Music Therapy, Emily’s House, Emily’s House at Home, and Philip Aziz Centre (PAC)
Music therapy is an integral part of the psychosocial support offered to children, adults, and families in the Emily’s House, Emily’s House at Home, and Philip Aziz Centre for Hospice Care programs. Our music therapist meets each individual and family exactly where they are, in their journeys with life-limiting illness and loss, using music in therapeutic relationship to help them experience intentional interactions, express emotions, manage distressing symptoms related to illness, and make lasting memories. She was often at a bedside with a guitar, gently singing a client’s favourite song to help them settle and get rest. Several heartbeats and songs were recorded, using a travelling recording studio in the music nook at Emily’s House or in family homes where siblings could actively participate in the process. Music therapy frequently brought groups of children together in shared musical exploration, around a big table at our children’s hospice, or online with the in-home community. Music therapy gently weaved music into moments of connection – bringing comfort and honouring life stories – while offering families and communities opportunities for meaningful time together.
Impact – A Child’s Legacy: One recording featured a child’s snoring with an overlay of a song composition created with the music therapist and the child’s sisters. The snoring sound was such a comfort for her family members, from time spent at her bedside, that the recording has become a treasure.
A new collaboration emerged between music therapy and child life therapy with the offering of a grief group for children who experienced the death of a sibling or parent. From October through to April, children participated online in the group which blended child life and music therapy principles to offer a developmentally informed and emotionally safe space for children to express grief, build coping strategies, and connect with peers experiencing similar loss.
Music therapy offered: ongoing individual and family sessions in our in-hospice and in-home visiting programs; the musical instrument loaning library; a virtual music therapy group for children at home; and collaborations on events (Emily’s House camp programming, Emily’s House Garden Memorial, and the Philip Aziz Centre’s Candlelight Memorial).
A total of 566 music therapy sessions were delivered in one year.
Special thanks to the new Presenting Patron Kinross Gold; and to Lead Patrons: Lillian Meighen and Don Wright Foundation, and Nick and Loretta Pantaleo via Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Toronto.
You might also enjoy….
Khloe Plays Digital Guitar: An Emily’s House Music Therapy Treasure Click Here
Xenia Concert Outing from the Emily’s House Explores Series Click Here
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