Making a Difference in People’s Lives Through Music with Christina Wood of Healing Rhythms Music Therapy
Collider is passionate about sharing the stories of Rochester entrepreneurs and small business owners! We recently chatted with Christina Wood, who started Healing Rhythms Music Therapy LLC in Rochester in 2013.
Photo contributed by Christina Wood.
Christina Wood found her love of music early, when she learned to play the piano at the age of five. Hand in hand came a longtime love of helping others.
When Christina went to college she initially pursued music performance, but she quickly realized that performance was not the right path for her as she wanted to use her talents to help others. She transferred her studies to Wartburg College to pursue dual bachelor’s degrees in music therapy and music education.
“I knew pretty early into my education that I wanted to be in the medical realm of music therapy. My personal life experiences gave me a strong desire to share the power of music with others and use it day to day within therapy.” Christina explained.
After college, Christina completed her medical music therapy internship in the Twin Cities. She then began her career as a sole proprietor, contracted at an agency, and also piloted music therapy programs with various hospitals and facilities throughout the metro. She later pursued a master’s degree in music therapy to further expand her education for a more holistic approach.
Christina was passionate about her work in music therapy and knew that she wanted to grow into her own space and practice, but wasn’t sure that the Twin Cities was the place.
“I’m a small town farm girl from Minnesota and believe that everyone should have access to high quality services, regardless of where they are. I really had a growing dream and desire to bring music therapy to rural Minnesota, but also back to my home community and to Mayo Clinic.” Christina explained.
In 2007, an opportunity arose for Christina to pilot a music therapy program in pediatrics for Mayo Clinic and she found herself frequently commuting to Rochester. She quickly saw that there was a real need for music therapy services in the area and realized that she could do a lot of good in Rochester.
She eventually made the move to Rochester, but continued commuting to the Twin Cities to do some work, unsure that she was willing to give up the life that she had there. She remembers clearly the moment committing to Rochester and starting a community-based business “clicked” for her.
“I was laying in bed one morning and a song came on the radio with the lyrics ‘greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city’ and those words kept running through my head over and over. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, I need to believe that this is where I’m supposed to be and this is what I’m supposed to do.’ So I really started setting my roots here.”
Christina began as a solo-preneur in Rochester for several years yet had a strong desire to build a team. She had observed friends and colleagues get burnt out and knew that the work that lay ahead of her was too great to tackle alone. She was also passionate about sharing her knowledge and skills with others who would share her love of music and helping others. “I really wanted to build a team that would lift each other up, coach and mentor others, and accomplish more together.”
Photo contributed by Christina Wood.
Christina rebranded and opened Healing Rhythms Music Therapy in 2013, to fulfill her vision of building a team of therapists to serve people from all stages of life. They have grown to offer a wide variety of services to fulfill client needs, whether that be individual sessions, group music therapy, adaptive music lessons, presentations, community partnerships, or music-based wellness workshops.
Christina explained that, “Here at our clinic, we strive to be flexible and work hard to meet and support people where they are, whether that be working with young kids with developmental disabilities, providing groups in memory care, or supporting individuals at end of life. There are so many scenarios where life may not be going the way people expect and music can provide a lot of comfort and joy in those situations.”
Photo contributed by Christina Wood.
Healing Rhythms Music Therapy, while functioning out of its own clinic space, also partners with many other community organizations such as Mayo Clinic, the local women’s shelter, Adapta, The Ronald McDonald House, and local schools. Outside of Rochester, they have also expanded to serve over twenty surrounding counties with their services.
During the early stages of operation, Christina explained that while she is a very knowledgeable music therapist, she really didn’t know much about starting a business and found decision making and structuring for Healing Rhythms to be a challenge. She also found that there was a great deal of community education that needed to happen in Rochester to help people understand what music therapy is and how it differs from music education and performance.
An ongoing challenge for Christina has been acquiring adequate staffing for their growing reach and offerings. Though she has grown from a staff of one therapist to eleven, she currently has openings for several more staff members at Healing Rhythms. She explained that music therapy is still a niche career path with only 25,000 music therapists in the entirety of the United States. Christina has had to work hard to recruit staff from other cities and states to move to Rochester and join their team.
Unaware of another looming challenge coming her way, Christina took a leap of faith and bought a larger clinic space in February of 2020, along with taking out a substantial commercial loan to completely gut and renovate the building.
Photo by AB Photography.
Two weeks later, when COVID-19 sent business spiraling into closure and uncertainty, Christina found herself facing a shut down and little or no business for an unknown amount of time.
Unsure of how to move forward, she reached out to organizations in the community for options and support and found the resources to move forward and stay afloat. “I’m so thankful for the resources for small businesses in our community and how everyone pulled together during the pandemic.” Christina said.
Even with help from the community, Christina had to pivot their business model since they served so many vulnerable people that were at risk during the pandemic. They began offering online classes, telehealth sessions, and many free music therapy and mental health based services. Christina explained that even when people could return to the clinic, they’ve had several rolling shutdowns, still wear masks onsite and many clients still access their services virtually. “We still feel the effects of the pandemic every day.”
Photo by AB Photography.
Despite all of these challenges, Christina finds her work in the community very rewarding. She now operates in a predominantly internal role as Executive Director, but loves the occasional opportunity she has to fill in for staff and work with clients directly. “It really helps to bring me back to the center of why we do what we do. I love knowing and trusting that we’re making a difference in peoples’ lives everyday through music.”
In the future, Christina is excited to continue expanding their reach to serve more people and communities. In the past year they have opened a second location in St. Peter, Minnesota and are working to broaden the scope of services they offer there as well as seeking more staff for their growing team.
Christina is a single mom of three which keeps her busy outside of her work at Healing Rhythms, and she strives to find time for the things that bring her joy. “Nature fuels my soul. I love water skiing, snow skiing, kayaking, spending time with my family and friends, and sitting by a campfire making music.”
Thank you for taking the time to read Christina’s story! If you find value in this content, please consider donating to help Collider continue amplifying the voices of Rochester entrepreneurs. You can also find out more about Healing Rhythms Music Therapy by clicking the link below!
Article by Corrie Strommen, Director of Community at Collider.
