Music therapists are prone to several mental health risk factors: as a helping professional, we are prone to compassion fatigue and burnout while doubling as professional musicians puts us at an increased risk of depression, anxiety and high rates of stress. New years are new beginnings and perhaps this is the year that you prioritize your mental health.
Read More“Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?……”
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 MoreThe study sought to understand how music therapy altered mood for adolescents participating in group services as well as the effect that demographics had on mood alteration, or not. The study was conducted at a large pediatric psychiatric hospital and included over 350 participants aged 12-21 in 3 different units of the hospital.
Read MoreHi there, and welcome back to music therapy and beyond! This is a very special bonus episode for the 5th monday of November so I’ve brought on a very special guest. Harry Beckett is a music therapist from Columbia, MO who has been working in mid Missouri for many years serving clients of all ages. He primarily works with older adults in assisted living facilities, hospice care and individuals seeking private services. In addition to his experience as a music therapist, Harry is a phenomenal musician and pianist. He has many years of experience as a performer and professional musician. Harry has been a close associate and friend to Giving Song since it was founded and he is a friend to all of us here, personally so welcome to the podcast Harry!
Read MorePart of why I think that this genre is so polarizing and intimidating is that there is admittedly a “dark” side to metal culture and a lot of musicians got their reputation through shock value, like marylin manson for instance, who capitalized on controversial or violent lyrics and themes, dress and culture. If your clients are listening to music with heavy or dark thematic aspects then there is a talking point. Looking through our clinical lenses, we can use the music as a point of entry to connect with their most raw emotions.
Read MoreMusic therapy is included as a related service under the IDEA act (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ), found in section B. This means that music therapy can be included on students’ Individualized Education Plans or IEP’s for qualifying students. The article identifies within the literature review that music therapists often work with students on the autism spectrum, citing that over 36% of music therapists responding to a survey indicate that they work with autistic students in a public school setting. This is not the only population served through music therapy however. They also discussed how music therapists work collaboratively with the other members of the IEP team including OT, PT and SLPs.
Read MoreBecause of early technology like the phonograph and the record, music recording and listening software has evolved and is now standard on all computers, tablets and almost all smart devices. Music therapy as a field has benefited greatly from the ability to listen to and share music. As clinicians, we’re able to learn new music, record resources for our clients and clients benefit from music shared by their favorite artists. We’re able to connect over music listening, learning and creating.
Read MoreNeuroimaging has been used to chart human network connectivity and dopamine release in the brain when listening to what the participants rate as pleasurable music. Several different studies also used PET scans to track blood flow to various parts of the brain, including the mesocorticolimbic system which is primarily responsible for reward and reinforcement.
Read MoreHello and welcome back to Music Therapy and Beyond. I’m Elizabeth and today we are going to be talking about wellness. You haven’t heard from me in a while. Last time I was talking to all the grown-ups who listen to our podcast, but today I’m talking to the kids. I want to share one of my favorite things to do when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed after a long, long day. Before we begin, let me tell you a little about our exercise……
Read MoreMusic therapy is an effective form of treatment for many reasons. We’ve highlighted some of this across our podcast, but this is a big question to answer! Music therapy can be effective for a number of outcomes: mental health, rehabilitation, early childhood development, older adult care, hospice, pre, peri, and postnatal, trauma- The list goes on. If someone is motivated by music and has a therapeutic need, I would encourage them to have an assessment or consult with a music therapist. Each person and need is unique so seeking out a music therapist to help you identify ways that music therapy may be or may not be appropriate is the best thing to do. There is no prescriptive or one size fits all treatment. Speaking of which, there were several diagnoses that were searched for specifically quite a bit:
Read MoreI 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 MoreI will leave you with a final quote from the authors “it is possible that these young people are more familiar and comfortable with chaos than we are as music therapists. It may then be counter-intuitive to attempt to eliminate chaos so that we can experience ordered, highly structured groups at odds with the environments to which young people return.”
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 MoreIn music therapy, we have a physical and auditory medium to promote regulation in the body organically within our practice. If we use Polyvagal theory to help inform our regulation practices in all types of therapy sessions (but especially when working with clients with trauma backgrounds) we can join in this groundbreaking approach to traditional psychotherapy and utilize the fullest potential of our toolset within the body- starting with the brain.
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’m going to be going over some very basic and doable techniques for vocals, guitar and piano that will add some character and authenticity to your music performance. I’m no expert by any means……..but I want to give you some ideas from things that I’ve thought about and link you to teaching resources so that you can take your practice to the next level.
I 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 More
