Krylyn Peters

There’s an activity I do in my presentations and performances that I call “Sounds Around.” It involves becoming quiet and just listening. As I write this, I can hear the steady tick of a clock, birds chirping, the leaves rustling outside, chimes gently sounding as the wind blows, the hum of my computer’s hard drive, the high-pitched hiss of the air conditioner fan, the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard, my own breathing, etc. Sound is everywhere.

“Although humans inherit a biological bias that permits them to feel anger, jealousy, selfishness, envy and to be rude, aggressive or violent, they inherit an even stronger biological bias for kindness, compassion, cooperation, love and nurture – especially towards those in need.” – Jerome Kagan In my last blog, I gave an overview of the Animal Assisted Therapy tenets that are used to help individuals create new positive neural pathways. These tenets lead to new ways of thinking and being and include 1) love 2) touch, 3) relationships and 4) experiential learning. I’d like to address these tenets individually over the next few weeks, beginning today with love.

When I was in my graduate school practicum. I worked at a residential substance abuse clinic and had absolutely NO previous counseling experience, aside from role-playing with my classmates. We had to video tape our sessions to review with our supervisors (with written client consent, of course), which added a whole new level of anxiety for me. Two weeks in, I had a client talking about suicide. Luckily, all the hours of study and role-playing kicked in and I was able to do a real risk assessment with a real person. Remember, the video camera is rolling.

My name is Krylyn (pronounced cre like in creative and lin like in Linda). I have a confession to make. While other teenagers were experimenting with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc., I was in my room with a pen, notebook, and Casio keyboard writing lyrics, melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. Saturday nights were spent recording vocals. I avoided chores, homework, and social activities to finish songs. And I was often preoccupied with how and when I would write my next song. My name is Krylyn. I am a songwriting addict.

“We now assume that when psychotherapy results in symptom reduction or experiential change, the brain has, in some way, been altered” (Cozolino). In the wake of the 1990s “Decade of the Brain,” much of the resulting counseling research suggests moving away from the sole use of talk therapy towards integrating sensory based interventions…particularly with individuals who have experienced trauma, abuse or neglect. The brain’s neural plasticity means that past behavior doesn’t have to dictate current behavior. Neural plasticity is reached at the sensory (mid-brain) level which indicates that alternative modalities may need to be used as an adjunct to talk therapy.