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.

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.

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 sits down with Corri Flaker Fraser, who is a healer and bodyworker who works with her clients to feel comfortable in their bodies. Her main modalities include massage and craniosacral therapy.

Maggie sits down with Dr. Hiller to dive into understanding music-centered music therapy and how it is used in addiction and substance use therapy.

“Home is where the heart is” - Ellisa sits down with music therapist Music Therapist, Brian Schreck, Behavioral Oncology, MA, MT-BC as he discusses his work with heartbeat music therapy and establishing a new music therapy modality, Amplified Cardiopulmonary Recordings (ACPR). His work with pediatric and adult end of life music therapy is not only deeply impactful, it is propelling the field of music therapy forward.

Elizabeth sits down with Stephanie Lopes to discuss her work as a recreational therapist, Social Worker, and her recent work with biofeedback in an acute psychiatric unit. We will speak specifically about the heartmath approach to biofeedback, which measure heart rate variability.

Elizabeth walks us through the eighth sense of interoception and discusses how it may impact a few different populations in music therapy.

We're celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month by learning about the history of a famous Jazz Standard as well as sharing some inspiration on how to use it in music therapy.

This is a beautiful story about a wave, crashing against a cliff. Focus on my voice, the movement of the wave and the details within the story. Can you feel the salty air? Take a deep breath..and listen to “The Wave”, by Liam O’Flaherty.

Ellisa and Maggie talk about their top tips and tricks for using guitar in their music therapy sessions. They share ideas on adapting the instrument for both themselves and their clients to create success and music when accomplishing both musical and non-music goals.

My attention is not divided. I’m not multitasking. I’m not half-way listening. I’m REALLY listening so deeply so I can hear you.

In this episode we will dig into how we can use music in the classroom. As it is Music in Schools Month we are rounding out this month looking at specific strategies for using music in the classroom. Not an educator? No problem, the strategies can be used in a therapeutic setting and in the home, too.

Join us butterflies, as we float along with this colorful, calming guided imagery.

The Rock on Project is back for its 3rd year! Grab some chalk and spread the music with us. Share your art with #rockonproject and tag us @givingsongllc.

"People have intrinsic value" - Ellisa sits down with Zoe Levine, LPMT, MT-BC to talk about her music therapy work in various school settings. Zoe uses foundational principles of Community Music Therapy and Critical Humanist approaches to inform their work and shares how to write goals that support the personhood of the student, first.

“We all need the same things” - Elizabeth sits down with Dr. Andrew Knight, PhD, MT-BC to discuss compliance based goals, goal writing and IEPs through the lens of music therapy. This conversation extends beyond the field of music therapy and gets at the building blocks of goal writing and attending to the root of our clients’ needs.

Ellisa shares a curated playlist with song (and intervention) inspiration for every kind of love!