Awakening The Inner Gift

Program Description

Musicians regularly perform in healthcare settings, many without any formal training. Awakening The Inner Gift gives musicians a comprehensive understanding on how to utilize their skills and an understanding of the potential power of music within a healthcare setting.

Musicians learn about the latest research on music within a healthcare setting, and the efficacy of the AIMH approach. Conductor Peter Shannon shares what works, and what does not work, drawing on his more than a decade of experience in this area. The important ability of music as a complementary tool to enhance mental well-being and also bring about positive physiological outcomes in patients is shared, including research on music and the parasympathetic nervous system and endocrine system. From the perspective of the professional musician, Peter Shannon gives musicians an insight into Paul Gilbert's psychotherapeutic model Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and the positive benefits of this for musicians.

Musicians are trained to understand the legalities and limitations, ethically and otherwise, of their work within such a sensitive setting (eg. HIPAA regulations). They are trained in repertoire choices, ethics, spatial awareness, mindfulness, compassionate communication and self-care. Participants take part in training modules and receive real-time feedback and guidance in a healthcare setting where they are encouraged to practice their newly acquired skills.

In a profession wrought with burnout and performance-related injuries, Awakening the Inner Gift is an excellent way for professional musicians to enhance their own working professional environment. Modules incorporating compassion, self-compassion and self-care lead to greater resilience and can be invaluable to the professional musician. Studies have shown that work in this area leads not only to increased happiness and a better work environment, but to increases in creativity, better well-being, and changes in physiological systems as well, including the brain and the immune system.