Harp Therapy

[Judy Anderson]

I’m in training to be a Healing Harpist. There is a difference between therapeutic musician and music therapist. The latter is interactive and usually requires graduate education. Therapeutic musician plays at the bedside. I suggest you read Stella Benson’s book The Healing Musician for an idea of what the work is lhttps://www.nsbtm.org/. The one I’m in is Harp for Healing. It was always virtual, except of course for the internship. How you structure what you play depends on the patient. There are different ways of playing and types of music depending on condition of patient, if they are dying, in pain, anxious, etc.

The music is supposed to be very simple, not complicated. So something like melody line and chords. But the improv is a bit of a challenge, I’m better with going with what someone else has put together. But they have training and lessons on improve.

[AnnJeannette Mead]

I am also interested in harp therapy! I think it would be really fun to someday getting certified and do harp therapy at a hospital, hospice care, or other health care setting. I found this book called “The Healer’s Way Companion: soothing music for those in pain” Volume 1 by Stella Benson and I haven’t looked through it too much just yet but I’m looking forward to learning songs from there.

I found out about a Holistic Clinical Musician Certification Program through SoundWreker: http://soundwerker.net/ and I don’t know if it’s any good, so I’m wondering if anyone has done that, or what other quality certification programs are out there for Harp Therapy?

I’ve also heard of Bed Side Harp and they offer some programs for Certified Harp Therapist (CHT) and the Certified Master of Harp Therapy (CMHT) https://www.bedsideharp.com/harp-therapy-certification/

[Carolyn Ancell]

I wholeheartedly echo Judy Anderson’s reply. The training for MTs (Music Therapists) is different from the training for TMs (therapeutic musicians). There are numerous training programs out there, all of which can be accessed on line. Research them to see which is best for you. And, if possible, find mentor, someone certified in the field, you can talk to. My training was with MHTP (Music for Healing and Transition); and I recently retired from 15 years working at patients’ bedsides at a hospice in-patient unit. A good training program will answer your current questions, and pave the way for deeply meaningful work. I continue to play then as a volunteer (until the pandemic hit) at a local hospital; and hope to get back to it.

[Rachelle Morgan]

Hey there! I’m a board-certified music therapist in the U.S., and as the others have said, our training is more in depth and qualifications more robust. I have a master’s degree in music therapy. Harp is not one of our required instruments (we have to qualify on piano, guitar, percussion, and voice), so I’m also learning how to play the harp and use it in my work. I haven’t had the opportunity to do so since the pandemic began.

[Sophie Gurung]

Thanks for all your replies. I only seem to be able to find course in the states (I’m in the UK) and as I’m not able to use zoom etc I’d rather find a face to face course for when restrictions allow. Are there any therapeutic harpists in the UK?