“…We invited our patients to be able to come and kind of take a bit of a leap of faith,” said Renee Linklater, the senior director of Shkaabe Makwa, part of the CAMH that’s centred on Indigenous-focused wellness. This pilot also involved non-Indigenous clients.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health launches First Nations, Inuit and Métis wellness centre
The ask was simple: talk about music, to help a composer write an original piece.
“I know initially that might not have seemed so inviting for some people,” Linklater said, knowing that a few people were shy and not open about coming forward with their thoughts. A clinical practice leader was also present at these sessions, helping facilitate discussions.
“It’s funny because we weren’t really gathering to talk about our lives,” recalled Ian Cusson, a composer of Georgian Bay Métis and French-Canadian descent.
“But in talking about the music that we loved, we couldn’t avoid sharing.”
In his eight weeks with the group, Cusson says the music they listened to covered 800 years, sparking discussions of how it made them feel…”
