Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 8 18 R ain-soaked and laden with bags bearing stringed and percussion instruments, music therapist Kate Beever arrives for her next house call. Her client is a 67-year-old devel- opmentally disabled woman believed to be severely hearing and visually impaired. She lives in a supervised home with another female resident, two caretakers and a gray cat who likes perching on the kitchen counter. Like a small child welcoming a favorite relative, the woman pulls Beever by the hand to her room to fetch her ukulele before they're back in the kitchen for a strumming duet and some light dancing. Beever has been working with her for more than a year to improve movement and motor skills. "When I met her she was holding on to the sides of things in the house to move around, and the staff had trouble getting her out of bed in the mornings," Beever recalls. "She's super happy now." Beever later switches to a small acoustic guitar, demonstrating where to press the fingerboard or gently tap to sense the rhythm. A bit later, they tilt a bead-filled ocean drum back and forth to produce a gentle swish. Although the client can't express her- self verbally, she uses some sign lan- guage and gives a frequent thumbs-up — plus a hug when the hour is up. Beever, 34, is one of 13 board-certified music therapists in Maine — and 7,850 nationwide. It's a small but growing niche that added 73 new full-time jobs in 2013, including four in New England. Like other self-employed profes- sionals, Beever has a busy schedule, balancing client visits and other work across southern Maine while running and growing her business, Maine Music & Health LLC. So does Carla Tanguay in Mount Desert, who works with cli- ents in homes, schools and facilities in Hancock and Penobscot counties. Both have been at the forefront of advocating on the profession's behalf, including efforts to eventually get MaineCare reimbursement, and increasing awareness among the public. Both were youngsters when they first heard about music therapy, Beever when writing a ninth-grade research paper about teaching music to blind children and Tanguay during a high- school science project. "I knew right away that was what I wanted to pursue," Tanguay says. Origins and healing powers Music has been used to heal since ancient times and was used after the world wars to help veterans suffering from physical and emotional trauma. e first college training programs were created in the 1940s. Today there are 70 approved under- graduate and 30 graduate programs in the country, and a national Certification Board for Music erapists established P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R F O C U S Music as MEDICINE B y r e n e e c o r d e S Music therapy, a growing niche, heads towards a high-tech future Music therapist Kate Beever is one of 13 board-certified music therapists in Maine and 7,850 nationwide. When I met her she was holding on to the sides of things in the house to move around, and the staff had trouble getting her out of bed in the mornings. She's super happy now." — Kate Beever Maine Music & Health

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