This past month, I completed a training in Resource-Oriented Music and Imagery through the Institute for Music and Consciousness in Massachusetts. The training involved a theoretical component in October of 2022, and a practicum from January-May. Through the many hours of work, supervision, and personal sessions, I developed a keen interest in the effects of certain kinds of music on our experience of safety and security. Through at-length discussion with colleagues in the training, I came to realize that this experience is quite subjective but that there is a general sense of safety we all have with certain musical qualities- a steady enough rhythm, a melody, and “safe” harmonic structures which always give a sense of landing home.

The method of Resource-Oriented Music and Imagery (ROMI) was developed by Lisa Summer and is adapted from a method called Guided Imagery and Music, developed by Helen Bonny mid-20th century. The method involves simply sitting in stillness with yourself and noticing what is present as a resource for you in the moment- in the words of a colleague, “notice what’s alive”. Once you have accessed that resource, spend some time paying attention to when that resource is most present for you. Is there a sound, any visual sense, a sensation, a smell? This will inform the next step, which is choosing a piece of music which best matches this resource.

For example, perhaps you are feeling very stressed at work but when you sit with yourself, you notice this sense of “endurance” in your body, the strength to keep going, and the knowledge that you have more gas left in the tank. Then, in spending time with that resource, you think about the times you are most in tune with that feeling- perhaps it’s when you go on a long run, or when you stayed up all night with a friend in the hospital. Noticing the sensory landscape of those experiences, and really fleshing them out, you feel the most appropriate musical match is something with long, drawn out tones, in the bass register, with some motivating floating melody on top. Perhaps you even have a specific piece of music or two that drift into your mind as you are spending time tuning in with this resource.

Once you have found the best musical match to your inner resource (which can sometimes involve a lot of trial and error!), grab a sheet of paper and some colourful pastels, markers, or pencils. Pastels are great because they’re very forgiving, can be blended, and give a distinct sensory experience. You may want to listen to the music once and then begin drawing. Once you’re ready, be still again with that resource in mind and in body. When the music begins, simply let your hand be supported in drawing along with the music. You might find yourself coming up against a really strong inner critic, which is great information for you. You might find something unexpected. Let the music play on repeat as long as you need to “complete” your drawing. You will know when you are ready to stop.

Once you have finished your drawing, if we were doing a ROMI session together, we would process the material, determining what that was like for you, how you felt about the image, and link this experience back to your life and your relationships to music.

I’ve discovered through my own sessions and practice with others that the method is quite powerful in drawing out helpful and healing themes for people, and really making them concrete. Not only do they become concrete intellectually, but through the somatic work in the prelude/mindfulness check-in, they become a felt sense, and they are deepened even further by the imagery and the music. In effect, these relational experiences with your own creativity help to “make” the resource grow and live. Sometimes those resources are so obscured by the experience of trauma and depression that it’s difficult to think our way out. Helping the resource grow and be felt is especially important for folks living with trauma and depression- seeing what is already there that is so alive and well is such a powerful tool for recovery.

On that note- I am now offering ROMI sessions as part of my regular therapy work as well as as a standalone service. If you can see this being of benefit for you in your journey, please reach out through the contact form to discuss how we can work together using music and imagery.

Think back to your teenage years- you may have been bopping to pop, emoting to emo, nodding to new wave, rhyming to rap, moshing to metal and punk, or perhaps you were a rare breed who floated away on classical strings. Each aspect of music- rhythm, timbre, instrumentation, lyrics, vocal style, harmony, style- has an effect on us that is completely individual and is shaped by our cultural context and age. Research shows that the average person stops consuming new music past the age of 30, with peak music discovery around age 24. So, the confluence of our search for personal identity in our teen years and early 20s directly lines up with the peak listening years. We define ourselves by the music we listen to, and this informs how we respond to music over our lifespans.

I recently argued with a family member about music taste. She told me she had “figured it out”- according to her, the “best” music was produced in the 60s and 90s, and nothing would ever outperform that music. How reductive, I thought! Wasn’t that just an opinion? I’ve also argued with another family member who declared outright that Justin Bieber was the best vocalist of all time. How can any person say that about any singer?! However, when you step back and recognize that these are strongly held opinions, it gives a different picture. Really, what these people were saying, was that they strongly respond to music from the 60s and 90s, or Justin Bieber’s voice. It led me to become more curious- what were these people really connecting with there? How does that relate to their identities? Why do these musics resonate with these people so deeply?

