Sounding Joy Inter-Island Music Therapy Program

Vital Stats

Kaikea B

Keaau, HI

  • people helped100
  • People Doing It 12

The Problem

As a psychology student and musician I know very well how important artistic expression is for a person’s metal health and development. That’s why I’ve devoted my life to helping others find their own creative spark. I started work years ago as a performance artist, and recently began volunteer work with Sounding Joy Music Therapy Inc. that greater impacts our community in a clinical setting. The U.S. public school systems—and undoubtedly many other education systems internationally—have made a trend of systematically downsizing the arts and physical education in all school-wide curriculums. Children no longer have opportunities to have as much P.E. art, or music classes as they did in the past in order to keep standardized test scores in math, science and language arts higher. Ironically, it seems that this has a huge adverse effect on the intelligence and emotional stability of people being raised within a system lacking in physical motion and self-expression, where greater numbers of people are diagnosed with diseases that require psychiatric care and often prescriptions for drugs that have many adverse side effects. There are no side effects to “doses” of art, music, or movement, only positive results. Music specifically uses up the part of the brain that processes pain and can be used to alleviate discomfort in surgery and has been proven to significantly speed up recovery in patients. Music also gives an avenue for children with disabilities such as autism to have a way to express, or “speak” in a universal language. A culture that embraces the arts and the importance of our physicality is a well-rounded one, filled with healthy individuals who possess greater self-awareness and cognitive abilities. This is the culture I hope to encourage and inspire in my lifetime.

Plan of Action

I studied with Sounding Joy music therapists for approximately ten months, where I learned clinical observation techniques, interview styles, ethics in social work, and a lot of ukulele chords. I interfaced with approximately 50 children weekly for hour-long sessions. Although Sounding Joy Music Therapy has moved inter-island, I continue to study psychology and performance arts, in hopes of attending graduate school for further knowledge in this field. My work with Sounding Joy was extensive, coupled with a college practicum course where I documented experiences volunteering and working under their clinical supervision. It is my hope that they return to our island again in the future. For now, I work with my university’s choral club, my latest short term volunteer project will be administering a drawing workshop for elementary students who will create images while they listen to a piece that will be performed by our ensemble this November. The pictures drawn by our community’s children will be featured in an art exhibit and slide show during the performance. In addition to this, I take three other music courses, and will be in two additional performances this semester. I plan to graduate this December with a B.A. in Liberal Studies: Psychology of the Arts and hope to attend graduate school the following year for a Master of Music Therapy and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Sounding Joy Music Therapy works with numerous individuals of all ages and abilities to assist in the cognitive functioning, emotional health, and musicianship of clients. The effect is wide spread, especially at our states largest city of Honolulu, where they serve hundreds of clients a day through group and individual programs. The grant program Sounding Joy currently works through covers inter-island outreach programs that are so important for our states more rural, though still considerably populated, areas. My plan of action is a little bit different from the goals of this particular organization, though I could easily see myself working with them again in the future. I plan to start my own organization and base it from my home island of Hawai’i to better serve people in my local community. I value both visual and audio arts, and other alternative therapies such as dance and wilderness (or nature) therapy. After completing my graduate education I intend to start a therapeutic, educational program that incorporates a wide variety of alternative therapies to encourage multi-media expression, self-awareness of clients, and supportive artistic communities.
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