Raukatauri’s 12 Registered Music Therapists root their clinical practice in the humanistic model of music therapy, which recognizes each individual’s uniqueness and worth. Our mission is to offer a quality, accessible music therapy service to all people, whatever their needs. Our vision is to enrich and develop lives through music.
Now in our 17th year, we continue to operate New Zealand’s only music therapy centres. Services are managed and delivered through the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre in Grafton, a beautiful new facility which opened to clients on 2 June 2020. As demand for music therapy services has grown, the Trust has expanded across Auckland and currently operates five satellites in the region as well as delivering outreach programmes in partnership with over 20 schools and organisations, allowing children and adults to receive music therapy directly in their classrooms, group homes, hospital rooms and rehabilitation units. These outreach programmes are run in collaboration with organisations such as Starship, Central Auckland Specialist School and The Selwyn Foundation. In June 2018, we launched our first Regional Centre in Hawke’s Bay, followed by the opening of the Northland Regional Centre in March 2019.
We work with approximately 500 clients per week, ranging in age from two to 98 years old. Our clients have a range of special needs, including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum and other developmental disorders, genetic disorders such as down syndrome, complex medical conditions, traumatic brain injuries, mental health disorders, bereavement, dementia, exposure to family violence and neglect, and poor community engagement due to socioeconomic challenges. Due to their physical, cognitive and behavioural challenges, the vast majority of our clients cannot participate in community activities such as sport, music lessons, drama and art. Music therapy provides them with the chance to express themselves, develop independence, engage with their community, and develop meaningful relationships. Furthermore, the benefits of the work we do positively impact our clients’ whanau and the wider communities in which they live.
Raukatauri’s commitment to the well-being of each clients’ whanau was never more apparent than in the Trust’s immediate and thorough response to Covid-19. As soon as the move to Level 3 was announced we began planning our on-line service provision and had our digital services fully operating on 1 April. During the lockdown period we provided approximately 220 completely free therapeutic music sessions to over 200 families via our Raukatauri QuaranTunes programme, we continued to provide individual and group music therapy sessions via Zoom to almost 120 clients each week and distributed individualised session videos to over 150 clients via our outreach programmes. At a particularly difficult and challenging time for the families who we serve, Raukatauri brought normalcy, stimulation and aroha directly to their homes, and continued to change lives through music.
These life-changing services would not be possible without the generous and consistent support of the Joyce Fisher Charitable Trust who each year support the salary of one of our amazing Registered Music Therapists.