Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre

The Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, established in 2004 by singer Hinewehi Mohi, enables wellbeing, empowerment and joy through music therapy, using music to promote the healing and personal growth of people with identified intellectual, physical, social or mental health challenges. Raukatauri’s 10 Registered Music Therapists root their clinical practice in the humanistic model of music therapy, which recognizes each individual's uniqueness and worth. Our mission is to offer a quality, accessible music therapy service to all people, whatever their needs. Our vision is to enrich and develop lives through music.

Now in our 17th year, we continue to operate New Zealand’s only music therapy centres. Services are managed and delivered through the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre in Grafton, a beautiful new facility which opened to clients on 2 June 2020. As demand for music therapy services has grown, the Trust has expanded across Auckland and currently operates five satellites in the region as well as delivering outreach programmes in partnership with over 20 schools and organisations, allowing children and adults to receive music therapy directly in their classrooms, group homes, hospital rooms and rehabilitation units. These outreach programmes are run in collaboration with organisations such as Starship, Central Auckland Specialist School and The Selwyn Foundation. In June 2018, we launched our first Regional Centre in Hawke’s Bay, followed by the opening of the Northland Regional Centre in March 2019. Raukatauri’s outstanding results, responsiveness to need and commitment to expansion were just some of the reasons cited for its receipt of the Te Putanga Toi Arts Access Holdsworth Creative Space Award in Parliament in September 2019. In addition to providing music therapy services, the Centre serves as a clinical training site for music and dance therapy students from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

We work with approximately 500 clients per week, ranging in age from two to 98 years old. Our clients have a range of special needs, including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum and other developmental disorders, genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, complex medical conditions, traumatic brain injuries, mental health disorders, bereavement, dementia, exposure to family violence and neglect, and poor community engagement due to socioeconomic challenges. Due to their physical, cognitive and behavioural challenges, the vast majority of our clients cannot participate in community activities such as sport, music lessons, drama and art. Music therapy provides them with the chance to express themselves, develop independence, engage with their community, and develop meaningful relationships. Furthermore, the benefits of the work we do positively impact our clients’ whānau and the wider communities in which they live.