Our work stresses, thoughts and worries need a container to live in so that when it's time, we can pick them up. Make a small routine of "setting it aside" as you transition home each and every day. It is as important as checking your email but a small and even non-time consuming ritual can create healthy boundaries for your work in your life that will prove deeply rewarding in time.
The truth is when we are in the thick of designing our sessions we often forget some of the basics. Unless you have consistent supervision we are often not aware we are overlooking these vital concepts. So, today I’ve pulled my top 5 stumbling blocks when designing music experiences.
Read MoreGratitude is a beneficial practice that we probably could agree on on an anecdotal basis, so I went to the research to see what evidence there was for the benefits of gratitude. In one recent study, published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity authors Hazlett et al. note that because of the brain-body connection between gratitude and support-giving behavior, gratitude may may reap the same benefits of amygdala deactivation and reduction in threat-responses, thereby reducing inflammation in the body and increasing immune responses……
Read MoreIn honor of the holiday I’ve asked everyone to share a drumming intervention! So for this week's clinical segment, we’re going to go around the virtual table here and take a few minutes to share and demonstrate some intervention inspiration. So tell us about the intervention, the song/chant/music you’re using, how you would set it up and what population you might use it with along with any extensions or adaptations you could make!
Read MoreHi there and welcome back to Music Therapy and Beyond! In the last episode, I mentioned a break that we had taken on the podcast for the month of August because we were cooking up some exciting things. Today we’re so excited to share one of those exciting changes at Giving Song. We are growing so much that we have brought on another therapist, Haley Shinn. Haley, welcome to Music Therapy and Beyond and welcome to Giving Song! I know you have already been hard at work and you’ve been with us for a little bit now but our listeners don’t know you yet so I’m very excited for them to get to know you and hear a little about where you come from. With that, let’s get to it!
I don’t know about you, but whenever I think about scope of practice for music therapy I see a fuzzy, gray cloud. This is how my brain pictures the “gray area” and this gaseous proverbial space is scary to me because in some ways it’s always changing, hard to define and not always a clearly marked boundary. I like to operate with clarity and I’m always trying to be mindful about stepping outside of what is appropriate in our field and for my individual practice. So today we’re going to talk through what is clear about music therapy scope of practice as well as how to assess yourself as an individual practitioner to ensure that you’re remaining within your own ethical “cloud” of scope of practice.
Read MoreIt’s officially May which means we’re counting down until the end of the school year. This is the final leg of the race for teachers and I've seen so many encouragement type posts that start with “to all my teacher friends...”. That got me thinking, school based music therapists need some encouragement too! We’ve compiled a short (but power packed) list of some things to help get you through the final push. You've got this!
Read MoreHello everyone, and welcome back to Music Therapy and Beyond. My name is Maggie and I am so excited for today’s episode. If you have been listening to previous episodes, like “Authenticity in Music pt. 3” and “What Does Wellness Look Like?”, you may have noticed that I came from a different college than Ellisa and Kristin. We have some differences in our theoretical orientations and today I want to dive into why that is. I have done some deep diving and found my course load for each semester during my undergraduate MT program and I have asked Ellisa and Kristin to do the same. I have asked them to join me in this episode as we discover what differences and similarities we have in our undergraduate MT programs and why we developed different theoretical orientations.
Read MoreWith all of this being said, I’ve still seen a tremendous amount of growth within most of the individuals that I serve- even through a screen. I do believe that some people respond better to this approach than others, but when it is all that you have, I’ve seen teachers, paraprofessionals, students and even myself, make the most of it!
Read MoreI like sets of 3 so the formula we will use for this second half is 1) Awareness 2) Learning and 3) Intention. The first step in implementing effective trauma-informed care is awareness. This part is what we’ve already addressed. Awareness of the prevalence of trauma and awareness of those three main factors of predictability, connection and learning social and emotional skills. Now comes learning! This is where you look at effective strategies that can help in combating the effects of trauma for your clients, students and children.
Read MoreMy name is Ellisa and it feels so good to be back with you in a new year, new look, but the same amazing content. I have been working on a 3 part series called “Authenticity in Music”. I’m so passionate about this topic and I hope that by the end you will be too. Together, we’re going to be exploring what authenticity means when performing popular songs, how to be authentic with your instruments and voice and how to adapt to stay true to your abilities and the music. This is a topic that is important to me because I feel that it helps us advocate for our field. Good music speaks volumes! It helps us connect with our clients and understanding what authenticity means makes us grow as music therapists. That’s where I want to start part 1: What is Authenticity in Music?
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