Featured Music Therapy Program for JUNE

This month's featured facility is:

VALLEY MUSIC THERAPY
Decatur, AL.

Valley Music Therapy provides music therapy services for residents of Limestone and Morgan counties in northern Alabama. Founded in 2007 by Carla Durham, MT-BC, the agency began by taking over contracts from Carla’s former employer. Currently, Valley Music Therapy holds a sizeable contract with Hospice of the Valley to provide music therapy services for that agency’s clients in the two counties.

Valley Music Therapy employs one other music therapist, Duane Pickett, MT-BC. Together, they provide contract hospice services in a number of settings, including patient homes, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As part of her practice, Carla is a licensed Kindermusik and Musikgarten teacher who conducts early childhood music sessions in the Decatur, AL, area. In the past, Valley Music Therapy has provided services for diverse clients, including children with autism, developmentally-disabled adults, and adults with traumatic brain injury.

Carla’s diverse music therapy training and experience has prepared her well for serving as a private contractor. Her internship included work with psychiatric clients, medical patients, hospice clients and a Head Start program. She worked for three years with students with autism spectrum and other disorders in the Decatur AL city schools.

Plans for expansion are on the horizon for Valley Music Therapy. Carla and her family will be moving to Huntsville, AL, where she hopes to develop additional contracts serving children with autism, patients at a local pain clinic, and to begin Kindermusik services in the area. Her partner, Duane Pickett, is poised to develop contracts in Athens, AL, where he resides. Growth of the practice is still driven primarily by word-of-mouth, as more and more residents and agencies get word about music therapy and the company’s services.

Although there seems to be unlimited potential for growth of the company, the aspect of running her own business that Carla most appreciates is the control she has over its size and growth, allowing her meet needs both for income generation and time with family. She states, “I have always had enough work, and that work can be tailored to the schedule that I need for my children. There are plenty of changes and opportunities coming in the next few years. Music therapy has been a great fit for me!”