Page 22 - Trending Magazine 2018 Spring

Wellbeing_RoadstoRhythm_Layout 1 18-03-16 1:58 PM Page 1

Story by Michael Lee
Photos by Tim Smith

ichelle Paddock lay cuddled inside a
cushioned, black chair, a tambourine in
Mhand, and stared up as the guitar strings
showered her with music.
As Courtney Kjaldgaard leaned her guitar in closer,
Paddock looked back and a large smile crept across
her face.
Paddock, known to her friends simply as Shelly, is
unable to speak. But the smiles and laughter that
come from Shelly when the music starts is
unmistakable to those around her.
“It’s great, it’s wonderful. I’m saying that because I see
the benefits,” said Brian Chaboyer, a support worker
with Family Visions, a non-profit organization that
supports adults with intellectual disabilities. “It’s very
therapeutic for somebody like Shelly.”
Every Monday, Kjaldgaard meets with the workers and
clients over at Family Visions for a weekly jam session.
As the only certified music therapist based out of
Brandon, Kjaldgaard uses her practice, Roads to
Rhythm Music Therapy, to help people in a variety of
ways, from managing their emotions, improving their
social skills, and in some cases, helping their
cognitive functioning.
Music therapy, as Kjaldgaard describes it, is the use
of music for non-music goals, and her clients range
from adults with dementia, to children as young as
two who are on the autism spectrum.

Music is a huge

motivating factor

because there’s so

much joy and interest

that comes from it

Kjaldgaard started her practice as a music therapist
in 2014, after completing her bachelor of music
degree at Brandon University and her graduate
certificate in music therapy at Concordia University
in Montreal.

22