Young people to benefit after new music therapy grant awarded | News

Young people to benefit after new music therapy grant awarded

Perfect pitch: Alex Gordon, Interim Manager of CPFT’s Head to Toe charity with Valentini Toumpari, Music Therapist at the Trust. 

An exciting music therapy project which will culminate in a special concert has been awarded £24,000 of funding.

The money has been given to Head To Toe, the charity of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, by Youth Music, a national charity investing in music-making projects.

It will mean specialist staff will be able to offer music therapy to children and young people in the community who are already receiving -  or about to receive -  support with mental health or physical health conditions.

While music therapy, which has been proven to benefit a range of skills including communication, self-confidence, and concentration, is already available at the Trust’s inpatient wards, this will be the first time it will be offered to patients who receive support in their own homes or at community clinics.

Kimberley Lyemere, Arts Therapies Professional Lead at CPFT, said: “We are absolutely delighted. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time because we know how much patients will benefit from an initiative like this. 

“Head To Toe has been instrumental in sharing this vision and applied for the grant from Youth Music. Now to have been given the funding is a truly wonderful moment.

“We know how beneficial music therapy can be in providing a space for self-expression and non-verbal communication and improve wellbeing. We have so many plans including starting choir sessions and a concert – and we cannot wait to start making music with our patients and their families.”

It is hoped that more than 100 children and young people who are supported by CPFT’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) teams, and the Child Development Centre – which treats young people with developmental concerns and disabilities – will take part in the project.

Alex Gordon, Interim Manager of Head to Toe, said: “We are very proud to have supported this project, and help the arts therapies team expand their work to more young people across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“As the charity of CPFT we are always looking for opportunities to improve the wellbeing and support that can be offered to patients, their families, carers and to Trust staff.”

To find out more about Head To Toe and details about how to support fundraising events and donate visit https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/about-head-to-toe/

CPFT, which employs 4,500 staff and provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long term conditions, mental health services, children community services in Peterborough and learning disability services. The trust is also renowned for its research and development work.

ENDS

About Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) is a health and social care organisation, providing integrated community, mental health and learning disability services, across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and children’s community services in Peterborough. We support a population of just under a million people and employ nearly 4,500 staff. Our largest bases are at the Cavell Centre, Peterborough, and Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge, but our staff are based in over 90 locations. We are a University of Cambridge Teaching Trust and member of Cambridge University Health Partners, working together with the University of Cambridge Clinical School.

For more information contact:

Alex Gordon

Interim Manager of Head to Toe

alex.gordon@cpft.nhs.uk

or

Harriet Little

Media and Communications Officer

E harriet.little@cpft.nhs.uk 

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