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Hello from Heartsparks! We hope you had a relaxing summer and are enjoying the beautiful fall season. We have some news and exciting stories to share.
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SATURDAY SOCIAL GROUPS
We will be offering inclusive group music sessions on Saturdays from November 5 until December 3, 2016 (5 weeks) for children and teens. These groups provide an opportunity to make music and play with peers, and are facilitated by our team of music therapists. Parents are welcome to participate, or take the opportunity to connect with other parents at a nearby cafe. Please email jessica@heartsparks.ca by October 28th to register. The cost is $120 for 5 sessions. Space is limited (maximum of 4 per group), sorry, no drop-ins. Our studio is accessible for child-sized wheelchairs up to a width of 25 inches.
Please note our group times:
11:15 am - 12 pm: Ages 7-10
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm: Ages 3-6
1:45 pm - 2:30 pm: Ages 11-16
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A NOTE FROM ANNA
We welcomed our first Heartsparks baby, Elsie Mae on April 20th and she is already enjoying lots of music! I would like to thank Kate and the rest of the team for stepping in with extra duties over the spring and summer months, allowing me to spend this precious time with my family. It is an exciting year for Heartsparks, with our team growing and taking on many new projects:
- Stephanie recently completed her music therapy internship supervision training, as well as her Level 4 American Sign Language training.
- Kate is in her second year of a Masters of Science in Speech Language Pathology at Dalhousie University.
- Jessica has been invited as a guest speaker for the Acadia University School of Music Lecture Series.
- Paige completed a successful pilot project with the TD Music Therapy Program (see article below), began a new pilot project working in Long Term Care, and recently presented at the Provincial Alzheimer's Conference.
- Laurenn completed her music therapy internship, began facilitating a pilot project in Long Term Care, and will be completing her music therapy board certification exam in December.
- Brandon joined our team, boosting our team skill set with his advanced guitar playing.
I can hardly believe this is my 12th year of music therapy practice, and Heartsparks is now 5 years old. When I started out with one private client for 30 minutes/week, I never would have dreamed we would grow into a team of 7. While I often get overwhelmed with how much more progress I would like to make (i.e. building a more accessible studio, harnessing our team's full potential through writing and presenting, developing new groups, and much more), I am also so grateful for how far we have come. We are blessed to make music with you, our beautiful clients, everyday. Thank you all for your support and belief in our music along this journey!
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A WARM WELCOME TO OUR INTERNS
Alyssa Lynch, BMT holds a Bachelor of Music Therapy (2016) from Acadia University. Alyssa is currently completing her music therapy internship with Heartsparks Music Therapy where she is working at Wee Care Developmental Centre, The Sagewood Continuing Care Community, Conductive Education with March of Dimes Canada, and with private clients in the community. Outside of music therapy, Alyssa is an active accompanist for musicals with the St. Joseph's Stage Prophets and Quick as a Wink Theatre Productions.
Alex Keoughan, BA, CMT, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music (2013) from St Francis Xavier University, and a Certificate of Music Therapy (2016) from Acadia University. Since finishing university, Alex has gained experience through work as an Educational Assistant, Respite Worker and Senior Lead of the Ben James Autism Summer Camp (Autism Nova Scotia). Alex is currently completing his Internship with Heartsparks through placements at Wee Care Developmental Centre, The Sagewood Continuing Care Community, and Homebridge Youth Society. Using his experience as a performer and improviser, Alex hopes to be able to create spaces where everyone can feel comfortable exploring their own musical direction. Alex’s own musical history began with playing folk and rock songs on guitar, which eventually led him to study jazz performance with bass as his primary instrument.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TD MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM (by Paige)
From September 2015 to August 2016, I had the pleasure of working with many inspiring people through the TD Music Therapy Program. This program, funded through TD Bank and organized by the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, gave me the opportunity to provide music therapy at five different locations within inpatient and outpatient mental health support programs.
One of the locations, Connections Dartmouth, became a place of magic. The music therapy sessions started out with few participants, but as clients and staff talked about the program, more people attended. By session 3, our music circle had grown to such an extent that we had trouble seating everyone. Music therapy quickly became the most attended and successful program at Connections Dartmouth. Many clients at Connections Dartmouth experience anxiety in social situations, especially in crowded rooms. They would normally leave a program early or not come at all. However, our 1.5-hour music therapy sessions didn’t seem long enough; most clients stayed from beginning to end.
An exceptionally special Connections Dartmouth story involved a young man named Mark. Mark is a musician, but up until attending music therapy, he had not played the piano for anyone else (including his family) since a very young age. He spent hours playing the piano, but only when he was alone. This all began to change. After attending one session, he decided to bring his keyboard and play a couple songs along with the music therapist. Mark ended up playing along to almost every song and demonstrated his wonderful musical talent to the entire group. He played at all the Connections Dartmouth sessions, chose new songs to perform, communicated consistently with the music therapist, and so much more. Mark’s progress also went beyond the music therapy sessions. He started showing more independence at home, began travelling on public transit, and reaching out for performance opportunities. Mark is sharing his music with others and is a wonderful example of the true success of the TD Music Therapy Program!
Emerald Hall, although very different from Connections Dartmouth in atmosphere and clientele, also proved to be a music therapy success. Because of the dual-diagnoses (mental illness and developmental disabilities) present at Emerald Hall, accessible interventions and activities are often limited. In the case of music therapy, the clients were able to strive for their maximum potential, no matter what that maximum was. Communication was no longer a barrier, as the music became a communication tool. Movement was as small or big (emphasis on big!) as each client wanted: tapping toes, playing a shaker to the beat, dancing with their arms way up in the air. The reactions of clients at Emerald Hall showed how truly innate music is. They connected with the music and the music therapist in a way that showed their energy, passion and beauty. Experiencing these sessions brought out so much joy in the clients, staff and myself.
Our hope for the TD Music Therapy Program is that it will receive more funding and have the opportunity to continue bringing music therapy to all these exceptional clients. The program has had such a huge impact on everyone involved. Personally, I have been extremely moved and inspired by the clients in the TD Music Therapy Program and cannot wait to share music with them again!
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HOLIDAY GATHERING SAVE THE DATE
Our 3rd annual Holiday Gathering will take place this year on December 10. Come on out and enjoy an afternoon of warmth and musical cheer!
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As always, we are so grateful for the opportunity to share music with you.
We will continue to post regular updates on our Facebook Page, Twitter Feed and YouTube Channel, which you can access by clicking on the icons below.
Thank you for reading, and happy fall!
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Sincerely,
Anna, Stephanie, Kate, Jessica, Paige, Laurenn, and Brandon
Heartsparks Music Therapy
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