Are you a stressed-out parent? Music therapy via Zoom can help you relax
By Louise Kinross
A Statistics Canada survey in June found that Canadian parents of children with disabilities are facing extra challenges and concerns related to the pandemic compared to other parents.
A new virtual music therapy program for parents of kids with disabilities at Holland Bloorview aims to reduce that stress in an innovative and flexible way.
The Harmony program connects parents and other caregivers with music therapy students from Wilfrid Laurier University who provide 45-minute sessions on Zoom once or twice a week.
“This is a safe space to work on things that weigh heavily on your mind through the medium of music,” says Andrea Lamont, a music therapist and registered psychotherapist at Holland Bloorview. “The students have been working hard to develop interventions that promote relaxation and reduce stress. They also have some beautiful song-writing processes to help parents process trauma.”
Harmony is part of Holland Bloorview's OnTrack program of student-led learning environments supported by our Teaching and Learning Institute and our Foundation. The service is free to parents and caregivers, such as grandparents or support workers.
Andrea was teaching at Wilfrid Laurier when COVID-19 struck, putting an end to in-person student placements. Understanding the strains our families at Holland Bloorview were experiencing, virtual placements seemed a convenient way to reach parents at home, while giving students an opportunity to work with a new population.
Andrea worked with teaching staff at Holland Bloorview and Wilfrid Laurier to bring the program to life.
Holland Bloorview family leaders Beth Dangerfield and Suzanne Jorisch are part of the students' clinical supervision team. They each have a child with a disability. “Music and the arts are so important for my own mental health that I really understand how powerful it can be for healing,” Beth says.
She and Suzanne work with the students twice a week “helping them understand what is important to us as parents,” Beth says. “For example, in a recent session, after watching an A Family Like Mine video, we talked about how traumatizing the medical language that clinicians use to talk about our children’s disabilities can be, and, on the reverse, how empowering strengths-based language can be.”
Beth and Suzanne are part of Holland Bloorview's Family as Faculty program. “The role we're playing in the education of future clinicians is groundbreaking,” Beth says. “They want to hear our stories.”
Andrea says the parent teaching has been invaluable. “It’s helped students not just to understand the family experience, but to deeply appreciate what is happening for caregivers through the sharing of personal stories.”
Andrew Chin is one of the students participating. “I haven’t had much experience in doing real music therapy work,” Andrew says, “so being able to focus on the specific needs and goals of a population that I haven’t worked with has benefited me greatly.”
Individual therapy services are available to Holland Bloorview parents and family caregivers by contacting SLEclinic@wlu.ca.
