I was born 1955 in Glarus, Switzerland as 4th of 5 children. I attended Primary and Secondary School, and after two discovery years for a future profession, attended the School for Physiotherapy at the University Hospital Zurich (1974-1978). As I was affected with a progressive eye disease, which led to blindness (1978), this was the ideal profession for me. During a work placement in 1977 I worked, among others, in the Psychiatric Clinic Burghölzli in Switzerland for 6 months.
Professional Experience:
1978-1980 Rheumaklinik Bad Schinznach, Switzerland: rheumatological, orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation, psychosomatic.
1981 North London School of Physiotherapy: Junior teachership and introduction to the teaching strategies for visually impaired students.
1981-1985 London/Zurich: Specialisation in the area of diagnosis and therapy of neuro-muscolo-skeletal disorders.
1981 Paray Hospital Lesotho: project for development aid.
1982-1987 University Hospital Zurich: Clinical work on the psychotherapy ward of the Psychiatric Poliklinik, of the Rheumaklinik and teaching work at the School for Physiotherapy (first contacts with musictherapy and inclusion of receptive music therapy techniques for individual- and group work).
1987-1990 Paray Hospital Lesotho: clinical and teaching work in the medical, therapeutic basis supply and primary health care.
1990-1999 Poppi, Italy, clinical work in physiotherapy in private practice. As lecturer in Italy and Switzerland in physiotherapy, integral therapy and supervision of interdisciplinary teams in medical area. Co-founder of a youth movement, close to the catholic church, www.romena.it. Collaborator in adult education in the music centre ‚Tessiner Klanghaus’‚ concerning topics as body, sound and voice, health care and the therapeutic use of the polychord table.
1999-2003 Soci, Italy, Atelier for Music Therapy, in particular care of multi handicapped children, in individual and group settings. Wide music therapy activities with young and adult mentally handicapped, individual work with patients in the field of oncology, neurology, rheumatology and psychosomatic. Continuation of the work as lecturer and physiotherapist in Switzerland.
2003 Zurich, private practice as music- and physiotherapist, lecturer in the above mentioned fields, collaborator of a music therapy project for disabled children in Italy. www.iltrillo.org
2005 I was registered in the Music Therapy Register (AIM) www.aim.it as music therapist, teacher, lecturer and supervisor.
2000-2005 participation as music therapist at short-term intensive therapy weeks with residential patients.
2005 till today continuation of my clinical work of music- and physiotherapy in Switzerland and Italy and since 2007 regular annual teaching in government and non-government institutions in Lesotho, with the aim to assist in the development of physiotherapy services. www.physioinlesotho.ch
Post graduate training: From the very first moment of the mainly body centred education, I was searching for a holistic view. Therefore I trained in different kinds of humanistic, body-centred psychotherapies, later I took courses in short-term therapy and 5 week-long seminars in integrative and systemic family therapy (Kirschenbaum Institute). Studying intensively transpersonal psychology with Stanislav Grof (Esalen Institute), which expanded my horizon and gave me the openness for the integration of arts and spirituality in my therapeutic approach. During my time at the University Hospital Zurich, especially the experience at the psychotherapy ward, under direction of Prof. Jürg Willi, I had the opportunity to get to know music therapy. At that time I led a patient group “music and movement”, together with a qualified music therapist. Times later, during my work in Africa, I had the opportunity to meet a local healer from the tradition of Matuela who taught me a model of integrative art of healing. In their vision human relationship, nature, art and faith belong together and are one. He encouraged me to develop the attention to music, singing and dancing in the work with patients. This was one of the reasons why I started using music therapy techniques more actively during my group and individual lessons. In 1996 I also decided to complete the formal music therapy study at the Procivitate Citadella in Assisi, which lasted 4 years. During the following years I gained professional experience. Parts of them are represented in my dissertation “Growing together, music therapy an existential challenge”, approved and awarded by the board of examiners in November 2002.
2010 a 90 minute documentary about my work with disabled children was published and received many international awards. „Nel giardino dei suoni” (The Garden of Sounds).
2011 I completed my studies in guided imagery and music at the Institute for Music and Imagination IMIT, Berlin, Germany.
2012 I completed advanced studies of music therapy and received the MAS of clinical music therapy at the Zurich based institute of arts ZHdK (Master degree).
Actual activities: I am working in the field of children in juvenile neuro-psychiatry, oncology, rheumatology and psychosomatic and take part in school projects. I am the senior music- and physio-therapist in the childrens music- and physio-therapy project “Il Trillo”. www.iltrillo.org. I do teaching work in the field of adult education, professional education of therapists and doctors as well as collaborators in medical, pedagogical and other institutions for disabled. Among my numerous teaching activities, I am regular lecturer at the Institute for interdisciplinary resource-based therapy SIRT www.sirt.ch, the institute for applied naturopathy NHK www.nhk.ch, and the centre for interdisciplinary therapy CIT www.mosetter.de.
Zurich, March 2015