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 [...]
One of my main goals here at Wholesome Harmonies is to connect with and support other like-minded professionals. In particular, music therapists, music teachers and special ed teachers who work with tween and teen clients. The #1 thing I hear from y'all when you reach out to me (which I LOVE!) is that you enjoy the [...]
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 [...]
If you follow my blog (and E-Book series), you know I love a good musical game. As soon as I mention we're playing a "game" at the start of a session, I immediately have my clients hooked and excited. Musical games are great in that you can sneak in work on lots of different goal [...]
Halloween is right around the corner! I've been using The Costume Rap in my sessions this month and it's been a hit. I use this musical experience to work on verbal and non-verbal communication skills with my tween and teen clients. Many of you have mentioned that it's tough to come up with musical experiences for [...]
{Thanks to everyone for your kind comments following my post about Hurricane Irma and how Julie Andrews helped during my evacuation with my two babies. I really enjoyed hearing from you. We are still cleaning up in Miami and it's been a slow process, but things are slowly getting back to "normal."} One thing [...]
