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The Loudoun Impact Fund recently awarded $118,000 in grants to 18 nonprofit organizations serving Loudoun County. This year’s grant awards were made possible through the generosity of 64 individuals and businesses that pooled charitable gifts. $8,000 to A Place To Be to support skills training and personal development to prepare young adults with disabilities for…

Finding the community at A Place to Be in Leesburg has provided 6-year-old Sammy Hess with a place where he can truly shine, according to his mother, Dani Hess. Dani Hess said her son was diagnosed about one year ago with autism and ADHD. While he participates in several different extracurricular activities, A Place to…

A Place To Be has long been using music therapy to create a sense of community and belonging for Loudoun residents. This year, its marking a new milestone in its 10-year partnership with Loudoun County Public Schools with the launch of “A Place to Be Me” play that will be performed all semester and be…

“As someone who has been involved with the special needs community their whole life, I noticed something unique about A Place To Be. There’s a really big sense of belonging there. The atmosphere made me feel accepted and welcomed, and I didn’t have to worry about doing something silly–you could wave your arms around to…

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/music-therapy-music-musings/202407/aesthetics-when-you-feel-the-power-of-the-art?fbclid=IwY2xjawIF_i9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfdWuVcvBOu9e6CoVltWnbdL2yUXcZX-W95UB12v7PLyY9LLxoQVaCn5kA_aem_UFux_jzkqI1FMPkbDypvjg

More and more, music therapy (and all the creative arts therapies) is being recognized and utilized by medical teams as a means of helping their patients, particularly in dealing with anxiety and stress, as well as pain perception, and coping with hospitalization. “Music therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within…

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/music-therapy-music-musings/202405/the-healing-power-of-beauty-and-music?fbclid=IwY2xjawIF_XxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHc-jUpMG2gSSHOSh4tJYnu1VOh1SycpWFVaDO1E_zvJw2a7zVqBJGd0Tiw_aem_i46VVrsKAepvNZE9jbEhPw

At one of the hospitals where I work as a music therapist, I recently had a referral to visit with a young man, in his 30s, who was in a coma and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU). He recently had some sort of cardiac event. When I arrived at the room,…

As Easter approaches, a small group at one of Leesburg’s non-profit organizations has been gathering for the last month in preparation for the spring opening of “The Grumpy Bunny” play, set to premiere Friday, March 15.  “The Grumpy Bunny” tells the story of a grumpy Easter egg thief and a quest led by a good-natured…

It’s a story about finding the right key to unlock a new method of healing and recovery. In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax took a trip to Loudoun County, Virginia, to find out more about a new technique in medicine: Music therapy. Eight years ago, nurses at Inova Loudoun Hospital in…