I have been taking a training recently in a method called Resource-Oriented Music and Imagery. In years long past, I took more training in a method called Guided Imagery and Music. This training was developed by a woman called Helen Bonny. Bonny was a violinist who, back in the 1970s, was working in tandem with researchers who were developing studies using LSD and music. She found that researchers were applying music chosen by the research team and applying it to research participants’ clinical trials without any regard to the effect that certain types of music have on their experience. She herself had had a kind of “musical enlightenment” in which she was playing the violin and experienced some kind of powerful imagery. She was a skeptic and scientist above all else and so wanted to know what was behind these experiences, and also if she could isolate the properties of music that triggered certain experiences in people. She went on to make a systematic study of music and imagery and found she could evoke certain kinds of experiential arcs in people when they were exposed to certain pieces of classical music.

We have been studying these “programs”, as Helen Bonny dubbed her series of classical pieces designed to evoke certain experiences. Bonny found over time that she could divorce the music from the LSD and evoke just as powerful an experience. Modern practitioners have begun to critique the use of classical music and have expanded the repertoire to include client-chosen selection.

Throughout the training in Resource-Oriented Music and Imagery, we are encouraged to deepen our relationship with “our music”- the music that defined us and keeps us grounded day in and day out. We were encouraged to make playlists based on different criteria: songs that made us feel calm, safe and reassured, songs that made us feel motivated, confident, or rewarded, songs that made us feel connected with beauty, aesthetics, inspiration, awe and wonder, and finally songs that have meaning or make us feel connected to loved ones or childhood memories. I spent months diving deep into my massive music collection to reconnect myself to these parts of myself. The experience was enlightening for me- there were all of these distinct parts to me and my experience, and so many different ways to relate to those parts through music! I had lived through so many different moments in life, and each one could be linked back to a type of music, or a particular aesthetic. For example, calming music was mostly in the ambient realm. It felt, for me, like a warm blanket. For others in the group, though, calming music could sound like a 25-minute-long metal opus, or a percussion piece from Indonesia. Encountering these different identities, and spending time witnessing and respecting them, allowed for a deep transpersonal meeting. I think it’s safe to say that for everyone in the group, we grew in our understanding of others simply by really “hearing through their ears”.

So yes, maybe it is accurate to say that music from the 60s and 90s is the best, or that Justin Bieber is the best vocalist- for that person. As my partner would say, “it’s not 100% my thing”, and yet it deserves respect and curiosity. What does it mean for that person? Why is it so important for them? What memories is that music linked to in their lives? How does it define them now? How has this music, above all other music they were exposed to in their lives, survived the test of time for them? What does it remind them of? How does it make them feel? Which playlist would they put it in? Who are they because of this music being in their lives?

I often ask the people I work with, “Do you have a hobby?” I catch myself second guessing the question at times- it just seems so trite. Why should anyone engage in a creative pursuit when there is money to be made, exercise, self-care, errands, education, etc. etc. that comes first? Let me ask you this, then- how do you feel when you dance? How does it feel to doodle while you’re on the phone? When you have tried to hammer on a piano or shred on a guitar, what do you notice about your body and your emotions?

A creative life, no matter how amateur, can have numerous benefits:

• Burnout prevention- according to Emily and Amelia Nagoski (2020), burnout occurs because of a chronic maladaptive relationship to stress. They suggest that the arts, in all forms, “create a context that tolerates, even encourages, big emotions”. Decompressing daily from chronic stress helps prevent burnout, some chronic health conditions, pain, anxiety and depression.

• Creates a sense of purpose- Lives without purpose begin to feel hollow. That hollowness can lead to sadness, negative self-talk, isolation, and in some cases, depression and anxiety. When you sit down and MAKE, you are in effect leaving a mark on the world. This sense of meaning and purpose is the stuff of life. It begins to lift the cloud of depression and causes us to worry and ruminate less. It makes us feel life is worth living. It makes us feel we have a voice.

• Allows for emotional processing- Some of us live in the shadow of “big T” Trauma, and some deal with smaller traumas on the everyday. Those experiences can not only be hard to talk about, they can also be impossible to make sense of at first. I’ve been recommending this article to a lot of people: How to heal through life writing | Psyche Guides. The authors make the following suggestions:

  • “When writing, you might want to look inward before looking outward. Through the process of writing, learn acceptance: accept your emotional and physical scars and don’t be afraid to share your vulnerabilities. Reflect critically upon your life and find out what makes you part of a larger universe.

