Kia ora and welcome to the first newsletter of 2022. We have lots to share with you! Read about our latest news and updates below.
First catch up of the year
Farewell to our lovely administrator Eline who has been an incredible asset to the organisation side of the business with the constant changes in 2021.
The team meet our new office manager Natalie.
We also had some yummy food, a catch up and made a plan for 2022 with all the changes this year will bring. We feel inspired and equipped with the tools to provide therapy to our clients in a variety of ways for the many situations that will face us this year. We can see you at the clinic, at home or on Telehealth/zoom. We have the WILL and will find a way to stay connected to you. Any questions moving forward email your therapist or Info@smt.nz- we are here to help.
What We’re Up To
Last week we were up bright and early with the birds singing our way through the site visit at Braintree Wellness Centre.
This is a dedicated community for brain health and well-being.
Having worked with people with neurological conditions for 10 years, we are so excited to be apart of this fantastic concept, and to see our little music therapy space come to life.
If you would like to know more, or help with sponsorship for this project please contact us here.
Southern Music Therapy Portal
Our online members portal is available from the 1st of March 2022. This service is $20 per year for SMT clients.The portal is a place where you can discover practice videos to enhance your therapy, as well as past concerts, plus many more. Please note this subscription will automatically be charged to SMT members invoices at the end of February 2022. Please let us know if you would like to opt out. This is also available to non SMT Clients at a cost of $80 per year.
Zoom / Telehealth
All our staff are trained and equipped to offer online sessions. Many of our clients continued with therapy online this year after last years lock downs. We are so proud of how well everyone managed. We take groups and individuals. Megan, below, is also able to work with people outside of the Canterbury region. "We have been so surprised at how well it works, it's like she is in the room with us" Principal of special school.
Megan Spragg
Megan Spragg is our specialist in Telehealth Music Therapy. She is a registered music therapist. Trained in New Zealand and based in Melbourne. Megan is working with our remote clients in the Selwyn District and Timaru, she has worked in special education settings for over 20 years. She has a passion for working with clients with physical disabilities and complex high health needs and has recently created a resource called we can play, suitable for home use and educational settings.
If you have any instruments that are in great condition and no longer being put to good use please get in touch with us, we are currently looking for instruments to fill our clinic spaces.
A massive thank you to Shona and David from the Richmond Stroke Foundation for the donation of our portable piano. We are so grateful, it’s perfect for the work we do, it gives so much to us and also for our clients.
https://www.stroke.org.nz/stroke-clubs
SMT Changes 2022
It is 2022 and we have an exciting announcement to make. We are now employing many of our therapists as staff members so that we can improve the services that we offer and provide more stability for our therapists and clients. What this means for you: We are investing in our clients, by adapting our business model to reflect what the needs are. We are always striving to build a resilient business, to provide a quality music therapy service where we aim to provide client-centered, collaborative and sustainable music therapy practices.This does mean that there are more overheads on the business, which means that we have a few things we need to tighten up on.
We will be enforcing our cancellation policy if we are not provided with sufficient notice.
There will be an additional charge if the invoices are not paid on time.
There is a small increase in the price of therapy.
Thank you so much, we know that you will understand that this is really important to provide a sustainable therapy practice.
