So I guess if I can't actually go to Haiti myself, the next best thing is to help prepare those who will be going.

I'll be teaching a portion of an Arts Relief course hosted by the good folks at BuildaBridge http://www.buildabridge.org/ on June 7 at Bryn Mawr College. Following what promises to be a fantastic morning session on psychological first aid, I'll be talking about my experiences in Honduras, Ghana and also about mass trauma work in North Philadelphia post Hurricane Katrina. I knew traveling and volunteering would teach me a lot, I'm glad to have the opportunity to pass it on and help other interested artists and therapists prepare to do similar work.

There's still time to register if you are interested in taking the course. And - I'm not sure how to blog about this without making it seem like a shameless plug, but I'm the proud co-author of a chapter in Music Therapy and Trauma. Check it out through http://www.wehealnewyork.org/ Kudos to Kristen Stewart for editing the book and many thanks to Maria Gonsalves who helped us pull our chapter together.

I'm excited that the field of traumatology is expanding to include music therapy (well, all the creative arts therapies.)

Take care -C

What can I do in Haiti?

Seeing the devastation in Haiti is heartbreaking. It brings to mind the tremendous loss that the trauma of a natural disaster brings. In response to a local organization recruiting artists and arts therapists I'm considering going in about six weeks to work with children as they begin to process the loss and trauma they have experienced. It is a mixed blessing for me to have direct experience in traumatology and I hope that I can help prepare other therapists for this work using my own experience and research into music therapy in the post-disaster environment.

Check out BuildaBridge International: Visit Artists on Call: International at:http://buildabridge.ning.com/groups/group/show?id=3956701%3AGroup%3A27&xg_source=msg_mes_group They are particularly interested in those who speak French or Creole. I'll post more soon, I promise.