Time in Between

Music Therapy with Adolescent Girls in a Safehouse in Kingston, Jamaica

Authors

  • Lora F. Heller Music Department, Molloy College, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v21i2.3064

Keywords:

music therapy, Jamaica, trauma, resilience, mental health, culture, adolescent girls, developmental disabilities, sex trafficking, interdisciplinary work

Abstract

Molloy College, a private liberal arts college in New York, founded by the Dominican sisters of Amityville, partnered with PRN (Physicians, Residents, Nurses) Relief International and the Dominican Sisters in Jamaica to organize a twice-annual service trip providing primary care, speech-language pathology, psychiatric-mental health care, and medical/surgical teams in rural and urban Jamaica. During the week-long trips, medical staff and speech pathologists move in teams from clinic to clinic, while mental health professionals, along with midwives and psychiatric nurses, work exclusively with the residents and staff at Homestead Place of Safety in Stony Hill, St. Andrew in the northern outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. The state-operated facility, established as a home away from home, houses girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who experienced neglect or abuse, victimization, and sexual assault, or those in conflict with the law. Music Therapy services were included as part of the mental health team for the first time in October 2016 and provided an outlet for self-expression, an opportunity to foster resilience, a strengthened sense of community, and a supportive response to trauma. In past years, the mental health team found that the girls engaged freely in creative outlets such as art [therapy], and that music was an integral part of their culture and daily routine. Music therapy was therefore recommended to help normalize the therapeutic process, increase engagement, and develop therapeutic rapport.

Author Biography

Lora F. Heller, Music Department, Molloy College, USA

I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience in music therapy! I've worked with clients and patients in a variety of settings including NICU, early childhood special education and Deaf education, pediatric medicine, pediatric hospice, child and adolescent psychiatry, and nursing homes. For the past 25 years I have supervised music therapy students from Molloy College (and other programs) in their clinical training, and I'm in my 10th year on the staff and faculty in the music department at Molloy. It was an honor to be part of the mental health team with the Molloy Mission and I hope to have another opportunity for this work. I feel strongly about advocating for music therapy and spent a few years on the New York State Task Force for Occupational Regulation. I am especially passionate about family centered work. 21 years ago I opened my own practice, Baby Fingers, servicing families and children where we focus on relationships and language development through music and sign language. I have served as an expert for parenting programs, authored sign language books for kids in addition to music therapy articles, podcasts, and textbook chapters, and have presented at conferences both regionally and nationally. Lora Heller, MS, LCAT, MT-BC. https://mybabyfingers.com / https://www.molloy.edu

Photo of author Lora F. Heller

Published

2021-06-01

How to Cite

Heller, L. F. (2021). Time in Between: Music Therapy with Adolescent Girls in a Safehouse in Kingston, Jamaica. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v21i2.3064

Issue

Section

Reflections on Practice