  • Grief is private, grieving doesn’t have to be. Embrace community, whether in the writing process or in overcoming the challenge that you write about. The community of fellow writers, editors, readers and reviewers will help you polish your craft; the community of friends, family, coworkers and fellow sufferers around you will provide solidarity, support and the strength to go on.

  • Learn to take ownership of your life and shape it the way you want through writing. Use the perspective of others to create a better version of yourself and your writing, but don’t allow it to silence you.

  • Write and live as a survivor, not as a victim. Then, when you’re ready to share your writing with your readers, know that you’re no longer just a survivor, but a victor!”

• Allows for a “beginner’s mindset”- in a recent episode of the podcast “All in the Mind” (Why being a beginner is good for you - ABC Radio National), Tom Venderbilt discusses the value in starting something with no expertise, simply to stretch the “brain muscles”. Into adulthood, it becomes increasingly important to keep learning. Not only does it stave off dementia, it can also create a greater tolerance for failure, which is a highly transferrable skill.

• May create an experience of “flow”- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote extensively on the idea of creative flow. This is a state akin to mindfulness or presence, one which is free from worry, rumination, preoccupation, overwhelm, regret, or guilt. When we are in flow state, we are accessing a channel of learning that is “just right”- our skill set perfectly matches the challenge of the task. So, if we have no skill in a creative medium and the challenge is low (i.e. we are just doing it “for fun”), we are in flow- and it feels freaking great. Likewise, when we are a highly trained musician, and we are given a challenging piece of music, or we are playing with others who push us into slightly unfamiliar or uncomfortable places, we are also in flow. In our lives, we may have many experiences of being “out of flow”. We are bored in our current position at work or feel like we are “going through the motions”. We may also be starting a new job or embarking into the world of online dating, and we become overwhelmed, thinking, “How can I do this when I have no idea what’s expected of me?!” I highly recommend giving yourself an experience of being in a flow state once in a while. Notice what happens when you give yourself over to something else other than your own tired and worried brain.

In short, embarking on a creative journey through music, writing, poetry, baking, cooking, making mixtapes, graffiti, sewing, embroidery, knitting, photography, drawing, using charcoals, collage, portraiture, listening to the world, recording… I could go on and on:

• minimizes burnout

• gives a sense of purpose

• processes emotion

• staves off complacency

• wards off anxiety and depression

• allows for safe experiences of failure

• helps to process trauma

• promotes mindfulness and presence.

This morning, I am sitting on the cusp of a provincial election, an upcoming national election, deep eco-anxiety on the heels of a bleak IPCC report, and an uncertain future in light of openings and closings due to COVID. All around the world, the fourth wave collects power, and one thing becomes more evident: the ability to predict what’s coming seems increasingly impossible.

With continued periods of unrest and uncertainty, anxiety has a tendency to fester. Alternately, a person might throw up their hands and cede power and responsibility to whatever may come. This can grow into a sense of learned helplessness, grief, and sadness.

Take a look at these recent headlines from New York Times:

We Need to Understand the Difference Between Isolation and Loneliness- Both can pose distinct dangers to our mental and physical health.

Social isolation in the U.S. rose even as the Covid crisis began to subside, new research shows.

Parents and caregivers reported mental health issues more often than others during the pandemic, a C.D.C. study says.

There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing

Need to Dust Off Your Social Skills? After a year of virtual gathering, getting back to real-life relationships can be intimidating.

This unexpected life shift has disrupted:

• our sleep (How To Get a Better Night's Sleep - The New York Times (nytimes.com)),

• our eating (Eating disorders in the age of COVID-19 - PubMed (nih.gov)),

• our social lives (How to Be Social Again - The New York Times (nytimes.com)),

• our work routines (The Great Resignation: How employers drove workers to quit - BBC Worklife),

• our home lives, (Managing Life at Home During the COVID-19 Outbreak > News > Yale Medicine)

• movement habits, (Physical Fitness and Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Enquiry (nih.gov))

• and our mental health (Impacts on Mental Health (statcan.gc.ca))

There’s also some research from previous pandemics like the Spanish flu to indicate that we may be experiencing fallout of this period of our lives for a little longer than we may expect. (The Spanish Flu Pandemic and Mental Health: A Historical Perspective (psychiatrictimes.com))

While I cannot pretend that at the moment of writing this, everything is over and done with, in my immediate vicinity, we have been slowly experiencing a reemergence into “normal” life. We continue to experience gathering limits- a limitation that for some feels quite comfortable and is long overdue. I don’t know if I myself will hug a stranger or colleague or shake hands for awhile yet. Music shows and performances, especially indoor, have not yet really started, but are in other cities. Word on the street from some is that there is lingering anxiety about certain activities like flying in an airplane, large gatherings, even leaving the house. However, there are more people in the street, more reconnecting with friends and family that we have only seen in an uncomfortably close virtual headshot frame for the past two years.

