P.E.I. military centre to offer music therapy for families affected by PTSD

The P.E.I. Military Family Resource Centre is developing a new music therapy program for veterans andfamilies affected by post traumatic stress disorder.

Ed MacAulayis afamily liaison officer and social worker with the centre who is developing the program in partnership with Katie Kirkham, a music therapist and owner of Rhythm Alive Music Therapy in Charlottetown. They hope to begin offering music therapy sessions this spring.

"It's a way of making you feel more grounded, it reducesthe sense of isolation," MacAulay said. "It kind of brings a little bit of awareness to the person that maybe this is a way of making me feel good for a period of time and those times can become more frequent."

MacAulaysaid the program will offer music therapyona group and individual basis to help people manage symptoms of PTSD, includinganxiety, depression and social isolation.

Kirkhamsaideach music therapy sessionwill be tailored to the needs of the group or individual participating. Group sessions caninclude activities such as drumming circles,song writingand music-basedrelaxation,she added.

"Music affects us on the emotional, cognitive, social and the physical level," Kirkhamsaid. "Given that it affects us on all those levels it's a really effective and versatiletherapy."

She said music therapy can reduce many of the physical symptomsof stress and anxiety associated with PTSD, including lowering blood pressure and heart rate, reducing stress-related hormones and reducing a person's sense of pain.

"It can really help to decrease a sense of isolation if you're using it in a group," Kirkhamsaid. "On an individual basis, certainly it's a way to process trauma on either the physical level or the emotional level."

Open to all

MacAulaysaid the program will also beopen to anyone looking for new ways to manage stress and anxiety.

"I've had several isolated cases where family members have approached me about finding ways of dealing with their parent or their spouse who has PTSDand how can they take care of themselves," he said.

Kirkham said the goal of music therapy is to equip people with coping strategies that they can practice at home to help reduce stress and anxiety.

"You're going to learn techniques in the session that are going to help you outside of the sessionin the real world that you can apply to your daily life when you're not with a music therapist or with a group," Kirkhamsaid.

MacAulaysaid he hopes theprogram will also help build a community of support among families affected by PTSD.

"The other big part of it too arethe connections they make when they come together," he said. "Here they are at the same workshop learning ways to cope and deal with the stress and so on, and maybe they'll strike up a conversation and become a support to one another."

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