music, therapy, and me

I am a bit behind this week, and I am going to read as I write since I didn't get my reading done before this time. Fortunately, I have some extra time on Sunday mornings to catch up, so here we go. (Also, on Sunday mornings, the cat wants more cuddle time, so this may be interrupted by that as well. In fact, I think I'll go read, take notes, and be the cat's sofa for a bit. See you soon.)


Okay. I've read (well, skimmed) through the chapter, but I'm not sure how much I really want to say about it. Here goes.

Chapter Five, "Perception, Cognition, and Improvisation," addresses some of the differences between how cognitive psychologists and music therapists perceive music, our music therapy relationships, and how we interact with clients during clinical improvisation. For me, the most relevant concept shared in the chapter was that clients often hear music as a whole - one experience. As music therapists, we often hear the elements of music - we experience the…

I am going to spend some time today making something. I have some birdhouses halfway painted for my sister's new home. I got some new file folders for making file folder activities for my clients and for my friends. I have some slippers to crochet (as long as my sprained finger holds out). I also want to bake something to splurge on. At some point, I need to do laundry so I have clothing to wear next week, but that can be done tomorrow.

It is Saturday, and I had my "I just want to stay in bed all day" day yesterday on my day off! I'm a day ahead of my self-care routine, so I get to have some play time.

Several years ago, I won a basket full of paints in the American Music Therapy Association's National Conference silent auction. It was a large basket full of paints, and I am just now finding things to do with the contents. My art therapist friend, Tawnya, has taught me to make mixed media backgrounds for various projects, and I want to make some today with those pa…

I admit it.

I like getting things in the mail, and I love my subscription to Music Therapy Mailings. I took a brief break from my subscription, but recently splurged on an annual commitment. I received my first envelope of the new subscription in the mail on Wednesday.

This time around, I decided to get the adult version of the mailings. Since I work with children and adolescents, I found that many of the things in the Kid subscription was not really all that applicable to my adolescents, so I decided to go to the Adult version (just to see if I can find more things for my clients). Here's what I got...

(Cat tail NOT included in the envelope.)
Before I go any further, I feel the need to indicate that I do not get anything from anyone when I talk about products or services. I do not have any affiliate links, so every thing I write is 100% my own opinion and is not motivated by any thing other than me!

This month's envelope included 18 hanging jack-o-lanterns, some Halloween clings, …

I found a meme yesterday that sums up everything I think about self-care in one image. I do not know who is responsible for the meme, but I got it from the Introverts are Awesome Facebook group.
Some people seem to think that self-care is self-indulgent and selfish, but I think of self-care as essential. I think that is why this particular picture speaks to me.

(I also like analogies, so this has everything in one simple little picture.)

As I am sitting here, I have released my finger from its current confines (got a splint yesterday and have to go back to the Doctor on my day off to confirm that it isn't broken, simply sprained), and my head is pounding. I have two hours before I head to work for a really long day. 

As a result, self-care is something that I am thinking about right now.

An empty cup.

At the moment, my cup has a bunch of holes in it - there are leaks happening everywhere - but I am patching those holes to refill myself.

First step - medication to address the sinus and th…

I think I sprained a finger in my left hand yesterday. I know I slammed my left thumb in the filing cabinet at work (in front of clients - I managed NOT to color the air with obscenities, but it was CLOSE). I now have a bloody nose and am just sitting here wondering about why I am so klutzy at the moment.

Now, I am almost always prone to accidents - sensory integration issues from birth, etc. - but these things seem to cluster.

I am not graceful. I tend to break, sprain, and injure things more than the usual person. I also cannot coordinate many movements without extreme task analysis and practicing the small elements of each movement. Dancing a routine is something that takes LOTS of intense work for me. Add in some gravitational insecurity and a balance disorder, and you start to see what life is like for me.

Over the years, I've learned to compensate. This is the only way of being that I know, so this is the way I move through life. (Sometimes I need a uniform of bubble wrap to go…

I am not a big fan of Halloween.

There, I've said it. I don't like the dressing up (never have liked people in costumes, even...make that ESPECIALLY Santa Claus), I don't like running around, I don't like having to give people things for interrupting my routine, I just don't like the way we celebrate the holiday.

As a result, I don't do lots and lots in my music therapy sessions about the holiday. I figure that my clients get enough hoopla, and I try not to go overboard about all of it. Also, some of my clients have real difficulty distinguishing between real and pretend, so I try not to confuse them.

Having said all that, I am taking out my Halloween resources to see what I can do with them next week.

I have Pumpkin carols (Google it to find lots of sites that offer these carols), I have a Pumpkin carol choice board, I have pumpkin visual aids, I have Halloween books, and I have ghost stories.

The best thing that I do, for me at least, is that I change the modes of…