Elizabeth Interviews Andrea Green, the composer/playwright for “On the Other Side of the Fence” and Haley Shinn, Music Therapist and two time facilitator of this wonderful musical!

Head, hands, heart, humanity: The Creative Dementia Collective is taking a whole person, whole team approach to caring for those living with Dementia and their care partners. Using music therapy, art therapy, pet therapy, and Dementia Education specialists, they are empowering their clients to celebrate who they are, until the end of life.

Are you ready to brainstorm? I can’t wait to share all of my team’s ideas for how to use Bear Paw Creek’s amazing props and products! Music Therapists are big on multimodal and multisensory approaches, so we are constantly trying to find new ideas and new ways to use the props we have.

Today, Elizabeth sits down with Claire Ghetti to discuss her journey to becoming and expat music therapy researcher and professor in Norway.

Today, we speak with JD Hogue, a statistician and music therapist, to discuss the relevance of effective data collection as a clinician.  JD shares how effective data collection and communication is crucial for advocacy and improving your practice.

My hope in sharing this intervention with you is that you will be inspired to find ways to be trauma-informed in your sessions, especially as you address mental health concerns. I continue to see younger and younger children with emerging mental health challenges, and I think this trend will continue in the months and possibly years to come. This creates even more of a need to consider the client’s experience and perspective as it relates to a sense of safety in the session and in their relationship with their music therapist.

To borrow the words of Chad Sugg: "Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year." This is a quote about autumn but it also speaks to what wellness means. It’s not something to be mastered but encouraged to try again, and again. Today’s wellness episode is going to include autumn inspired ideas and examples of how to be mindful, quiet, thoughtful and creative in your wellness this fall.

Happy fall ya’ll! The change of seasons is an opportunity for seasonally themed interventions so we’re honing in on Halloween and Harvest season. We always need to exercise our best clinical judgment on when it’s appropriate to use themed sessions. Some reasons why you might want to include themes are for reminiscence, orientation, increased engagement with novelty experiences, bringing changes to your session planning, and opportunities for introducing new and familiar music that you can’t use all year round.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month! This week we are celebrating what it means to be differently abled and how music therapy can support the abilities and needs of those with Down Syndrome.

Consider using a metronome if you’re going to be creating pattern sequences! Steady beat primes the brain for attention and creates the predictability for motor planning. You need a beat to synch to a steady rhythm.

And with each step you take, notice how you feel more and more alive with a bounce in your step…and it’s hard not to grin. Walking feels effortless and invigorating …like you’re gliding upon a magic carpet. Walking along, your tiredness melts away, and more and more you notice feeling renewed … There’s a spring in your step and it feels great to be here.

In this fun clinical segment, Elizabeth discusses the benefits of and uses for boomwhackers in a music therapy session. If you’re looking for some new ideas on how to use these versatile instruments, you’re in the right place!

Today Ellisa discusses literature on intergenerational music therapy. This kind of programming is the bringing together of multiple generations in a group music therapy setting. From cognitive stimulation, to physical function to social connections, music can bridge the gaps and make a common ground for amazing intergenerational experiences.

"Whatever you are doing today, matters." - Today is a special episode because it is a BONUS episode for the month of August. Today is also special because we are joined by special guest Tara McConnell, MT-BC. She is bringing us a message of encouragement, community and hope reflected not only in the music therapy work being done through Sophie's Place but also for music therapists everywhere.

My intention for this episode is to jog our brains a bit to think more deeply about the music we hear each day. After recently reading the book Peak Mind, my mind has been wrapped around the importance of bringing our awareness to the mundane parts of our lives to evoke new brain pathways, strengthen old ones, and overall enhance our ability to experience our world and life.

Elizabeth reads a children's story for our wellness segment.

Long ago, there was a rock floating through space, searching for where they belonged. They would visit many planets and travel to the farthest reaches of the universe, but would they find what they were looking for? The Stellar One is a tale of self-esteem and self-discovery. Story by Daniel Errico.

In his book Defining Music Therapy (1998), Kenneth Bruscia outlined 4 main methods for music therapy practice: receptive, re-creative, improvisation, and composition. Of these methods, perhaps the most overlooked is receptive. Ellisa calls on the literature, taking a closer look at clinical applications and philosophy of the receptive method within music therapy.

Ellisa sits down with Emily Pivovarnik MM, MT-BC, NICU-MT to discuss music therapy in a children’s hospital. Emily educates us on her research, writing and music therapy work in neonatal intensive care.