Therapists Tune In to Creativity

The group members started their first session by moving their chairs in a circle, closing their eyes and breathing deeply.

A drummer began pounding out a rhythm, a pianist joined in, and the room was soon a cacophony of sound.

The improvised exercise, called a “tootie,” allowed participants to relax and get in touch with the group’s gestalt, organizers said.

In many ways the weekend’s music therapy seminar at Chapman University resembled a typical encounter group as its 30 participants explored each other’s personalities to see beyond public personas. But the instruments made clear that something more esoteric was going on.

Music therapy is a rapidly growing segment of the therapeutic field that uses the nonverbal as a means of healing.

The specialty has grown to include about 5,000 music therapists across the nation, said Kay Roskam, director of Chapman’s program. Most are certified in the field and hold bachelor’s degrees, Roskam said.

About 250 members of the Western Region’s National Assn. of Music Therapy took part in the four-day conference, which offered seminars ranging from “Sound Healing With Gongs” to “Music, the Master Key--Unlocking Doors in Forensic Psychiatry.”

The therapists are musicians first but also need the interpersonal skills of physical and psychological therapists to be successful.

“It’s a good way for sharing a love for music and a love for people,” said Elizabeth York, the improv leader, who teaches music therapy at Utah State University.

York’s session was designed to help the therapists, many of whom work alone in hospitals and other facilities, to cultivate their creative side.

“Anything you need to do for yourself is wonderful,” she told them. “Use whatever instrument feels right for you at the moment.”

Participants said they hope to take renewed energy and new techniques from the conference to use with a wide-ranging clientele: autistic children, geriatric patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the physically disabled.

“We use music as the medium of therapy,” said Kathryn Quain, a therapist at Oakland’s Mercy Retirement and Care Center.

Music therapists, for example, can help cancer patients manage pain and communicate with family members, said Deforia Lane, director of music therapy at Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland. Doctors often find that blood pressure drops when music is part of a patient’s treatment.

“I go into surgery and play tapes for my oncology patients, and doctors say they require less anesthesia,” Lane said.

Said York: “We can treat many different domains--social, emotional and physical. We’re very efficient because music touches the whole body.”