Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Buchanan.
Jill, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I woke up one day and knew I wasn’t working to my full potential. As a music therapist for over 25 years, I had strengths in running sessions using live, improvised music with children and adults to attain skills in communication and socialization, but I wanted something more, something bigger. I had often repeated to myself, “I wish I could run my own practice. A place where we could have music pouring out of the rooms at all hours. Other healing practitioners would come and do their good work. We could support each other while we supported our clients”. The more I thought about it, the more The Meraki Center became a reality. As I was planning my new endeavor, I was thinking about what was the most important part of the work I do and why I wanted to share it with others in my own way. I came upon “Meraki”, a Greek word which translates as: Doing something with passion, and putting the love of the work we do, into the work we are doing. A perfect name for the Center I was forming. Not only do I love the work I do, but my clients love how they feel when they finish their sessions.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not being trained in business, I have had many bumps in the road. How do I market my services? How much money to spend on rent? How do I set my fees? How do I set up a website? However, help has never been far away. I have been fortunate to work with Joe Carreiro of Nakata Consulting. Joe has held my hand and talked me off the cliff many times. When searching for marketing help, I was able to find several women in the area also managing the opening of their businesses. We supported each other with ideas and stories of successes as well as failures, carrying me through the most difficult times of just not knowing how to move forward.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Meraki Center for Therapeutic Arts is a collaborative center where individuals of any age can come for quality, arts-based learning and skill building. Through a variety of practices which include Music Therapy, Piano Lessons and Music for Young Children, our clients can discover what motivates them. We work with individuals with special needs or learning differences in music therapy. We also work with individuals dealing with emotional trauma, eating disorders, depression and anxiety. Music therapy is the use of music to develop musical and non-musical goals. In our sessions, we use live music to primarily focus on communication, self-regulation and socialization skills. We work with each individual on their specific goal areas, during weekly, individually-structured sessions. We are able to fine-tune what each client needs and support their development in that particular area. We use high-quality musical instruments and are trained in a variety of musical genres for improvised and pre-composed activities. We are happy to work as part of an existing academic or health team.
Our piano lessons are for all individuals, including those needing learning support. Our Little Meraki Music Groups are held for children aged 3 months through 5 years with a caregiver, and focus on early learning skills while being supported with live, engaging music.
The Meraki Center also offers Reiki, Psychotherapy and Holistic Lifestyle Coaching,
What were you like growing up?
I grew up on a small farm outside of Sacramento, California, complete with chickens, horses, ducks, sheep and goats. My younger brother had cerebral palsy and at the time, the only setting for children like him was a state hospital. My parents did not care for that type of placement, so they created their own group home for children with severe developmental impairments. I lived in this environment with 7 incredibly lovely children until I left for college at age 17. As was typical for teens in my community, I was ‘forced’ to learn the piano. Though I hated going to lessons and not being able to play the music I desired to play, I did love practicing. I was able to take some of the young children and lay them on blankets in the room with my piano. I would play for them every afternoon. One day, I noticed the children were vocalizing in tonality with the music I played. To test this, I changed key. They shifted their voices to match. I did it again. And they followed. Then I noticed some were moving their bodies to the rhythm of my playing. To test this, I stopped playing. They stopped. I sped up. So did they. This back and forth went on day after day, yet I never really stopped to think about the communication these children were developing through their interactions with me and the music.
In college, I studied music performance, but was uncertain about whether performing was really right for me. I heard about music therapy from my piano teacher and realized this was what I really wanted to pursue. I received my master’s degree in music therapy from NYU a few years later, and spent some time working in the city as a new music therapist before moving to Massachusetts. I got married, and together with my husband, John, raised our two boys. Throughout all this time, I worked as a music therapist with many amazing individuals.
Contact Info:
- Address: 431 Trapelo Rd, Belmont, MA 02478
- Website: http://www.themerakicenter.org
- Phone: 617-281-9449
- Email: info@themerakicenter.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themerakicenter.org/?ref=bookmarks
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/littlemerakimusic/?ref=bookmarks
Image Credit:
Jill Buchanan
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