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Will Anyone Remember Me? Do I Even Want Someone To Do So??

I've been watching the latest news from AMTA and have been involved in a video challenge where I've been focusing on my future over the past month. As part of the video challenge, we've been asked to think about what we want our businesses to be to others and to ourselves. I've been constantly thinking, dreaming, and trying to figure out my answers - as I've been babbling in front of the camera for this challenge.

One of the things that we spoke about was our reason for doing what we do in our businesses. 

I've decided that my reason is to share information about music therapy - products, continuing education, information, and networking - to other music therapists. I figure that someone has to be out there, trying to figure out a time-efficient way to write goals and objectives, and here I am - with a kinda time-efficient way to write those things. Why not share with others?

My vision for my business is for my website to be the place where music therapists go whe…
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Fun Friday: Making Stuff and Composing Songs and Seeing What Happens Next

I have a day off from work today - thanks to the KS Board of Regents who seem to think that students deserve a Fall Break around here. I don't get NEARLY as much time off as my students, but the day off is appreciated. I have some audacious plans for today - things that are me-focused rather than work-focused.

I am going to start my day with some kitchen cleaning so I can make some muffins for breakfast this upcoming week. I can also spend some time making some cards and collages. Maybe I will also write a song or some TMEs during the day. Maybe not. I have two sets of paperwork that I have to get finished by the end of business today, so I'll be spending some time on that task as well. I'm also starting the songswap challenge through MusicTherapyKids today, so there will be something that comes up with that, I am sure.

In the meantime, I really want to take a nap and still get all these things finished.

What I want and what I get are often two very different things, but that…
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Thoughtful Thursday: Do We (Music Therapists) Own Music?

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Oh, boy. It's another one of those days where my social media page is covered with indignant comments about yet another person out there who is doing something with clients that involves music. The criticism starts - "Is this person a music therapist?" "Should this person even be allowed to use music in a 
nursing home?" "I had a job and someone like this came in and took it from me!"

Sigh.

I find all of these discussions pretty exhausting, and I don't really like that it happens so much. My opinions (that's what this is entirely - OPINION - which means that I get to think and write about whatever I want, and I get to share it with other people as such - OPINION, not FACT) are pretty set by now, and I feel that we music therapists are the ones that are failing.

Okay. I know that some of you just stopped reading at the end of that paragraph right there. If you are still with me, let me start explaining.

Here are my opinions:
Music does not "belo…
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The Wednesday-Tuesday-Thursday - Once a Year Event

This is going to sound strange, but today is a Wednesday-Tuesday-Thursday at my job. What does this mean? It means that it actually is a Wednesday, but it is the second day of the work week and is the second to last day of the work week. For my students, it is a Wednesday-Tuesday-Friday because they get a 4-day weekend. Teachers get a 3-day weekend, so we'll be student-less tomorrow and then will get Friday off. This is some sort of strange type thing that happens once per year at my facility - I'm not sure why.

Anyway, this week is pretty much wasted time. As a solo therapist, it was not a week where I could address specific themes or topics because only half the school received therapy. So, I had to come up with non-themed sessions that addressed topics that were not as crucial to the entire program. Otherwise, I was playing catch-up with half of my groups. It was a challenge unless I viewed these as "bonus" sessions. As an internship director, that particular press…
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TME Tuesday: Remembering to Source Your TMEs

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It is Tuesday again, and I am searching through my TME file to see what I can share with you all. I'm kinda stuck in a rut and haven't finished any TMEs lately (though I have quite a few that are in the development stage of things), so there are some slim pickings around.

It's not like I don't have TMEs that I could share, but I am very particular about sharing the work of others. I had a TME and original song stolen from me, so I am hyper-vigilant about protecting the work of others. I try to give credit where I know it, and I search for credit before identifying something as my own. That's why all the TMEs that I share on Tuesdays are either original songs or are adaptations or therapeutic uses for songs published by others. I do not share the TMEs of other music therapists because I feel a need to protect their intellectual property and give credit where it is due - unlike the intern who came after me and took very public credit for a song I wrote during my inter…
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Music Therapy Morsel - The Always Box

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One of the things that I do occasionally (but may be doing a bit more now that I'm getting a bit more familiar with things like YouTube and my video editing software) is produce short music therapy-based videos. I sat down yesterday and made one - all about my Always Box - an organization tool that I use to maintain some of the supplies that I need during almost every single session.

Just so you know, the purpose behind these morsels is to share tips and techniques about doing music therapy that I've learned in my career as a therapist. These things are not the ONLY right way to do stuff, and I think these videos will act as inspiration for me to investigate how others do things. They are quick (no more than 8 minutes long), and they are meant to help music therapists and students figure out why we do what we do as therapists.

Here it is...without further ado - Music Therapy Morsel - the Always Box!
(One of the things that I haven't quite figured out yet is how to find a real…
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Taking a Synthesis Break - To Synthesize Something Else

My brain is still not working the way I think it should, so I am not going to try to synthesize my current text this week. Instead, I would like to direct your attention towards some FREE resources written and distributed by our friends in the AMTA - not the American MTA, but the Australian MTA. (From now on, I'm going to indicate this as the AusMTA just to help those of us who are American-centric and just cannot imagine life outside of this country - tongue FIRMLY in cheek here, and LOTS of SARCASM in that statement, okay?)

I follow the AusMTA on my facebook social media feed, and I enjoy seeing what is happening with music therapy in Australia. Today's post offered some free resources that I was able to download without being a member. I thought I would share the links to those readers who are interested in getting free stuff and some clinical and advocacy enrichment. 

DISCLAIMER: I have not read these documents completely at the moment, but I am looking forward to doing so. …
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