CITIZEN SHOPPER

June 17, 1982

page

12

Cap11ano College 1st in Music Therapy
Probably the biggest problem
for instructors in the music
therapy program at Capilano College is describing exactly what
they do . It 's easy to demonstrate,
but to put down on paper the experience of a music therapy session is something akin to ti;ying to
describe a symphony to someone
who's never heard one.
The best way to tell about the
music therapy program, then, is to
relate the experiences of some of
the people the music therapists
have worked with .

r

-

Mr. P - chattered incessantly
and incoherently while walking up
and down in an agitated way. At
78, he had been hospitalized fo r
three years. In music therapy he
began to play the drum and would
play non-stop very loudly for 20
minutes after the sessions. Mr . P
soon began to talk coherently in
short phrases, to calm down and
to walk slowly.
Mr. J - had not talked for 30
years when he came to his first
music therapy session. He sat at
the back and joined in the first
song! Slowly, he began to talk
again, adding more and more
words to his vocabulary.
John D - was an autistic sevenyear-old. His world consists of objects, not people. When he heard
a certain classical piece of music,
however,
would allow himself
to dan
'th the therapist. Each
w
he made more and more
ntact with other people, so long
as the session began with "his"
music.

learn a grea t deal abou t
themselves.
Music therapy coordinator, ·
Kerry Burke, has watched many
students go through the program
and find themselves at first very
upset and emotional as they face
their clients and the institutions
they live in .
Music therapists now work
mostly with the elderly and with
special needs children. There are
two music therapy departments at Sunnyhill (Children's) Hospital
and at Valleyview (Senior's)
Hospital. With both groups music
therapy has been shown to reach
those clients with emotional and
communication difficulties faster
than other therapies.
Capilano College students are
now employed in hospitals, such
as Valleyview, Sunnyhill, UBC
Extended Care and Riverview,
group homes and other facilities

Students in music therapy are
trained in clinical practice, the
disabilities of children and adults
that respond to music, assessment
and evaluation procedures, and
professional conduct and responThese are just three of the
sibility. As well as theory, such
reasons why the music th erapy · courses as interpersonal relations,
program is becoming widely
group dynamics, music improvisarecognized by hospitals and o th er
tion, dance therapy and music
institutions in British Columbia.
therapy practicum are largely exMusic therapy is a well-established
periential and require the students
field in Europe, but it is new in
to learn through practice.
Canada. The program at Capilano
College, which started in 1975, is
Each week the students attend a
the only one of its kind in the clinic, hospital, school or boarcountry and has been breaking a ding home fo r at least six hours,
lot of ground.
where they are expected to run
• therapy sessions with different age
groups. As well as learning about
others, however, these students

I

such as the North Shore Association for Physically Handicapped,
daycare programs and Vancouver
Family Services.
Of course, there are a few problems. Students in the music
therapy program come fro m all
across Canada, but after studying
for two years in B.C. they generally get to like it so much they don't
want to leave. That means that
B.C. is fast becoming the music
therapy mecca of Canada - of
the approximately 60 music
therapists in the country, 30 work
in Vancouver.
Students, educators and others
who are interested in learning
more about the music therapy
program can write to Capilano
College, 2055 Purcell Way , North
Vancouver, B.C., V7J 3H5 , or
call the department at 986-1911,
local 287.