If you’re anything like me, you get SUPER EXCITED about conference.

There’s the preparation and planning out of your session schedule.

There’s travel to a new destination (even if it is only to see the inside of the hotel!)

And there’s the reconnecting with music therapy friends and colleagues that you haven’t seen in years.

The National Conference last year in Dallas was pretty amazing.

But I now realize, three months down the road, that I’ve forgotten to apply all the incredible things I learned in the presentations. What good is attending a conference if you’re not going to apply what you’ve learned in your clinical practice?

I did organize all my presentation notes right after I got home, so that was a win. Now, I plan to go back to all those notes and pull out five things I’m going to apply in my sessions in the upcoming month. Would it be helpful for you to do the same? Even if you didn’t attend conference last year, you can pull out your notes from a previous year or a past presentation. Then, pull out five ideas that you can apply directly to your clinical practice next month.

Conference is a great time, but we certainly don’t want all that effort to attend to go to waste!

Join me in dusting off those conference notes and applying what you’ve learned in your sessions next month.

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National Conference was Ahhhh-mazing!!

I must admit I’m still on a bit of a conference high.

I attended presentations on everything from how to  start a music therapy program at a hospital to music therapy for trauma-influenced children to the Orff approach to music therapy. At each session I learned something new or was able to look through a new lens at a topic I was already familiar with.

The most significant thing I took away from the conference was a reminder of the importance of the therapeutic relationship. At times, we can be overly focused on interventions or our musical skills. But without a therapeutic rapport, the rest is meaningless.

I’m glad I came away from AMTA12 with fresh ideas and a new perspective on the populations I work with, but I’m glad I got the little reminder that it is the therapeutic relationship that is the foundation for our work.

SO now what to do with all those presentation notes? Did anyone else take 40 pages of notes throughout the weekend? Holy cow. How to organize them for later use?

Last year, I revamped how I organize all my music therapy “stuff.” I have binders from school, notes from presentations, idea sheets from my favorite blogs, etc. I needed a way to organize these items for quick reference at a later time.

So I created a folder for each population that we serve with music therapy: children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and patients who are hospitalized. I also have folders for NMT (Neurologic Music Therapy) notes and music and relaxation. In these folders I file EVERYTHING that has to do with this population or topic: sheet music, practicum session plans, internship notes, presentation notes, class notes, etc.

If I get a call to work with a certain client population, all I have to do is pull out that folder and inside are all the goodies I need to create appropriate and creative sessions for these clients.

Seem obvious? Then why was I keeping every music therapy paper I had together in a large plastic bin in my closet for the past 10 years?? I’m glad I finally got my music therapy “stuff” organized and the past year has been awesome because of it.

Now it’s Action Time! Leave a comment below and let me know – how do you organize your music therapy information? I would love to hear some other suggestions!

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I know this might not sound like the most exciting blog post in history, BUT I have been exploring the *new* AMTA website and am finding some great resources. If you’re paying your membership dues, why not make the most of it, right?

Here are some links that have caught my eye…

AMTA.Pro
Great podcasts on a myriad of topics related to clinical and professional issues. Check out the following as a start…

• Music Therapy Reimbursement
• Judy Simpson, AMTA’s Director of Government Relations provides information on how to obtain reimbursement for music therapy services. This is of particular interest of me because I have finally decided to take the plunge and take steps to towards third-party reimbursement. Stay tuned!
• MT-BC and Small Business Owner
• Meredith Roman Pizzi shares tips and strategies on excelling as a music therapist AND business owner. 

Music Therapy Matters
Check out the latest news on advocacy, upcoming events, and professional opportunities. You won’t be disappointed!

• Latest Edition

AMTA Scholarships
AMTA provides scholarships to students and professionals alike. Browse through the list and see what grant and scholarship opportunities you might qualify for.

Member Toolkit
All the good stuff combined in one neat little package: links to the early childhood magazine Imagine; AMTA and CBMT Advocacy Toolkit; information on liability insurance; CPT codes for billing insurance companies; and MORE!

Have I left anything out? What are YOUR favorite resources on the AMTA website?

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