CSUN Music Therapy Wellness Clinic
The Music Therapy Wellness Clinic provides individual and group music therapy services conducted by board certified music therapists on CSUN campus and facilities in the Los Angeles community. Our team of music therapists are dedicated to designing tailored therapeutic music experiences for individuals of all ages with neurodiverse and neurological diagnoses to develop, practice, and enhance functional life skills to carryout daily activities. With various areas of expertise, our music therapists use music listening, songwriting, instrumental improvisation and music playing techniques to create opportunities for individuals to express their creativity, enhance self-esteem, and make music.
The Music Therapy Wellness Clinic is also a teaching clinic that provides clinical training to music therapy students in the CSUN Music Therapy Program. Sessions at the clinic are available for student observation as well as co-facilitation under the supervision of the music therapists. Thus, the music therapists provide music therapy services and supervise an educational practicum experience for future music therapists.
What is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is the prescribed use of music for rehabilitating, maintaining, and improving the physical, cognitive, communication, social, and emotional skills in individuals of all ages and abilities. Music therapy, a creative arts therapy that is based on scientific principles as well as grounded in research.
Examples of the benefits of music therapy:
- Development of fine and gross motor skills
- Improvement in acquisition and application of academic fundamentals
- Development of practical life skills
- Increase in socialization
- Enhancement of self-esteem
- Expansion of the quality of life through musical enjoyment and creative self-expression
The Music Therapy Wellness Clinic provides individual and group sessions conducted by a highly trained and experienced Music Therapist. A variety of instruments are used, including piano, guitar, percussion, autoharp, recorder, electronic instruments, harmonica, and voice.
Music Groups Offered
The Music Therapy Wellness Clinic provides the following options for individuals to participate in music therapy groups; groups are offered on CSUN campus in Cypress Hall.
The Rising Star Choir
The Rising Star Choir is an adaptive and inclusive choral group for children aged 5 to 12 years old. Led by a board certified music therapist, the choir sings music of different styles as well as music written by the individual members and music written as a group. The group fosters an atmosphere of community, acceptance, and teamwork in which members can discover their voices and express themselves through music, which can increase their self-esteem. During weekly rehearsals, the music therapist focuses on increasing social skills and communication skills of members throughout the creative process. The Rising Star Choir has two performances yearly, one in December and the other in May. The Rising Star Music Fund provides tuition for all participants so that there is no cost to the family
The Asteroids Band
The Asteroids Band is an inclusive music group for teens and young adults led by a board certified music therapist to promote the use of music to express oneself. Through weekly creative music rehearsals, group members compose their own songs to create and play their own music on instruments. Members learn to play instruments such as the guitar, ukulele, or drums as well as virtual instruments. The Asteroids Band has two performances yearly, one in December and the other in May. The Rising Star Music Fund provides tuition for all participants so that there is no cost to the family.
The Sunshine Singers
The Sunshine Singers is an inclusive choir for adults with developmental disabilities. Led by a board certified music therapist, group members collaborate to choose familiar songs to learn, rehearse, and perform as a choir. During weekly rehearsals, the music therapist provides opportunities for members to practice social skills, executive functioning skills, and communication skills. All members are encouraged to share their voice to sing a solo, and when everyone’s voices sing together as a group, the Sunshine Singers shine. The Sunshine Singers has two performances yearly, one in December and the other in May.
Kids Summer Music (Summer Group)
The Kids Summer Music group is for children of all abilities. Led by a board certified music therapist, this group class includes musical experiences of singing, creative movement, musical games, music listening, and instrument playing to promote the development of communication, attention, and social skills in children.
Music Therapy Community Outreach Program
Through the community outreach program, our music therapists provide music therapy services to individuals at partner facilities in the Los Angeles area. These music therapy programs provide participants a positive environment with opportunities for music engagement and socialization while exploring and creating music together. The sessions are specifically designed by the music therapist to meet the needs of the participants. For example, using partner songs, simple harmonies, and some original tunes, we work with participants to increase self-expression, promote coping skills, and target goal setting skills, while also laying the foundation for making music with others.
We currently provide outreach services to patients at Huntington Hospital. We have previously partnered with Lokrantz Special Education Center, Dignity Health, Northridge Hospital, CHIME School, and Simi Valley Adventist Hospital. We have received grant funding from the Music Man Foundation, Remo Inc., and Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives to support our music therapy outreach programs.
