How Have National Research Funding Cuts Impacted Music Therapists

HOST INTRO

President Trump’s new immigration policies have created pressure and fear in New York City’s migrant communities. Zijie Yang looks at one group trying to help despite facing pressure and fears of their own: music therapists.

(Music clip#2 plays)

ZIJIE, 1 BYLINE

Tracy Wang is playing a black Boston piano at the center of the room. Usually, she has a small audience. Children sitting on white plastic chairs. Or patients in wheelchairs. The kind of music she plays for them is soft, lively, impromptu. Wang is a music therapy student at New York Presbyterian-Milstein.

WANG 1

The role combines what a social worker does and what a…uh…psychology person does. The job is to heal people, to provide well-being for them. 

ZIJIE 2

Wang says her role combines what a social worker and a psychologist does. Her job is to heal people and provide well-being for them, using music they are familiar with.

New York City has more than 3 million foreign-born residents. More than 200 languages are spoken here, but music can be a way to communicate across language barriers.

SCHWARZ 1

And I see again and again and again how it’s often the music therapists who brings in the music first that creates the opportunity for trust because they bring in music that is known and comfortable for a person of a different community. Particularly our refugees. 

ZIJIE 3

Elizabeth Schwartz is a professor of music therapy at Molloy University, on Long Island. 

SCHWARTZ 2

It is important to recognize that we can’t look at migrant communities, immigrant communities, and multicultural communities as one big group. And to really respect all of the different cultures that come into the New York City Area. And recognize that we can bring people together through music.

ZIJIE 4But, now, music therapy is under threat. The Trump administration’s actions in recent weeks, including freezing federal health funds from the National Institute of Health and potential future cuts to Medicaid mean accessibility to therapy could be greatly reduced. Dannyele Crawford is a music therapist at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. She works with Latin communities, Black and brown communities, neurodivergent communities, and under-resourced communities.  

CRAWFORD 1

My advocacy for these communities has been heightened, and my need to care for the communities that I work with has definitely heightened much more.

ZIJIE 5

So Crawford is educating herself.

CRAWFORD 2

So me just knowing the rights of my clients, knowing what rights I have as their therapist, and being able to advocate for my clients and protect them in the best way that I can.

ZIJIE 6

Crawford says picking music is particular to individual patients.

CRAWFORD 3

It really depends on the music that influences the person, that the individual grew up with, or that is important to their lives or lifestyle, music that helped them through life, or music that they find interesting. I really adapt and adjust to the needs and wants of my clients.

ZIJIE 7

As for music therapist Elizabeth Schwartz, she’ll be teaching today. But she’ll also be hitting the phones. She says she calls her legislator’s office every day, trying to make sure Medicaid funding isn’t cut and music therapy continues. Zijie Yang, Columbia Radio News.