Maria Teresa De Donato, Ph.D.,
Naturopath, Life Strategist, Author
Music and Colors:
Their Effects on our Wellbeing and Health
--
Interview with Francesca Durham
Clinical Harp Musician and Facilitator
For
millennia both music and colors have proved to highly affect our psyche and
mind and,
as consequence, our wellbeing and health. Their impact has been quite remarkable in so
many cases and circumstances related to emotional, mental and even physical conditions
that during those last few decades even our western scientific community has recognized
them as forms of what has been defined “Art Therapy”. The
latter, in fact, can be seen as a standalone methodology to be used in our
everyday life
whenever we feel the need for or as a therapeutic tool that can integrate more
conventional
psychological and emotional treatments.
In
this regard, it is my greatest pleasure today to interview Francesca Durham
from Ontario ,
Canada
Hello, Francesca, and thank you so much for taking the time for our interview today.
Hello, Teresa, and thank you for inviting me to this interview.
You
are very welcome. Thank you to you too for being with us. Francesca, why don’t
you start with introducing yourself to our readers?
My family traveled throughout Europe
before deciding to call Canada
home. In fact, I was born in Changi Singapore .
My brother was born in London
England . After college my career started in Retail and Image Consulting. However, after a few short years working in Retail I decided to shift into Human Resources
and stayed in this field for over a decade. Counselling, training, and job placement were
the real focus and core of my work. As a
generalist, the task at hand was constant multi-tasking while working for clients and candidates. Years later a move into business management
and development initiated my own transition into coaching and mentoring. This is where my business started to evolve: Building
my holistic practice working with women in transition and
facilitating personal development workshops using colour
and sound.
Can
you elaborate how you transitioned into coaching/mentoring after a corporate
career?
Sure.
It started with volunteering after taking some time away from my corporate
career. Volunteering
with women in hospice is where I realized an opportunity to bring harp music,
specifically therapeutic bedside harp music. Using a small lap harp, as a practitioner I can be interactive with patients when I can or play for the patient what seems
natural in the moment… It could be familiar or unfamiliar music. Mentoring is an extension
of a program I took called Harp For Healing. I was asked if I’d like to mentor after
going through the program and I was happy to do so. So currently I mentor 10 students.
My oldest is a 73 years old student who graduated
recently and two more are nearing the end of the program.
The
harp is a very old instrument that we find in so many ancient cultures, such as the
Greeks and the Romans, just to name a few, and I have personally been always fascinated
by it both for its quite unique shape and for what I would define as mystic
sounds that can produce.
What
led you to choose this particular musical instrument as a tool for your personal
use and to coach people, and why?
Historically
the harp has been a symbol of relief and comfort. As practitioners we use the artistic
application of the intrinsic element of live music and sound to provide an environment
conducive to the healing process. So
music played on the harp has several unique healing properties:
Resonance
from strings
Range
of pitch
Relationship
between sound and recipient
Our
intention is really to support the recipients’ goal of healing which might be emotional,
physical, mental, or spiritual. The
benefit to live harp music is the sound of the harp
strings to enhance quality of life.
Did
you need to get certified to become a Harp Musician and Facilitator and if yes, How
did you go about certification?
When
I decided to get involved with Harp Therapy it was important to get certified. The programs
I have studied are accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians, so we have met a minimum standard set by the board which includes an extensive
curriculum demonstrating musical proficiency and training in hospice/hospital internship
playing at the bedside.
There
are two designations from different programs I’ve completed. I started with the International
Harp Therapy Program in 2011 and overlapped toward the end with a second
program, Harp For Healing. Both
my internship experiences were amazing and now I
play therapeutic harp music in long term care facilities, hospice and
palliative care. I
create many custom workshops on request and always look forward to returning to
the Girl
Guides to host workshops for their young girls helping to build confidence and
self-esteem.
Why
don’t you tell us more about the Recreational Harp Therapy Workshops that you
facilitate, How people generally respond to them, and How and to what extent they
may possibly benefit from them?
Our
goal is to change lives one harp at a time bringing community together to enjoy
the experience
of music making. Our workshops are
focused on strengthening health & wellness
on all levels of our being. Qualities of
hearing live harp music, therapeutic and calming,
can provide a beautiful bonding and healing experience… Each person does their
part, no matter how easy or simple it may be, to add to the complete
experience.
