Columbus Exchange Club hosts MUW Director of Music Therapy Carmen Osburn

COLUMBUS, MS – The Exchange Club hosted MUW Director of Music Therapy Carmen Osburn at Lion Hills in Columbus.

Osburn presented her program to club members, some of the courses involved, and demonstrated music therapy through hands on activities. Music therapy is an allied health profession which offers different types of music based on a client’s preference that could range from rock to lullabies, to classical music.

“Music therapy is a modality that can reach most people,” said Osburn. “We are created to be musical creatures as humans. And we encounter music every day of our lives, even when we’re not aware of it. And so, music reaches us at a deep level in our soul. We do a lot of songwriting, we do a lot of improvisation, just making music up in the moment, playing instruments, singing familiar songs, listening to music.”

The program has been around as a major at the university since 2002, as the w is the only school in the state to offer the program as a degree. Students in the concentration have the opportunity to go out in the community and work in a variety of environments.

“Our students go out in the community and work as student therapists in a variety of settings in the schools,” said Osburn. “In nursing homes, in medical settings, and mental health settings, and so we provide those services to a variety of clientele.”

There’s also a music therapy clinic on campus that’s attached to Cromwell Communication Center.