Embrace Therapy

Katie Fitzpatrick is a Music Therapist based in Limerick, Ireland. She is the Irish representative for the European Music Therapy Confederation. She has been a music therapist under the name Melody Tree since 2018. Katie's main field of work is chronic pain and mental health. She worked at the University of Limerick as a clinical tutor and PhD researcher and as we hear in the podcast she has just started her new job as the Senior Music Therapist with the pain team at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Katie also mentions her time working in Community Arts as a Facilitato in Reds Centre of Music LimerickHere are some links on Katie's work in the area of Chronic pain. A paper in Music and Medicine

Eithne McAdam is an experienced therapist in the area of service development, adult mental health, addiction and homelessness. She is also a qualified clinical supervisor and an accredited member of IACAT. Eithne McAdam is a practicing Art Therapist and one of the senior members of the Creative Therapy Service within First Fortnight.First Fortnight, provide the highest standard of free Creative Therapies to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness, affected by mental ill health or dual diagnosis. Founded in 2009, First Fortnight staged its first two-week arts festival in 2012.First Fortnight is a charity that challenges mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action within Ireland.First Fortnight Child and Adolescent Creative Therapy Service9 Berkeley Street,Dublin 7 cactus@firstfortnight.ieFirst Fortnight Centre for CreativeHaven House,Morning Star Ave,Dublin 7cat@firstfortnight.ieFYI First Fortnight's Therapeutic Services Manager, Patricia Bourke D'Souza who Eithne mentioned is an accredited Counsellor, Psychotherapist (MIACP, MIAHIP) and Supervisor (MIACP) and accredited Somatic Trauma Therapist, Trainer and Supervisor.This years festival will be taking place from 6th - 15th January#FirstFortnight23 The very popular Therapy Sessions will be coming to Dublin, Wexford and Belfast this January.The renowned poet Stephen James Smith is back to MC and curate the programme. Therapy Sessions is a staple of the First Fortnight Festival, and promises an evening of music, spoken word and positivity. Stephen will be joined by a variety of wonderful artists in a night that is not to be missed!“Therapy Sessions is a powerful, moving, reciprocal dynamic of connectivity. A very special bond that cannot be emulated online and I am very excited for us all to be able to witness once again, the special moments this event gifts us all.”Stephen James Smith

Monica is a qualified and fully registered Dramatherapist from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Heartwork Studio is her very own wellness service offering workshops to encourage overall wellness, using the arts- visual art, drama, movement, writing, and music. Her workshop topics cover things like relaxation, connection, identity, self esteem, healthy relationships, self care, boundaries, resiliency. Participants will explore these topics (and more!) through artistic and creative activities, with the guidance of a facilitator.​She specializes in using theatre and roleplay alongside other expressive arts to achieve therapeutic and educational goals. Her past roles include engaging the arts in hospitals, nonprofit organizations, theatres, schools, and most recently on a feature film set. Robert Greene's Procession is, a film, created with six men (Dan Laurine, Joe Eldred, Mike Foreman, Tom Viviano, Ed Gavagan, and Michael Sandridge) who were abused by Catholic priests and clergy. It is a collaborative exercise in trauma recovery. Dramatherapist Monica Phinney defines the role of Dramatherapy in this context as “the intentional use of dramatic theater and role-play for a therapeutic goal” and knew that this process wasn't going to be easy on the survivors who would go onto "produce their own short films reflecting on their abuse, with the goal of reclaiming those memories and offering protection to their inner children" writes reviewer Lovia for the Hollywood ReporterThis November, 26th Soearth Projects will host a screening of Procession and live panel discussion with Robert Greene, Mike Foreman and Monica Phinney followed by a performance (debriefing) by Full Circle Playback Theatre Company. You can log in from anywhere in the world, tickets for the panel discussion and performance can be purchased here.