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I REMEMBER
20 years of Music Therapy at Laurier
The Maureen Forester Recital Hall is crowded
Laughter
Tears
Memories
Music
Many people to cheer Rosemary
Many people to remember Caryl Ann
Many people to remember the past
I don't remember the past
I came to Laurier only six years ago
But I too remember Rosemary and Caryl Ann
They were there waiting for me at the airport when I first arrived
They were there to support me whenever I needed them
I remember the many hilarious moments we shared
I remember the many nerve-wracking moments we shared too
I remember the laughter
I remember the tears
Thank-you Rosemary
Thank-you Caryl Ann
I miss you both
Heidi Ahonen-Eerikainen, PhD, MTA
Associate Professor
Director, Laurier Centre for Music Therapy Research
A STUDENT'S JOURNEY
Brief History
My association with Wilfrid Laurier began in 1996 when I enrolled in the general Honors Music Comprehensive program. In 1998 I began my official affiliation to the program as an enrolled 'hopeful' in the 'Introduction to Music Therapy course. For the next five years I worked tirelessly toward the completion of my undergraduate degree in 2003. Following graduation, I completed my MTA under the guidance of Noreen Donnell. For the next three years I worked in private practice as well as work in a local long-term care facility in Kitchener. In 2006,1 returned to Laurier to enter into the Masters of Music Therapy program, which I completed in 2007.
Winds of Change
My education at Laurier has been a long road with many bumps turns and potholes. Yet the journey has been a meaningful excursion. Along the way, my voyage has afforded me many beautiful vistas filled with challenges, curiosities and opportunities to meet fascinating people. I have shared in the sadness when the beloved Dr. Rosemary Fischer retired as well as the excitement and trepidation of the arrival of Dr. Colin Andrew Lee. This transition offered everyone challenges and rewards.
The curriculum has undergone many growing pains in the ten years I have been associated with the program. The most significant being a shift in the program's philosophical stance to 'Music-Centered Psychotherapy.' There is now a more prominent focus on the music itself as the buttress for clinical change. The...