On Sundays I provide group music therapy services at Friendship Circle Miami. It's an amazing program, where neurotypical teens are paired with teens with autism and other special needs. Together, they participate in music therapy and recreational programs like sports, karate, cooking, art, and yoga. At the heart of the Friendship Circle program is the [...]
I'm a paper planner person. Through and through. I love to color code, write notes, and keep everything neat and organized on a calendar that I can spread out in front of me and see as a whole. The same goes for reading. I don't use a Kindle - I love the smell and feel [...]
Last week I wrote a post that generated a lot of supportive comments. The post was about the new year and how I don't have any new, concrete goals for my business. I decided to take the pressure off myself to achieve more in my business and instead focus on being present as a mother [...]
Tell me if you can relate to this scenario: You're in a music therapy session with your tween or teen clients. Everything's been going great. You finish your last musical experience, look at the clock, and realize you still have ten minutes until the end of the session. Yikes! Have you been there too? Have [...]
Are your students as into "Old Town Road" as mine are? You know, the one by Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X? I hear about that song in pretty much every session. So, it worked out perfectly that this week's theme at the Children's Resources summer camp (for PreK-5th grade students) was Wild Wild [...]
Every other Sunday, I drive up a palm tree-lined road to the Chabad Center of Kendall to facilitate sessions for Friendship Circle Miami. I've worked with Friendship Circle since 2010 and it's one of my favorite programs to work with. This past week something very interesting happened in one of the sessions. I had just [...]
I have a confession to make... Ready for it? I used to be kind of a snob when it came to using recorded music in my sessions. As a board certified music therapist, I am a firm believer that we have a unique skill set that sets us apart from other music professionals. We play [...]
I'm ashamed to admit this, but... I used to be a huge Backstreet Boys fan. I mean HUGE. One of those embarrassing fans. I knew all of the guys' birthdays, their favorite foods, and the kind of car they drove. My best friend and I spent hours making collages of their faces on our binders [...]
"Raise your hand if you're an American Idol fan!" Anyone? I said this at a recent session with a group of middle schoolers and they just stared back at me. I think I heard actual crickets. Apparently AI is't cool anymore?! Even if it's not still cool, I'm still watching. Want to know why? A [...]
Earlier this week I had one of those really great session days. Everything flowed, my students were totally engaged, and I got great feedback from the teachers and students alike. I had brought in some New Year's-themed interventions, which is how I like to start each new year with my school-age and teen clients. I [...]
