Music of the Soul ─ Composing Life Out of Loss

Music of the Soul guides the reader through principles, techniques, and exercises for incorporating music into grief counseling, with the end goal of further empowering the grieving person.

Music has a unique ability to elicit a whole range of powerful emotional responses in people - even so far as altering or enhancing one's mood - as well as physical reactions. This interdisciplinary text draws in equal parts from contemporary grief/loss theory, music therapy research, historical examples of powerful music, case studies, and both self-reflecting and teaching exercises. Music is as much about beginnings as endings, and thus the book moves through life's losses into its new beginnings, using musical expression to help the bereaved find meaning in loss and hurt, and move forward with their lives. With numerous exercises and examples for implementing the use of music in grief counseling, the book offers a practical and flexible approach to a broad spectrum of mental health practitioners, from thanatologists to hospice staff, at all levels of professional training and settings.

Joy S. Berger, FT, DMA, BCC, MT-BC is the Director of Education at the Hospice Education Network (HEN), www.hospiceonline.com, where she ensures that the Hospice Education Network remains at the forefront in developing innovative solutions and services to meet the educational needs of hospice and palliative care professionals nation-wide. She is a recipient of the National Heart of Hospice Award for Psychosocial/Spiritual Care by the National Council of Hospice & Palliative Professionals. Dr. Berger is a Fellow in ThanatologyR (Association for Death Education and Counseling), Doctor of Musical Arts (piano performance), with board certifications as a chaplain (Association of Professional Chaplains) and music therapist (Certification Board for Music Therapists). The author can be found on the web at www.composinglife.com and www.hospiceonline.com.