I wanted to write this post today after a long period of withdrawal, myself, from any social media or internet presence. Frankly, if I may, this whole time has been hard on those who care for others. A steady stream of difficult material on the news, social media posts that are challenging, combative, or confusing, along with the everyday work of caring for people’s sufferings made for a distinct craving to abandon ship.

Here are some things I learned from my own struggles to reemerge and reconnect, along with the wisdom of the experts I work with everyday:

• some things take time, and each person’s timeline is different. There is no need to “other” in a time like this.

• it is good and wise to take stock of what you liked about your time away from people, what you didn’t, and what ways life might change accordingly.

• the breakneck pace of life pre-pandemic didn’t allow us the time to think about what works and what doesn’t.

• music helps.

• humans thrive in community, but that community can be reshaped into one that is desirable, through intention and mindfulness.

• routine is fundamental to mental health.

• change is also fundamental to mental health.

• we all have the power to choose how, when, where, and with whom we want to share ourselves.

On another note, I’m currently reading a collection of essays by Rachel Kushner, who has so many amazing things to say about life, living, and creativity. I want to offer up here two quotes of hers which resonate in this time, with these post-pandemic considerations:

I love to be alone, I find it necessary, but I don't know if that's just how I am or if it's an essential ingredient to making, to art. Certainly on a practical level it is. But on the other hand, I think it's a myth that the creative inspiration is locked up inside the person and just needs a quiet space and the right "serious" brooding moment to get released.

It was not the case that one thing morphed into another, child into woman. You remained the person you were before things happened to you. The person you were when you thought a small cut string could determine the course of a year. You also became the person to whom certain things happened. Who passed into the realm where you no longer questioned the notion of being trapped in one form. You took on that form, that identity, hoped for its recognition from others, hoped someone would love it and you.

Rachel Kushner

Relationships, Sexual Health and Trauma

https://avaloncentre.ca/avalon-educational-materials/

https://estherperel.com/podcast

https://www.savagelovecast.com/

https://www.theheartradio.org/

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/loveme

https://art19.com/shows/modern-love

Depression

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts

https://www.happinesslab.fm/

https://www.reddit.com/r/depression/

Anxiety

http://www.anxiousmachine.com/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Anxiety/

https://rachelbotsman.com/podcast/

Cognition and Philosophy

https://onbeing.org/

https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/

https://youarenotsosmart.com/

https://twitter.com/sapinker

https://twitter.com/OliverSacks

Social Justice and Antiracism

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/

https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/

https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/implicit_bias.html

Tools & Misc.

https://www.therapistaid.com/

https://www.reddit.com/r/TalkTherapy/

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/opp

https://www.reddit.com/r/DecidingToBeBetter/

http://www.earwolf.com/show/beautiful-anonymous/

https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology

https://brenebrown.com/unlockingus/

Recent world events and the undertaking of training in Culturally Competent Disaster Mental Health Counseling has motivated me to examine my own biases and implicit acts of oppression in my own work. As a result, I began thinking, “What can I do to incorporate social justice into my work? How can I change?” Below is a list of actions I will take.

1. Investigate and critique the ways I am perpetuating Eurocentric/Western/heterocentric/etc. models and interventions of psychotherapy.

2. Reflect on how my work is keeping people marginalized. Are different communities better able to access my services than others? Am I maintaining an open and accepting business, or am I closed off to certain communities?

3. Connect with colleagues and organizations that are of a different cultural context than my own (including belief systems, ethnicities, cultural practices, etc.)

4. Read more: about social justice, critical race theory, systems thinking, resilience, and social change.

5. Know and critique laws and other social systems which contribute to oppression.

6. Understand how my own training and education perpetuates oppression and appropriation, and refrain from training others in the same way.

