(წაიკითხეთ ეს ქართულად.)

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I always remember this phrase:

Let’s appreciate the little joys.

I try to be guided by it when I face some difficulty in the process of work.

I could not have imagined that these small joys would be so much during this 10-month course, which we started in Georgia from 2023 and has been conducted by Music as Therapy International under my leadership.

There is a lot of interest in music therapy in Georgia, despite the fact that its correct use is rare. The main goal of this course was this – where in my country every person sings and is a potential music teacher, they are able to use music not as teaching but as an instrument with young children with disabilities.  Of course, I agreed to take on this project with great pleasure.

Although it was held for the first time in 2023, and we did not have to put much effort into advertising this training on a large scale as the demand was greater than expected. We had to select 7 participants because it was a pilot version and we didn’t yet know how much time it would take me as a leader. We selected 7 extraordinary and motivated specialists, whose common main feature is the love of children!

There were many questions, as well as moments when some participants doubted themselves whether they would be able to complete the training, as it turned out to be more difficult than expected. I agreed with them as the training is quite difficult, especially the practical part of the last 2 months, but still nothing compares to overcoming the difficulties and completing the training.

I will tell you about one of the participants who had experience with children but not in the field of music. She had a different specialty. At first she was confused and even thought about how much she would be able to complete the training, but despite these thoughts, it still did not turn out to be a barrier for her, and I can safely say that she scored one of the best results at the end of the year. I was really happy! What is more pleasant is that the school where the participant spent 2 months to only carry out sessions with children, has now offered the participant to continue working there because the school appreciated her determination, quality of work and motivation.

It should be noted that the invited music therapist, my supervisor, colleague and already friend, Jenny Laahs, was impressed by the Georgian participants, and could not hide her admiration for the musicality of our participants. In our two-day Intensive Study Training, they didn’t miss a chance to sing and it was very pleasant to hear and see.  During these two-day training, Jenny shared her interesting experience with the participants and answered many questions.  I think another positive of this training for me is the collegial and friendly relationship with Jenny. Thank you to Jenny for contributing to this project.

Our 2-day Intensive Study Training took place in Public School #198, where Music as Therapy International already has a long acquaintance and friendship with its sister organization „Mshbeli Bridge“. It is worth noting the director of this school, Teona Kacheishvili, allowed us to use a room for the face-to-face training. Also, thanks to the music teacher of this school, Aliona Oganovi, who organised for us a concert of her students and also attended the training to share her experience with our participants.  3 more people from this school attended the training, which was really appreciated.

One of the pleasant facts is that from the first months, the participants of our training soon became friends. Even outside the training, most of them started communicating with each other, which is very gratifying, because they found a common language and became sincere friends. They still support each other today and to my delight, they are not going to change that.

There have been many discoveries in the direction of music therapy for some participants, especially those who have less experience of working with children with additional needs. For example, we should always remember the child’s resources, situation and follow them. We may often have to control our own emotions, from here, it is necessary to have knowledge, self-confidence and a precise understanding of the essence of music as therapy.

At the beginning, it was also difficult for some participants to make a note in the observation sheet of the session. It should also be noted here that they soon picked up the work and knew exactly what moments, accents and observations should be written on the paper. All this led to greater self-confidence, which was clearly visible in the obersation sheets of the last sessions.

The little joys are the moments when I realized that hard work has paid off and today we will have 7 more specialists in the country who will have the right idea about music as therapy and will be able to use its methods and elements in their music sessions.

When we looked at the evaluations and recorded videos by the participants, we realized that the reason why we started this training in Georgia has been achieved!

This is really joyful!

Last year’s course is over, but the next course is starting and I really hope we will be as lucky as we were last year.

Thank you to the organization, Music as Therapy International, because with its help many teachers and specialists are given the opportunity to help and support children to develop with the help of music. Also thanks to Makeda, Kiran and Henry, who spared no time to successfully complete the project.

And at the end, I would like to express my special thanks to Alexia, a brilliant music therapist and Director of Music as Therapy International, who was able to bring this training to Georgia and this project was completed with her amazing attitude, professionalism and support.

Many more little joys to come!