Plainsong Music Services treats wide variety of health conditions – The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON Two years ago, narrowed airways prevented Garret Imel from being able to breathe.

But after music therapy to build up the stamina of his diaphragm, Garret, 10, is ready to break into song and will perform the national anthem at an open house for Plainsong Music Services new facility.

When he first started singing, he couldnt even sing a sentence in a song, said his mother, Heather Imel. Now he is able to sing almost a whole song if he has to because he has better breath support.

She said music therapy also has helped Garret, who will be entering the fifth grade at Anderson Intermediate School in the fall, develop his fine motor skills. Garret has cerebral palsy that requires him to use a wheelchair, so building up his stamina also was important to his mobility.

When we found out about it, we jumped right on it because we knew this would benefit from it, his mother said. He has always had a love of music and instruments. He likes to make up songs. He has a huge imagination, so making up his own music and putting it together really works for him.

In addition, Imel said, music therapy has built up Garrets self-esteem. Hes not at all nervous about his performance Friday, she said.

Even though he is in the wheelchair he is not afraid to get up in front of others, she said. He has sung in front of 500 people before and didnt blink an eye.

Anderson native Kirby Gilliam, who established Plainsong, said many people mistakenly believe that music therapy is effective only for mental health. However, she said, it can have amazing effects on medical conditions, such as using rhythm to help those who have Parkinsons disease improve their ability to walk or to connect parts of the brain in stroke victims who are unable to use a side of their bodies.

We do so much more than talk about our feelings, she said. Simply put, music therapy is the use of music to achieve non-musical goals. Music is our tool, but we are therapists first.

Though she started her career as a music educator at Holy Cross School and Madison-Grant Unified School Corp., Gilliam, 33, entered St. Mary of the Woods College in Terre Haute to study music therapy because of the large number of students who came to her with personal problems.

Music teachers tend to build a rapport with kids because there are so many extracurricular activities like show choir after school and on weekends, she said. It made sense that kids were coming to me at the time, but I didnt feel comfortable talking to kids about things like teenage pregnancy. Now I feel comfortable answering questions like, Im autistic and dont feel comfortable making choices. I feel great about that.

In the five years since she established Madison Countys only music therapy clinic, Plainsongs clientele has grown to about 200 people of all ages serviced by a team of five music therapists.

Music therapy takes place in a variety of ways, including singing, playing instruments, lyric analysis or composition, Gilliam said. The clients have so much fun, they often dont even think of themselves as working on a specific problem, she added.

Music is one of those areas where you dont have to verbalize your feelings, she said.

Though music therapy is a relatively new discipline, its backed by science, Gilliam said.

Theres so much evidence-based research, she said. There is a method to everything we do. It looks like magic, but there is a method to everything we do.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the therapy has taken place through telehealth, Gilliam said. That has proven successful for some clients and may continue for them.

Alli Greear was in nursing school when she heard about the field of music therapy from a friend and shifted her major midway through her studies.

It melds for me two of my favorite things, people and music, she said. It ended up being the perfect career for me.

A vocalist who had done theater and opera programs in school, Greears music therapy education required her to add knowledge of piano, guitar and drums.

Still having the nursing background also gives her special insight into the medical needs of the clients, she said.

All of the medical things I learned through that program have definitely been relevant to my music therapy degree, she said.

For some, Greear said, music therapy can be nearly as powerful as treatments or surgery.

Music is such an incredible avenue to reach goals that otherwise may be intimidating, she said.

Follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at @RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.

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Plainsong Music Services treats wide variety of health conditions - The Herald Bulletin