Looking Back.... On Becoming a Music Therapist.
I’ve been a music therapist since 1985. It wasn’t something that I chose. It chose me. When I finished a degree in music in 1981, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. All I wanted was to make some money, and to do it close to home after 4 years of daily commutes on the bus. The closest available job was 2 blocks away at the Canadian Mental Health Association(CMHA) in a sheltered workshop, working with people who had chronic psychiatric difficulties and were finding a life for themselves working with others who had similar problems. I was a workshop assistant, helping them negotiate the tasks that were filling their day.
I remember those people so well. They were my first exposure to people with special needs. I was in wonder of them – the way they functioned in the world, the way they related to me – a person who was supposed to be functioning more efficiently than them. There I was, fresh out of music school, working in a sheltered workshop to make money, and finding out that I loved the people there.
There was John, who was so shy that you couldn’t hear what he was saying when he spoke and Lucille, who experienced anxiety and couldn’t put together an un-jittery sentence. There was Ralph who tended toward aggressive behavior, and Peter who was a chronic leader and who couldn't integrate into a group. There was Franklin who was deeply depressed and Patricia who always managed to disappear into the wood work. Then there was Corrine who was bipolar and overwhelmed by the world around her.
And there was I – a bright eyed music graduate, looking for an outlet for my skill.
So, I started a lunchtime choir.
Out they came to sing – I had no idea really, what I was doing. I just knew that singing together could be fun. I knew that singing the songs we loved was special. I found the music that they said they liked, and we sang. I used rounds and partner songs, songs with simple harmonies and folk music that everyone knew. Not knowing about professional boundaries, I use to walk them to my house at lunchtime where there was a piano to practice our songs. We developed a special comradery and I even came to feel that there was a friendship there. I felt the difference between them and me, dissolve. I began to develop a compassion that I never before realized in myself. They were my first teachers.
There was something else that I noticed. What's this? John began to sing loud and clear, shedding his shyness like a chrysalis, Lucille was calm and sang complete lines without a stutter and Ralph was behaving with kindness. Peter was a part of the group, Franklin was full of joy, Patricia began taking leadership, and Corrine was on an even keel.
What was this magical thing? I didn't know why this was happening, and I knew that I needed to explore it further. Nowhere in my training as a musician, did anyone ever mention to my classmates or me, that there was a field known as music therapy. This was 1981 and the first training program only started in Canada in 1976 spearheaded by Nancy McMaster and Carolyn Kenny at Capilano College in North Vancouver[1]. I discovered it through conversations with colleagues at my job, and through the realm of the CMHA.
I joined the board of directors of CMHA so that I could learn more and understand the rights of people with mental health issues. I continued working and learning until I was able to take the plunge and become a student again.
[1] http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEcQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.capilanou.ca%2FWorkArea%2Flinkit.aspx%3FLinkIdentifier%3Did%26ItemID%3D18117%26libID%3D18128&ei=swzeUcnSG-LJyAHQqYHoAw&usg=AFQjCNHsMKKTO8FA3P9TwHUVVG-tH9l_2w&sig2=XxA4PThXanLi8LxJ-GOCMg&bvm=bv.48705608,d.aWc
Gathered on July 10, 2013 at 9:43 pm
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