This section briefly explains my IHTP supervised clinical experience 2010-2014.
I was fortunate to have had my first professional experience with Jan Jonker, a harp therapy practitioner from Hilversum, Netherlands. In April 2012, Jan took me to one of his regularly scheduled sessions at a center near the village of Baarn. This assignment involved working and interacting with individuals with severe mental and physical challenges.
Jan and I were accompanied by caregivers who helped us to engage with the clients. Our job was to provide music in the form of inviting tones and rhythms. We did what we could with our harps, voices, and personalities in a large auditorium. In addition to harps, percussive instruments, a piano, and a small guitar were provided for client experimentation. A music therapist was also present and working with the patients.
Harp therapy work involves a patient/client physically next to us with a harp. They can pluck strings, or make glissandos to a melody that we are playing. We do what we can to reach the client - a simple song, a drone note, a repetition of a pitch or chord.
The experience was eye-opening and challenging. I roved among the six or seven clients that were in the room. One young client played Het Wilhelmus, the national anthem of the Netherlands on the piano, and was accompanied by other clients keeping time with shakers and rattles.
A few photos of the session can be viewed here.
I became a volunteer at Queen's Medical Center, Hawai’i’s largest private hospital, in February 2012 (and continue to volunteer there). The hospital was founded by Queen Emma and her husband, King Kamehameha IV.
I spent the first month in training and doing general volunteer duties - processing patient discharges from the hospital - before beginning musical healing activities.
Queen's campus is impressive and attractive - wooden floors, thoughtful colors and accents. Many patient rooms overlook lush gardens. I have been a patient here three times, and each visit was a positive experience, and this is why I chose Queen's to serve the community with music.
At the moment, I am the only "musical healing" volunteer (Queen's Volunteer Services term for my work). I play in a variety of places: in waiting rooms (Queen's Heart Center, Radiology, the Cancer Center, Emergency, Imaging); in the Intensive Care Unit; the Progressive Care Unit; and at the bedside in patients' rooms.
I attended 16 hours of hospice training at St. Francis of Hawaii Healthcare Campus in July 2013.
In August, I volunteered four hours per week - two hours at the Nu'uanu inpatient hospice, and two hours a the Ewa Beach facility. Under the guidance of hospice staff and chaplains, I played harp music for patients in their rooms.
I was a therapeutic musician for 10 hours per week from 2016-2017. In addition to playing music for patients at its five bed facility in Kailua, I worked on a Music and Memory project in the main office in Honolulu.