I’m gonna cut to the chase.
Session planning for my teen groups used to stress me out big time.
I stressed out because I was missing a big piece of the puzzle.
I was planning a session around what I thought was cool and what I thought the teens wanted to do. Because of this, I was constantly wracking my brain trying to come up with ideas each week.
Session planning for teens can be tough. My clients didn’t want to hear One Direction and they had pretty loud opinions about what music they liked and didn’t like.
They were telling me what they wanted – they were guiding me…
My mistake was that I wasn’t listening.
Once I asked for their opinion, listened and incorporated those things into our sessions (within our scope of practice of course!) things changed dramatically.
They wanted to do songs centered around rap and hip hop so I began learning how to create looped rapping tracks.
They wanted to write their own stuff so I brought in songwriting experiences and learned how to record tracks on GarageBand.
I was able to use my creativity to blend what they were asking for with my therapeutic knowledge to create musical experiences that were engaging for them. Once our clients are interested and engaged they’re much more likely to make progress towards meeting their clinical goals.
I’ve seen it firsthand.
Are you making the same mistake I was?
Are your clients telling you what they want and are there ways you can incorporate those things into your sessions to excite, inspire and motivate your clients to participate (AND help make your planning time easier)?
If you want specific ideas for how to design engaging interventions that are truly meaningful and “cool” to the clients YOU work with, then I’d love for you to check out my brand new E-Course Tune In To Teens: Creative Ideas for Connection & Music Therapy Session Planning.
It’s just $97 for 5 CMTE credits and a TON of ideas and inspiration.
This is a 5-hour video CMTE course that is JAM PACKED with fresh, creative intervention ideas not found in any of my other E-Books or blog posts. I share new original songs, sheet music & MP3s, looped hip hop beats, session videos and guitar tutorials. Course participants also have lifetime access to a vibrant course forum to share pop songs and sessions ideas.
If this sounds like something that’s up your alley, I’d love for you to check out the course.
Here’s what Stacie Proctor, MM, MT-BC had to say when she completed Tune In To Teens:
“This course was one of the most organized and thorough courses that I have taken! The instructor shared valuable information, suggestions, and provided materials and resources that I will definitely use with my clients. I appreciate examples of various music experiences that address the music therapy domains as well as strategies to help with challenging situations that may occur while working with this population.”
I am passionate about empowering music therapists who work with teens so they can walk into their sessions feeling confident and excited (isn’t that the best feeling?)
Check out the course by clicking below.
Image courtesy of Againstar at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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