20 years ago I had an experience that changed the course of my life forever.

I have desired to help people ever since I was a child after seeing how much good my grandfather was able to accomplish as a physician. In college I thought that my calling was to be a clinical psychologist. While pursuing this career I took an internship at a juvenile detention center that, at the time, piqued my interest. To my surprise, it ended up being an extremely challenging internship, mainly because the kids wouldn't open up during our interactions. Our lives were noticeably different on the outside, and I'm sure that contributed to difficulties in communication and understanding.

 

After months of minimal progress I had the bright idea of bringing my guitar to work with one of the boys who happened to be a musician. I was flabbergasted that within 15 minutes of interacting together musically and supporting him on the guitar as he started to rap and freestyle, that all the invisible walls and barriers between us disappeared. He began to open up his life story to me for the first time, and not just him, but the entire room of kids as well. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! For a brief moment, I saw the guarded and hardened look leave their eyes and in its place surfaced a child-like joy at expressing through music all the things that just can't be put into words. It was as if they got to experience the childhood and innocence of which they were robbed by the harsh realities of life. 

 

Beautiful music has the ability to lift us up from our current circumstances, elevate us emotionally and strengthen our resilience. In other words, music is vital to our health and well-being. That day, I saw the power of music. Ever since then there was real unity and mutual respect among the members of that group. This realization was the catalyst for a dramatic change in my career path.

 

Today, I hold a M.A. degree in Music Therapy and I am working at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for the 8th year as a Board-Certified Music Therapist. I truly love the work I do and I'm honored to journey together with so many people through some of the hardest moments in their lives. Working with a diverse patient population ranging from Trauma to Rehab, I help children who have terminal diseases, traumatic brain injuries, Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND), or Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS) to take back their lives (i.e., regain motor function, speech, cognition, and/or receive support for non-pharmacological pain management). While I greatly value helping patients in a pediatric setting, the Lord has put on my heart to go a step further and include Him, the Divine Healer, more fully into the therapeutic process. This is why I decided to open a private practice.

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I want to use the skills I have carefully crafted for years to serve the broader community bringing healing, unity and understanding through music and beauty; to empower others to tap into the healing effects of music on their own through music education; and to lead people into a deeper relationship with the Divine Physician, Who is the source of true freedom and life.

 

I invite you on this wonderful and important journey and look forward to meeting you!

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Pawel C. Machura, M.A., MT-BC