Brighten Someone’s Day with a Tune!
For someone who’s not feeling well, a song can bring a welcome moment of distraction, inspiration, or relaxation. Memories of home, of people and places fondly recalled, or the sounds of nature may all be evoked by music. Music is also a unique way to recognize an anniversary or birthday! A live musical moment at bedside can be provided by SPH’s music therapist, Kirsten Davis, MA, MTA. ?
To request a special song or piece of instrumental music (performed on guitar, flute, piano and/or voice), pick up a form from the Foundation office, or email the required info to: kirstendavisslamet@viha.ca. Please submit your request one week in advance if possible.
What Is Music Therapy?
Music therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. A certified music therapist uses the nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities of music to facilitate interaction, self-awareness, communication, and self-expression within a therapeutic relationship. (Canadian Association of Music Therapists, 2019)
About Kirsten Davis
As a certified music therapist, it is my job and my great privilege to share patients’ favourite music and its connections to their rich life experiences, each week on the SPH Palliative Care Unit. I’ve worked as a music therapist for 25 years and have been at SPH since the Palliative Care Unit opened in 2005. My passion for music has been lifelong: I play flute, piano and guitar, and I especially love singing. Although my training was at Waterloo’s Wilfrid Laurier University and Concordia in Montreal, I’m a Vancouver Islander through and through having been born in Victoria and raised in Deep Cove.
