Music therapy has been available to a number of students at Penhurst School over the past four years.  The focus of the therapy is on enabling students to explore and expand their potential on all sorts of levels - by developing their creative and communicative powers, their concentration, confidence, and awareness of themselves and others, and through the exploration of difficulties in all these areas,  Using mainly the medium of improvisd music, experiences can be shared and emotinal issues or difficulties can be expressed and explored without relying on words.  Psychological and emotional developmental stages that may, for a variety of reasons, have been under-developed they can be re-visited and explored.  The ways in which students express themselves in music can also provide important clues as to how he or she feels about, and relates to, the world.

Music therapy has developed from the premise that human beings can remain responsive to music, regardless of impairement, illness or disability.  The therapist responds to and supports any form of expression from the client - their music, vocal sounds, silences, physical movements, facial expressions, words.  The development of a trusting relationship between client and therapist is at the heart of the therapy, and for this reason it is important the confidentiality is maintained, that sessions are not observed or interrupted, and that they take place at the same time each week.  The work is client-led, and free from specific expectations or goals so that the process can unfold and issues can arise in their own time.  It is important to note that the intention of the work is therapeutic rather than educational or recreational.

Funding for music therapy at Penhurst School varies according to the circumstances of each student who has been referred.