Music Therapy
One day in April 1978, my sister Joy told me about a guy who worked as a music therapist at the Alexandra Pavilion of the Montreal Children's Hospital. His name was Peter O'Loughlin. I decided to contact him. I got hold of him a few days later and we had a good discussion on the phone. It turned out that he had seen me a couple of times with the Stephen Barry Band. He suggested that I come in and observe a session.
The following week, I went down to Verdun, found the Alexandra Pavilion, and after a bit of searching, located Peter O'Loughlin's room. For the next hour I watched him working with children who had cerebral palsy and other disabilities. It was a moving and inspirational experience. He made it clear how music could be used beneficially with these children, to help them express themselves and communicate their wants and needs.
He told me that he was considering moving out to B.C. so that he could take the Music Therapy program at a place called Capilano College. He also invited me to come in on a regular basis and do volunteer work. I liked the idea and for the next six weeks or so, I made scheduled visits to his workplace. Maybe this was meant to happen, I thought. Maybe Peter was my guide to B.C. and the field of music therapy.
Music therapy session with Mandy, a stroke patient
Mandy had suffered a severe left-brain stroke which meant that her right side was paralyzed and her speech almost completely gone except for "yes", "no" and "I don't know". The overlap between my experience as a language teacher and a music therapist was the area of how verbal and musical language interact. In the case of Mandy, because music is largely processed in the right brain, she astonished people by being able to sing songs with the lyrics intact (e.g. "You are my sunshine"). The recorded sessions are examples of how I worked with her in the hope that there could be some language rehabilitation. That was the clinical goal. The other goal was holistic and aimed at the fun, joy and fulfillment of being able to engage musically.
Music Therapy Letter of Reference from Suzanne Taylor
Songbook for Music Therapists Vol. 1
