One of my main goals for the new year is to be more mindful and present, both in my personal life and professional life. I know this can have far reaching benefits. I've read about it, I've listened to people talk about it on podcasts, but I have yet to be consistent with this practice. [...]
I was going to close out this Musical Mini-Series by going straight to a wrap up, but yesterday something happened in one of my sessions that I just had to share with you. I was working with one of the classes at Children's Resources Educational Center (a school for children with special needs here in [...]
Ready for Part 3? This is the third post in the musical mini-series where we're a closer look at our therapeutic medium: music. We started off by taking a glance at melody and the V7 chord. Next up is....(drumroll please)....tempo! How can we as music therapists use tempo to guide and elicit movements? When working with a [...]
If you were a practicum student or intern under my supervision, you inevitably heard me talk about my love of the V7 chord. This is a powerful chord that can be used as an incredible therapeutic tool to prompt a response from our clients (catch up on part 1 of this series by checking out [...]
Last week, I introduced you to the mini-series I'm starting that focuses on our therapeutic medium: MUSIC. I'm excited to jump in because I want to take a look at a few musical elements and examine how they're functioning to bring about positive changes in behavior. I'll also dig into how enhancing our musical presentation [...]
It's Back to School Time! Hooray? Some say yes, some say no. However you feel about this season, it's here, there is no question about it. I'm feeling it because my daughter started PreK 4 today (!!) AND I'm gearing up to start sessions again at the school where I work with children with special [...]
I will be the first to admit that I like to have control of things when it comes to my business and my music therapy sessions. I'm an overachiever in the organization department and I need to have a plan in place for everything. So, the thought of pulling back on the reins and letting [...]
I don’t know about you, but I was pretty excited to hear that American Idol was coming back on the airwaves in 2018. (Don't be ashamed if you were too!) I’ve watched on and off throughout the years since it began in 2001 and have always loved the show. I’ve tried watching the other vocal [...]
One of the most classic music therapy interventions is Musical Jeopardy. It's familiar, inviting, engaging and fun. Perfect for a practicum student, intern or seasoned clinician to facilitate. Every year I come up with a new version of this game and use it as I'm getting to know my new groups and clients, and assess [...]
Yesterday, something happened in one of my sessions that stopped me in my tracks. Now I've been a music therapist for twelve years (!!), and very little surprises me at this point. But on this particular day, I was facilitating a localization exercise with my clarinet in the resource classroom for students with severe and profound [...]