7. Avoid becoming complacent- I have agency, I should use it.

8. Avoid becoming defensive- listen to those who criticize the way I work and use their feedback to improve.

9. Avoid becoming rigid- remember what it is to feel like an outsider, remain open to new ways of being, feeling, and thinking. Think: PLASTICITY! You are never too old to change.

10. Learn more, always. Enjoy the knowledge that other people have- everyone is an expert of their own lives and has their own wisdom.

11. I am not here to fix or solve, I am here to empower others.

The experience of isolation for long periods of time can have various emotional effects, including but not limited to listlessness, indecision, boredom, frustration, anxiety, and sadness. A more subtle, and perhaps more abstract effect, is the feeling of “Blursday”. During a typical Blursday, we feel aimless, unmotivated, and time feels very strange. Some hours feel very long, one minute stretching to infinity, and then suddenly it’s 8pm and we’ve done nothing we planned to do.

There is a branch of psychology called “Time Perception”. There are many theories of time perception, hailing from philosophy, neuroscience, ecology, and psychology. Something that has become interesting to me during the COVID pandemic is the idea of “temporal illusions”. According to Wikipedia, these are some temporal illusions we might experience in our lifetimes:

• Telescoping effect: People tend to recall recent events as occurring further back in time than they actually did (backward telescoping) and distant events as occurring more recently than they actually did (forward telescoping).[52]

• Vierordt's law: Shorter intervals tend to be overestimated while longer intervals tend to be underestimated

• Time intervals associated with more changes may be perceived as longer than intervals with fewer changes

• Perceived temporal length of a given task may shorten with greater motivation

• Perceived temporal length of a given task may stretch when broken up or interrupted

• Auditory stimuli may appear to last longer than visual stimuli[53][54][55][56]

• Time durations may appear longer with greater stimulus intensity (e.g., auditory loudness or pitch)

• Simultaneity judgments can be manipulated by repeated exposure to non-simultaneous stimuli

So, what is coming into play for us during isolation? Some of us may experience depression. When we are depressed, time feels like it is moving at a snail’s pace. According to one study, “ depression may cause a slowing down of the individual's internal clock -- possibly caused by a general slowing down of motor behavior”. In the same vein, when we are worried, anxious, or anticipating something, we also feel time ticking very slowly. Think about that night before Christmas feeling, or the day of a first date- it’s a similar feeling. Finally, the lack of routine normally outlined by work life and errands has wreaked havoc on our sense of regularity.

Here are some strategies for redeveloping a sense of time:

• mindfulness meditation- can help with focusing on the present and mitigates anxious and depressed feelings.

• developing a routine- self-defined routine apart from work can help frame our day and increase sense of accomplishment. Some things to include may be as simple as taking a shower, going outside, cooking, or even drinking a glass of water. You may also want to use this time to devote an hour or two to an art practice you’ve been putting off, or development of a new income stream.

• going outside- as obvious as it may sound, going outside can reset your inner clock.

• limit screen time after 10 pm- not allowing your body and brain to “feel time” by continuing to take in digital information and screen light disrupts your sleep schedule, which can aggravate depression and anxiety symptoms. Instead, pick up a book, write, or relax in other ways.

Check out these articles for more information!

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_perception

• https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/infosheet/covid-19-and-anxiety

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/out-the-darkness/201107/why-does-time-seem-pass-different-speeds

• https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/depression-time-perception_n_6879462

Judith Herman, in “Trauma and Recovery: Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror”, speaks to the importance of ownership and empowerment over our own trauma story. She underlines the trauma recovery process as being comprised of 3 distinct stages.

1. Safety and Stabilization: those who have experienced trauma may not feel safe in their surroundings, in different situations that remind them of the trauma, or in certain social relationships. Emotions may feel heightened and difficult to control, which can wreak havoc on accomplishing everyday tasks. The first step in recovery is to just allow ourselves the space to feel safe.

2. Remembrance and Mourning: once we feel safe, we can begin to process the trauma. The aftermath of trauma sometimes feels as if a mask is lifted off the world, as if harsh realities about the world seem obvious and unavoidable. Our former way of life feels forever lost to us. The important thing to do here is explore and mourn the losses associated with the trauma and providing space to grieve and express emotions. This can be effectively done through writing, creative processing, or discussing with a therapist. It’s important that this is done at our own pace, with safety in mind.

