I am attending The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, pursuing a PhD in International Psychology, Trauma Services Concentration. I am focusing on working with trauma victims overseas, such as with refugees, women who have experienced sexual violence or different cultures that do not have access to regular means of therapy.
I plan to develop music interventions based on the music of the cultures I’ll be interning with and teach them therapy techniques that they will then be able to use in their communities where there is a lack of resources for trauma intervention. I am currently working on a project for women who experience street harassment in Pakistan, and would love to expand the project to other areas in the world. The Chicago School is the only school in the US to offer this international degree, and graduates often work with the UN, WHO, Red Cross, and other humanitarian organizations abroad. The above photo is my most recent concert in Senegal, where I worked with local talented and well-known musicians. I had been planning to return to work with them to learn their techniques when COVID broke out. I hope to return in the future as I pursue my PhD to utilize their tremendous expertise.
In my most recent position in outpatient therapy, almost all of my clients had some form of PTSD, along with other co-morbid disorders. It is why I am drawn to trauma services.
I still perform and teach a few lessons, but I am happy I pursued this field. Working with my clients and seeing them make progress on their journey to wellness has been the most rewarding aspect of my career. I have worked in both inpatient psychiatric hospitals and outpatient community health centers. I have observed what remarkable progress my “well’ clients and the most severely ill have accomplished during music and verbal therapy.
Associations
- American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)
