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International Encounters in Clinical Music Therapy 2008
Centro Convegni Concordia, Venaria Reale (TO)
Sixth Encounter
Friday 26 and Saturday 27, September 2008, 9.30 AM to 6 PM
Lecturer
Deborah Benkovitz, LSW, MSW, MT-BC
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC: Coordinator, MT Internship Program
Adjunct Professor of Music Therapy, Duquesne University
"The Impact of Music Therapy on Pediatric Patients"
Friday morning: "The General Application of Music Therapy to Pediatric Medical Patients"
Friday afternoon: "Pediatric Palliative/Hospice Care and Music Therapy"
Saturday morning: The Impact of Music Therapy on Pediatric Pain and Anxiety
Saturday afternoon: hospital demonstration
Pediatric medical patients require care that differs significantly from adult patients in most areas of treatment, including music therapy. Assessment relies heavily on nonverbal patient cues and information from family members, and interventions are necessarily creative and flexible, changing constantly to meet changing needs of patients.
The sessions this weekend will focus on several key areas of pediatric medical music therapy, including general interventions, pain and anxiety management, and support of chronically ill and dying children.
Children come to the hospital for many reasons, including cancer treatment, organ transplant, genetic and contagious diseases, chronic illnesses and trauma. In addition to medical interventions, healing is dependent upon non-medical support, such as reducing anxiety, helping patients and families communicate and express themselves, and providing a trusting, healing environment.
Flexibility and creativity are key to helping pediatric patients, and therapists rely on the “tools” of their trade, including singing, improvisation, songwriting, entrainment, and imagery, to provide effective interventions. Assessments, goals and interventions in acute care are often done quickly, in order to bring immediate relief of symptoms.
Because various diseases and illnesses present different challenges, time will be spent addressing each major hospital unit, including oncology, transplant, general medical, trauma, surgery, and intensive care.
Common interventions will be discussed as well as unusual case studies.
Deborah Benkovitz, LSW, MSW, MT-BC, is a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (Bachelor of Music Education), Duquesne University (Certification in Music Therapy) and University of Pittsburgh (Master of Social Work). Debbie has been adjunct Professor of Music Therapy at Duquesne University for six years, and teaches “Therapeutic Drumming.”
For three years, she organized a weekend program for music therapists, social workers and educators titled “Music and Wellness.” Responsibilities included developing the program, hiring the teachers, coordinating residential needs, and arranging the continuing education hours for each discipline.
In addition, Debbie established and facilitates a community drum circle at Duquesne University, currently in its fifth year, which grew out of the Music & Wellness program. Debbie has worked with several organizations, including Mercy Behavioral Health and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, to develop music therapy programs for Alzheimer/dementia senior citizens, adult psychiatric rehabilitation patients, and at-risk children.
In 2003 she initiated and developed the music therapy and internship program at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP). During her four years at CHP, the program has grown to include a second music therapist. In addition to supervising the music therapy interns and numerous clinical students from three western Pennsylvania universities.
Debbie is involved with oncology, transplant, NICU, intensive care, surgical and general medical pediatric patients, and serves on the hospital’s palliative care and pain teams. Debbie has also completed Levels 1 & 2 training in Pediatric Hypnosis with the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
She combines music therapy with hypnotic suggestion to help patients with procedures and pain, and is exploring research opportunities with the CHP rheumatology department to investigate the impact of the music therapy/hypnosis interventions.
Debbie has presented workshops at regional, national, and international music therapy conferences, most recently in Seoul, Korea. Presentations and workshops include “Drumming with At-Risk Children” “Music Therapy in Pediatric Palliative Care,” “The Impact of Language on Music Therapy Interventions,” and a “Toolkit of Pediatric Music Therapy Interventions.”