Carmel Valley resident helps bring the therapeutic power of music to people in need through Resounding Joy, Inc.

English poet and playwright William Shakespeare had it right yet again when he wrote the phrase, “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Studies have shown that music has a calming effect on the mind and by extension the body, and can serve as a form of escapism from the downers of life by altering one’s mood and, of course, revitalizing old memories.

Carmel Valley resident Barbara Reuer has long believed in the therapeutic benefits of music. In 2004, she established the non-profit organization, Resounding Joy, Inc., which uses “principles and approaches developed from professional music therapy practice to train non-musician volunteers—Joy Givers—to provide supportive music services to Joy Receivers—adults and children with special needs. “According to its Web site, “Resounding Joy builds partnerships among faith-based and community-based organizations and Joy Reciever referrals from any source.”

“In general, I think music just changes the whole ambiance of the situation—it takes people away from their pain, loneliness or depression. Music has a way of tapping into that part of the mind where people aren’t thinking about their current state,” said Reuer about music therapy. “Secondly, a person is there, sitting with a volunteer or therapist, so there is also that individual human contact.”

Reuer, who has Ph.D. in music therapy, once served as president of National Association for Music Therapy and is the recipient of the Professional Practice Award from the American Music Therapy Association in 2000.

Reuer serves as executive director of Resounding Joy, which she was able to get off the ground thanks to a $38,000 grant from Wheat Ridge Ministries, an independent Lutheran charitable organization that funded the organization in its first two years. And now through annual fundraising events, the program has been able to continue its work, touching the lives of more than 2,500 adults and children with special needs as of December 2005.

“One of the needs I saw as a church member and also as a therapist was that there is a whole area of the population that is really kind of untouched and that is people who are homebound or shut-in. I thought it would be a neat service to bring music to those people,” said Reuer. “And that’s how I got the idea for the grant. I thought maybe there was a way to train volunteers to at least bring supportive music services and companionship to them.”

Resounding Joy’s recipients include homeless people affiliated with the Third Avenue Charitable Organization; adults with the Encinitas Nursing & Rehabilitation Center; senior citizens enrolled at the Redwood Elderlink daycare program; and children at Sound Minds—an early intervention program provided by the California School Age Families Education.

Resounding Joy utilize a similar approach and philosophy behind traditional music therapy methodology to train its non-musician volunteers (Joy Givers), who become volunteers after graduating from a training session (12 hours total), and completing three hours of advanced training. Resounding Joy is always looking for four kinds of support: Joy Givers, partnerships with other organizations, monetary donations and Joy Receivers who are in need of a visit.

“The way we have set up the volunteer training program is that people don’t have to have any music background—just a love for music and a willingness to have a compassionate presence with people,” said Reuer.

Reuer is also founder and director of MusicWorx of California, her San Diego-based contractual and consulting agency where she manages direct music therapy services to children with special needs, medical patients, and hospice patients. As well, Reuer facilitates group dealing with substance abuse, eating disorders, cancer, lifestyle change, and bereavement.

In addition to her clinical work, according to Resounding Joy’s Web site, Reuer provides wellness, community-building, stress management, and pain management workshops and seminars for health care professionals, educators, and corporate clients all over the world.

Resounding Joy, Inc. is located at 830 Valley Centre Drive #705, PMB 542, in San Diego. For more information, call 858-922-3933 or visit www.resoundingjoyinc.org