The power of music can help people heal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Guelph’s Kathleen Skinner, music has the ability to evoke strong emotional responses that can benefit mental care and well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic can help to express and share your experiences,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people have a really hard time connecting with and feeling their emotions. Music is emotional and it can help them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2020, Skinner, an accredited music therapist and registered psychotherapist, has owned and operated KS Therapy Services, a local group practice that offers music therapy along with psychotherapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all trained psychotherapists in addition to being certified music therapists. We work flexibly between music and counselling, depending on what a\u00a0person needs,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people come to us,\u00a0we try to get a sense of what they want to accomplish. Goals for therapy are based on what\u2019s going on in their lives and what\u00a0they want to see changed. So, through the talking or counselling piece, we actually bring in music in pretty much any form.\u201d<\/p>\n
Music therapy can help to support people through a variety of issues including ADHD, trauma, emotion regulation issues, grief, substance use, stress, body image and disordered eating, mood disorders and relationship issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come\u00a0for a lot of the same reasons they would for traditional therapy. I work with folks who deal with anxiety and\u00a0a lot of relationship\u00a0or childhood trauma. I work with folks who deal with complex family dynamics and\u00a0depression. It’s pretty wide ranging,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that people who can really connect with music therapy are those who already have a connection to music. And there are\u00a0those who, finding the words for\u00a0what they are going through, can be harder. So, having\u00a0music makes it easier to talk about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skinner says most often, music therapy is thought of as being used more so in dementia care or in disability services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s kind of what it\u2019s known for,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it can benefit everyone. We try to get a sense of how people already use music in their life in a healthy way, or in a therapeutic way, and we build on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skinner received a Master\u2019s degree in Music therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI trained in music therapy, specifically with a psychotherapy program. After getting into placements and gaining experience, I realized the power of bringing music and music therapy into mental health care,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a placement at Homewood and another at Grand River hospital in mental health. I really got to\u00a0see the cross section of how you can bring music meaningfully into psychotherapy sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skinner says she opened her private practice because there really wasn\u2019t anyone else providing this specific type of mental health care focus that included music therapy services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I really love about it is that it\u2019s so wide ranging.\u00a0For some people, we really dig into how they can use music listening more intentionally in their life. So, we might look at really targeted therapeutic playlists or look at how we can build coping strategies for anxiety that are music centred,” Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might take traditional breathing exercises and augment them with music. Sometimes it will go a little more into active music making.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of her favourite tools, Skinner said, is using songwriting as therapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s particularly helpful if you are trying to work through or process something. You really get the sense of having that emotional release by putting your feelings into the song,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also get to process what\u2019s happened and you feel more in control of the narrative.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some therapists at KS Therapy Services work with children and others work more so with teens and adults. Skinner says everyone has their own niche.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, music has always been about feeling connected. I also think that it brings a sense of creativity being able to work really flexibly with people,\u201d Skinner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an ‘out of the box’ thinker, so being this type of therapist is not really textbook at all. You meet the person where they are at. And that\u2019s pretty meaningful for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Skinner said\u00a0often\u00a0there is a misconception that people must be\u00a0musical or be good at music.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not true at all. Everybody can benefit,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love making music. And I love being able to connect with people, to help them in meaningful ways and in turn help them to help themselves in meaningful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n