Diane's Community Healing Programs

Music: Medicine for the Mind

Therapeutic music is an art based on the science of sound. According to the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians "it is live acoustic music, played or sung, specifically tailored to the patient's immediate need, which brings music's intrinsic healing value to the bedside of the ailing."

This program is multi-faceted. It has been heard at hospital entrances to calm nervous patients, offered privately in hospital rooms, performed for large nursing home audiences, and most recently graciously received in the home of a family who's beloved father was passing. Each song is chosen by the needs of the patients at that particular time.

Diane has had 3 years of pastoral care training and experience through her involvement with her church community and formal education in music therapy at SUNY NEW Paltz and Nazareth College. She is very delighted to present this program with Dr. John Lawrence (Hoppin' John).

John was a former senior research psychologist with the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, Adjunct Professor with Columbia University's School of International & Public Affairs, and Principal Technical Adviser, and Deputy Director of Social Development Division of the United Nations Development Programme in New York. In addition to being a fiddler extraordinaire, he is now actively involved with the work of United Nations agencies and other multilateral agencies in social development, and specializes in human development, program management, and relationships between education and livelihood.

The chosen material is all highly sensitive to the needs of the listeners — respectful of regard their age, religiosity, gender, race, and nationality. It is spontaneous, chosen for what is needed for the moment.

Building Bridges

Inspired by the book "Bowling Alone" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000) and a week long workshop presented by Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam, this program is designed to build community power and strengthen the bonds between us. It gives a brief historical perspective on the collapse and revival of American community life. In a groundbreaking book based on vast data, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and our democratic structures, and how we may reconnect. This program illustrates America has civically reinvented itself before — (approximately 100 years ago at the turn of the last century.) And America can reinvent itself again — find out how and help make it happen. This program includes handouts.

Great for congregations, non-profits, corporations — any place that is experiencing conflict between members and wishes to inspire cooperation and working better together.

Blessed

An uplifting program for anyone who is touched by a person with special needs, including parents, caretakers, and teachers. Diane adopted a teenager with Tourette's Syndrome. She taught music to children and adults with special needs for 15 years. This is highly recommended for community support groups, family care takers, and Special Education teachers in private and public schools. It is designed to honor and support the people who have been touched in any way by a differently-abled person. It is offered in gratitude.