Recreational
Harp Therapy is expressive in a one-to-one session with a client or it can be inclusive
so that the individual feels as being part of a whole if in a group
environment. The
atmosphere created would be effective in decreasing distress levels, again
improving quality
of life through the experience and some participants want to play and sing
along while
other just listen. Therapeutic harp
music promotes a positive state of mind, pain management,
ward off depression, calms participants, and eases muscle tension.
As you
know, Teresa, our vital signs are expressed in rhythmic terms like brain wave,
heart beat, pulse right…so that’s why music as therapy works so well: it
resonates in SYNC with BEATS!!!!
Together
we create an atmosphere of community and togetherness. Now, and I want this to be clear, I am NOT a
music therapist, so I’m not working toward a goal for rehabilitation with anyone.
Playing therapeutically, I am there to
SERVE and recreationally there is an expression, “to get out of one’s head and
into the heart.” When a harp workshop is being facilitated a musical experience
is being created. And that’s the key…in
a recreational atmosphere we come together for a music making session that is
all about having an experience. For
participants in pain of any kind the objective is to forget, if just briefly, their
pain and suffering and join in…participate in something different.
Where
else do you play therapeutic harp music? What kind of service do you offer?
and
Who can really benefit from it?
Halton
Harps is a certified regional provider of complementary therapeutic support services
to special care facilities seeking innovative, competitive and non-invasive methods
for improving and sustaining quality of life.
All
our workshops are delivered in a safe and positive environment reflecting the different
needs of the group and of each individual. We design and develop workshops bringing our
unique rainbow of harps to the community. As a facilitator of the Rainbow of Sound®
and Color My World© programs, we have workshops to fit the needs of
children, youth and adults.
Although
it is NOT a treatment for any health related issues, Harp Therapy can be
beneficial
to:
•
Augment pain management of the terminally ill
•
Relieve anxiety of the chronically ill
•
Accelerate physical healing of post-surgery and injured patients
•
Support end of life process
•
Reduce stress and blood pressure of the chronically ill
•
Relieve body and mental tension of pre-operative patients.
I
know you have written a very interesting book called, ‘Colorful Self-Improvement
~ 7 Keys to a HAPPIER, Healthier, Wealthier YOU. Your
book is a tool used for personal development working with women
in transition coping with Loss of Self, Career or a Loved One. You’ve recently decided on integrating Harp
Music & MARI to facilitate Authentic Heart Connection Workshops.
Why
don’t you tell us more about the marriage of these two therapeutic tools and How
you intend to use them?
As I
continue to build my holistic therapeutic practice my intention is to work
together with
the harps and MARI. Both have helped me
greatly to get through very difficult time in my life. I am able to speak from experience about the
benefits of both. I will share with you
my recent Healing Flower Mandala.
As
for MARI, it stands for Mandala Assessment Research Instrument. MARI is more than
art therapy. It’s an experience like the
one of music making. MARI allows you to visualize
from your own sense of knowing, insight and awareness of where YOU are on the
journey, your Life’s Path. Adding music
to a workshop experience with MARI brings you back to your centre, the very
essence of YOU.
So,
to all our readers: Stay tuned!
What
kind of relationship do you see between color and music?
Energy.
Energy means movement. To release
negative energies trapped inside the mind is possible through music and
expressive art creation. How? To expend energy on music making
and expressive art can bring us back in time or imagine into the future. That said, it’s
the act of being present in the moment and engaged in such activities that
creates the necessary
space for the mind to unwind, relax and expand. We can heal blocked memories
and emotions by shifting our energy, allowing the potential to transform our lives.
That’s the magic of combining a unique
workshop offering harp MUSIC & MARI.
That’s
really interesting. I wish I could be there and take part to these fascinating
activities…
I
wish you were there too, Teresa. But who knows… Maybe in the future you will…
I
hope so. Francesca. Before closing our
interview: What if our readers want to
get in touch with you either to buy your book or – especially if they live in
your area – take part to one of your courses, workshops or retreats: How can
they contact you?
Everybody
is welcome to contact me either through my websites or through social media.
I
will look forward to hearing from our readers. Thank you, Teresa.
Thank you, Francesca, for having been with us.
Disclaimer: All material presented in this article is for educational purpose only and not intended as medical advice. If you have any health issues you are concerned with, consult with your physician or primary health care practitioner first. For more information about how Maria Teresa De Donato, Ph.D. can help you as a Traditional Naturopath and Homeopath, you can contact her at info@dedoholistic.com - Thank you.
