a licensed mental health counselor and I will offer talk therapy in addition to music therapy. I also like the term creative therapies because I often incorporate visual art into sessions.
Right now, I'm intending to work primarily in-home or on-site and via tele-therapy, but I am willing to work with people in my home office in Clayton as well for now. Down the road, I intend to open an office space as the funds allow.
How Can I Help?
How kind of you to ask! One huge help is spreading the word! Tell your friends and family and share this blog or my social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. I am one of the only music therapists in the country that works in perinatal mental health contexts and I'll work online with anyone across the States!
Another beautiful way you can help is by helping me clear my wishlist... instruments and books are expensive, and it's hard to fund those in addition to the many startup costs that have gone into Song & Story. So, if you find yourself feeling generous, there are a variety of things of various price ranges that I'd be super grateful for. <3
So that's Song & Story! Stay tuned for more blog posts and lots of exciting things on Instagram and Facebook!
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