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Heidi Ahonen

Coordinator, Master of Music Therapy; Director, Manfred and Penny Conrad Centre Institute for Music Therapy Research; Professor, Music Therapy
hahonen@wlu.ca
Waterloo, Ontario
Faculty of Music
Heidi Ahonen is an expert in burn-out, group analytic music therapy, clinical improvisation and GIM, low frequency sound research, mental health and mental illness, music medicine for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, music medicine research, music psychotherapy research, music therapy, pain management, trauma among refugees, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Areas of Expertise

  • Mental Health
  • Music Therapy and Psychotherapy
  • Trauma and PTSD

Biography

I love teaching music therapy at Laurier, and my classes always include plenty of experiential components.

As a clinician, I practice music psychotherapy and have developed the group analytic music therapy method. I specialize in working with adult clients who suffer psychological trauma, PTSD, vicarious traumatization or burn-out.

My research covers a wide range of qualitative, music psychotherapy research and evidence-based music medicine research, e.g., low frequency soundwave-research.

I have authored several books, (e.g., Group Analytic Music Therapy 2007, Barcelona Publishers) and have presented at many universities and conferences in Europe and North America.

I received a PhD from Joensuu University (1998), Finland, and an MA from the University of Helsinki (1990) and am a recent graduate from the Harvard University Refugee Trauma - Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery Certificate Program (2014).

I am registered psychotherapist (RP), accredited music therapist (MTA), and a clinical member of Ontario Society of psychotherapists (OSP), Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association (CGPA), and American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA)

I am currently working with traumatized individuals such as the refugee population using clinical improvisation and GIM.

I have developed the group analytic music therapy approach and am conducting vicarious trauma/burn out workshops for health care professionals all over the world.

As a qualitative researcher, I especially love narrative and arts based approaches.

I am also involved in various evidence based music medicine research projects in collaboration with the University of Toronto, e.g. we currently investigate Rhythmic Sensory Stimulation at 40Hz with AD patients, Parkinson’s and pain patients.

Languages

  • English
  • Finnish

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