Patti Lahey

Patti Puracchio Lahey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, where she majored in Theater and Dance with a concentration in Education and Child Development. She went on to earn a Masters of Arts degree from Lesley University in Expressive Arts Therapies. Her graduate work focused on Dance and Movement Therapy with extensive coursework in Art and Music Therapies and Psychodrama. From 1984 to 1994, Patti was Director of Expressive Arts and Recreation Therapies at the Jewish Home for the Aged in Worcester. From 1989 to 1994 she was also their Director of the Volunteer and Community Programs. In 1982-1984 she implemented a pilot program in the expressive therapies for the inpatient psychiatric unit at St. Vincent Hospital. Patti is a certified teacher in the Lebed Method, a movement therapy program for cancer survivors and individuals with chronic illness. She is also a certified Yoga Kids instructor and a certified teacher of Zentangle, a therapeutic art form.

Patti is currently Music & Movement Specialist at the Village Green Preschool and an Expressive Arts Therapist with the VNA pediatric palliative care program, doing home visits with children with life-threatening illnesses and their siblings. She has been on the faculty at Joy of Music since 1997.