Project Description
Meet Sarah
Sarah McInnis, Bachelor of Music Therapy
After moving from her hometown of Peterborough, ON, Sarah McInnes studied Music Therapy at Acadia University, graduating in 2019. Wanting to remain in the valley, she has worked with Brenda on creating and completing her required 1,000-hour internship at the Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre (KRRC) in Waterville, NS, the first of its kind to be established at the facility. Under Brenda’s supervision, Sarah has expanded the existing music therapy programming, with clients and increased the number of group sessions available. Sarah has worked closely with a diverse range of clients, including those with autism, global developmental delays, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, traumatic brain injury, paranoid schizophrenia, and dementia. Along with her work as a Music Therapist Intern, Sarah has delivered interactive presentations regarding the profession of Music Therapy and its benefit in the healthcare system.
Music Therapy
Sarah came to discover Music Therapy as a profession during the years that her grandmother was in the hospital and later, a nursing home. Sarah took it upon herself to learn the fiddle at age 25 when she discovered that her nearly 100-year-old grandmother had “always wanted one of the grandkids to learn”.
Sarah would often bring the family fiddle to play for her and the other residents on her unit. Her grandmother’s influence remains an undeniable inspiration for Sarah today.
An accomplished artist…
Apart from Music Therapy, Sarah is also an accomplished songwriter, recording and performing her original material in the Wolfville community and beyond. She herself has experienced the power of songwriting and music, and how it can transcend cultural and creative barriers between people of different backgrounds and experiences. Sarah aims to bring her own experiences with music into her therapy sessions, knowing it has the capacity to lift, calm, intrigue, and include people in a way that is as unique as music itself.