3. Reconnection and Integration: Trauma is an isolating experience. It makes us feel we are alone and no one could ever possible understand or hold enough space for everything we’ve been through. One of the best healing agents for post-trauma is connection. We need to reconnect with other people and also with ourselves. It may feel some days that we don’t even know who we are anymore. When we are ready, we can begin to see ourselves in a new light, with a new sense of self and a new sense of the future. The traumatic experience is no longer the thing that’s in the driver’s seat. It may be something that we integrate into our life story and help it inform decisions in the future, but it does not control us anymore.

Writing exercise:

• With the above stages in mind, think about where you may be in your own personal trauma recovery journey.

  • If you are in Stage 1, spend some time tuning into your emotions. What are you feeling, and how does it affect your body? What are your needs? How can you carve out space for yourself to feel these emotions and let them be calm? What tools do you have? If you were to imagine a “safe room” for yourself, what would it contain? What would the temperature and lighting be? What would you hear? Imagining yourself in the room, how do you feel once you are inside?

  • If you are Stage 2, spend a little bit of time writing about your experience. Make sure to slow down or stop if you feel yourself becoming emotionally overwhelmed. What did you feel in your body as it was happening? What did you think about? What things did it make you believe? Identify one thing that changed as a result of your experience- be it a belief you had about yourself, a life change, or anything else. How would you explain this experience to someone in your life? What advice might you give to someone who has experienced something similar? If you were to write a song about your experience, what would the lyrics be?

  • If you are in Stage 3, write a piece about your trauma. Perhaps you might like to give it a name and character. Perhaps you would like to integrate it into a larger creative writing exercise. Always remember: Safety first. If you feel yourself becoming emotionally overwhelmed, slow down and come back at a later time.

In these days and weeks of isolation during the COVID pandemic, we can begin to lose focus and get caught in the anxiety and stress of headlines and social media.

Now is a better time than ever to take a soundwalk. A “soundwalk” is a long walk in which you spend time listening to the world around you. Using your ears becomes the most important of the sensesr, less so than our vision, taste, touch, or smell. Deepening our listening practice can help bring us back to the moment, getting in touch with what’s important in life.

Here are some tips for how to deepen your listening during self-isolation:

   Soundwalk for Mindful Listening

• Perhaps you are feeling dissociated or disconnected from yourself. If you have even ten minutes to spare, take a moment to take a soundwalk.

• Go outside and begin walking. What do you hear? Listen for:

  • The rhythm of your own steps

  • The sounds of people

  • The sounds of machines

  • The sounds of nature

  • Any ambient sounds

• Do some sounds feel alarming to you? Do some sounds feel relaxing? Do some sounds remind you of anything? Why do they remind you of those things?

• If you could change anything about your sound environment, what would it be? Can you make the change by moving to a new location? Would you rather be in a quieter or a louder place?

• How has the world of sound changed in recent weeks? Do you notice anything different? Is there anything you like or dislike about this change?

• What can you hear now that you couldn’t hear before?

• What do you notice about the sounds of your own body and breathing within this new soundscape? Are you moving more slowly? Are you breathing more deeply?

• Feel free to spend some time writing, making music, or creating art about this experience once you come home.

Dear clients,

               In light of the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID19 as a pandemic and the resultant anxiety and fear over coming into contact with the virus, I wanted to be proactive and reach out to all of my clients now to determine options for continued treatment in the event of a crisis here in Nova Scotia.

              Many people are feeling anxious, fearful, and panicked. Some people may choose to self-isolate if they begin to feel symptoms, whether those symptoms are diagnosable or not. As a result, I want all of my clients to know:

-        If you choose to practice social distancing or self-isolation, there are other options instead of meeting me in my office.

-        If you choose to cancel a session, please let me know at least 24 hours in advance. If you would like to rebook for a later date, let me know that when you cancel.

-        If you would like to keep your session time with me but do not feel comfortable coming to meet me, we can meet via telehealth. Please let me know if this is what you’d like to do for any upcoming sessions. If you choose to meet online, session fees can be paid by e-transfer.

-        I will be in touch if I myself become ill, well in advance of any sessions with you.

I wish you continued health and wellness in the coming weeks and months.

I am so excited to announce that I will be available to see clients beginning mid-March 2018, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No musical experience is necessary, just bring yourself, your creativity, and your openness. Treatment plans typically begin with a short assessment in which we determine together the best goals for you based on where you are now, and the methods to attain those goals. Call or email today, or use the booking form available through the CONTACT tab or home page. I am looking forward to meeting you!