The Music Therapy Wellness Clinic Team
Hilary Yip, Director
Hilary Yip, MM, MT-BC, is the Director of the Music Therapy Wellness Clinic as well as the Director of the Music Therapy program at CSUN since 2022. A board-certified music therapist for over a decade, she has provided clinical music therapy services in schools, communities, and hospitals with clients ranging from infants to older adults in Texas, Florida, and California. She has worked with individuals with autism and developmental delays, children with learning and communication disorders, patients receiving psychiatric services, adult oncology patients, and adults with Parkinson's Disease. In addition to music therapy, Hilary teaches adaptive piano and guitar lessons. She earned a BM in Music Therapy and BA in Psychology from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Music in Music Therapy from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where she is currently working on her dissertation to complete a Ph.D. in Music Education with Music Therapy emphasis. Her research focuses on the impact of music and movement interventions to address motor differences of children with autism.
Ron Borczon, Founder
Ron Borczon, MM, MT-BC, founded the Music Therapy Program at CSUN in 1984 and for 38 years directed the program; in addition, he instructed classical guitar in the Department of Music. Ron holds an MM degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana as well as a BM in Music Therapy and a BA in Music with an emphasis on performance from the Florida State University. Ron has been recognized internationally for his innovative approach with victims of traumatic events and has been honored by the American Music Therapy Association as well as the Western Region American Music Therapy Association. He is the author of Music Therapy Group Vignettes and Music Therapy Fieldwork Primer. Ron served as the Director of the Music Therapy Wellness Clinic from 1996 to 2022.
David Jurs, Clinician
David Jurs, MT-BC is a board certified music therapist who completed his BM at University of Memphis in Tennessee with an emphasis in jazz vocal performance. He completed the Music Therapy Equivalency Program at CSUN in 2008 and a Neurologic Music Therapy certification in 2016. A multi-instrumentalist, Jurs draws upon extensive ensemble experience and a strengths-based approach to guide his music therapy practice. As a full-time therapist in a psychiatric facility, Jurs led group sessions and rock bands in self-expression and socialization utilizing the power of client-chosen music. He currently works in a skilled nursing home where he established a choir to perform for annual events and support the socialization needs of aging veterans. At the clinic, he supervises music therapy students and is the Director of the Sunshine Singers choir.
Judy Langdon, Clinician
Judy Langdon, MT-BC, earned a BA in Music Therapy Option at CSUN. Judy completed her music therapy internship at Professional Child Development Associates in Pasadena, CA, where she received training in DIRFloortime®, a relationship-based therapy model. Judy also works as music therapist at an acute psychiatric facility and utilizes her music therapy expertise and techniques to facilitate sessions at teen rehab centers and various camps in the Los Angeles area. At the clinic, Judy provides individual services, supervises music therapy students, and is the Director of The Asteroids Band.
Jasper Lewis, Clinician
Jasper Lewis, MS, MT-BC, earned a BA in Jazz Guitar Performance and Sound Recording Technology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He worked for many years as a guitarist, guitar teacher, and singer/songwriter before a chance job opening at a day center for adults with disabilities in New York City led him into the field of music therapy. Jasper received a Master of Science in Music Therapy from Molloy College in Long Island and completed his internship at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine. As a board certified music therapist, Jasper worked at the Westchester Music Conservatory and Brooklyn Music Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles in 2021. Jasper spent his first few years in Los Angeles working in the inpatient psychiatric department of Mission Community Hospital and is excited to be starting a new chapter at CSUN. At the clinic, Jasper provides individual services and leads the Kids Summer Music Group.
Rebeca Orantes, Clinician
Rebeca Orantes, MT-BC, is a board certified music therapist who completed a BA in Music Therapy Option at CSUN. She completed her music therapy internship at Professional Child Development Associates in Pasadena, CA. She worked with children with a wide range of disabilities. Rebeca was trained in the DIRFloortime® approach, a relationship-based model that focuses on the social-emotional development of a child. In addition, Rebeca has experience working with geriatric populations in assisted living facilities, memory care homes, and senior centers, using music to promote wellness, memory recall, and life enrichment. At the clinic, Rebeca provides individual services, supervises music therapy students, is the Director of the Rising Star Choir.