re: Harp Therapist

[Gregory Sawisky]

Just happened to read an interesting article in the Vancouver Sun last week about harp musical therapists and wanted to see if anyone here has taken time to do a specialized harpist musical therapist course and what their impression of it may have been.

In short I am hoping to look at musical therapy but am wondering if spending money on courses would be of any tangible value?

[Cheryl Z.]

Hi Gregory,

There are several harp theraphy programs out there.

[cynthy-johnson]

Hi All,

I am a Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner (CTHP), a Graduate of the International Harp Therapy Program.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I just want to reiterate that I am opposed to the intrusion of a certification process

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I couldn’t submit the quotes I wanted from the website. Just follow the link given above and see if you don’t find some of it as odd or ridiculous as I did.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The first question is, are you going to be able to get paid positions, before paying for a course.

[cynthy-johnson]

I would like to address some points in the previous posts:

1.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

What are CEUs, and what is the training intended to equalize with? And why is there a need for standardization?

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

And you say they can seek paid positions, but do they exist or have to be created, do they have to find the funding to support it themselves, etc.? The Robert Wood Johnson hospital is the only one I have heard of that may have paid positions. The training implies that it is a paid profession, but

[cynthy-johnson]

In response to your questions:

1. Yes, Certified Therapeutic Musicians can and do seek paid positions. They are available, and each program has affiliations through various hospitals, hospices,etc. If one does the research, or contacts each program (belonging to the NSBTM), one can view the affiliations, and assistance with placement.

[patricia-jaeger]

Gregory, several posts on this forum are very helpful. If your phrase “tangible value” means for you, that after expense for a course you are later paid enough through employment, to gain back what you spent, and more, then that tangible value is about money. Many of us volunteer, without pay, to bring our music to cancer wards, children’s hospitals, retirement and assisted living facilities. Our reward is that some patients

[tula-ruggiero]

I think the courses must have a great value to them, based on what I have read and from conversations I have had with people who took the courses and now work in this field. I am a professional performer and teacher with a MM degree but that didn’t prepare me to work in a hospital. I can, and do visit hospitals and assisted living homes to play for entertainment purposes. I don’t know, however, how to play in a medical capacity such as how to moderate someone’s heartbeat through rhythmic playing. I also don’t know how to deal with the psychology of dying for the patient or the patient’s family. I also don’t know how to work in tandem with hospital staff. There are just too many things I don’t know and I am not going to pretend that I do.

I have two students who are interested in pursuing this in the future. I have told them that for now I can teach them how to play their harps so that if they take the courses they can play whatever they need to play. They understand that they must be able to play their harps well before they can take this on. I tell them the truth- I can teach them how to play their harps well but they will need other instuction to learn how to work at the bedside. Both of those students will actually know much more about working in a hospital than I do as one is a hospice nurse and the other is currently a nursing student. As to the certificate, it is not so much about the piece of paper as it is all of the knowledge you need to have.

[Leigh Griffith]

Hi Saul,

CEU’s are Continuing Education Units and various professions require that folks take a certain number of units or credits within a certain time limit (for example, some school systems require their teachers to take a minimum number of CEU’s per year).

Leigh

[rod-c]

Hello:

I would add just a few thoughts to this thread. I think every one is making valid points. Last summer, I sat in on an introductory class for those interested in playing the harp in a hospital setting.

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