As a part of Music Therapy Social Media Advocacy Month, I have been putting out a new post EVERY DAY with the ABCs of Music Therapy. Each letter highlights a unique aspect of music therapy/music therapists. I have so enjoyed completing this project and hope you will continue to follow my journey as I put out new resources, songs, stories, and information every week! If you want to check out the posts you missed, you can find them here! To wrap-up this month of advocacy, I’m providing everyone with a free printable poster of the ABC’s of Music Therapy! Click this link to download your free printout now! ABC’s of Music Therapy – Free Printable Read More
Category: Resources
We Are… Resourceful
When I typed “resourceful” into google, this is the definition that popped up. re·source·ful riˈsôrsfəl,-ˈzôrs-/ adjective adjective: resourceful 1. having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. synonyms: ingenious, enterprising, inventive, creative; More Music Therapists have a huge toolbox filled with ideas, instruments, interventions, etc. Because we are a people-oriented profession we have to be flexible and are constantly pulling from our toolbox of resources. When we can’t come up with a particular solution on our own, we either create it (like many of the songs and interventions I post on the blog), improvise based on the knowledge we have and what is at our disposal, or we look to others for inspiration! I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of my favorite MT resources! CMTEs Sometimes, when I have to learn something new, the best way to do it is by taking a CMTE course like the ones over at MusicTherapyEd.com Songs When in doubt, youtube, google, and pandora (or spotify) are great options for finding songs on the fly! However, if you are looking for songs geared toward Read More
We Are… Learners
While I was studying music therapy at Western Illinois University, my professor, Dr. Jennifer Jones, MT-BC, would say on a regular basis, “My goal is to learn EVERY song EVER written”. Though that is probably an unrealistic goal (as there are millions of songs and a constant stream of new material) it is a wonderful mindset to have as a music therapist. The more music we know and the more we are dedicated to learning, the more resources we have to pull from when in sessions and the better we can meet our clients’ individual needs! As MT’s we are always learning new songs, new techniques, and new instruments. Each client is different so we are also learning their needs and adapting what we already know or learning new material to meet those needs. On top of learning new songs and new music, MT’s are required to participate in continuing education courses in order to maintain the title MT-BC. Each year, MT’s must complete 20 Continuing Music Therapy Education (CMTE) credits for a total of 100 CMTEs every 5 year Read More
We Are… Kinesthetic
I got the idea for this post from JoAnn Jordan’s post related to ABC’s of Music Therapy. JoAnn posted a quote regarding the kinesthetic part of music therapy that I completely agree with! “I hear and I forget. I see and I understand. I do and I remember.” – Confucius Personally, I learn by doing, by moving, by trying things, and by playing around. I have to explore and actually feel things in order to completely grasp a new concept. I know this is the same for so many of my clients. We do A LOT of moving, playing, and exploring in all of our session. The movement and activity are both a great way to engage my clients and help them learn new concepts. You may have noticed by exploring My Music Page that many of the songs I write or the interventions I post on the Blog include movement, actions, or doing of some sort. Below are some of the links to interventions I have created. Can You Play Like This? Kick It! 3 Songs for Movement Tiptoe Read More
We Are… Individualized
If I haven’t emphasized it enough in previous posts, (i.e. We Are… Goal Oriented, Flexible, Data Driven) music therapy is incredibly individualized. Every client, treatment plan, intervention, and session plan is individualized. Though there are standards for music therapy practice and specific intervention that are tested and supported, those standards and intervention sets are often broad and can be manipulated slightly to meet the specific need of each individual. Think about it this way. If you are a client that really enjoys pop music but despises country, it may not be in the best interest of the client to do a movement exercise to or lyric analysis of a country hit. Just like using a 90’s pop song for a child born in 2003 or using a song from 2010 for a reminiscence project of an 80 year-old woman may not be appropriate. However, you won’t necessarily know what is best for that client until you have the opportunity to get to know them. Not every person will respond to an intervention the same way. Individualism also applies to the Read More