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Fun Friday: Silly, Therapeutic Games to Play in Music Therapy

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I work with adolescents, and I can tell you that they are sometimes difficult to engage in what I have to offer them. Right now, I have one who absolutely refuses to engage with me in the music therapy room - no eye contact, no engagement, hunched over - but is effusive when glimpsing me in other places - smiles, enthusiastic greetings, high fives. It is fascinating to me. Now, I have come across clients who have never given me a chance before. I have had a handful that I have never been able to interact with in a meaningful way. I never stop trying, but there are some people who are just not interested in anything that I can give them in my music therapy sessions. It is hard to take at times. I am a people pleaser who just does not like to be disliked. So, the clients who do not like me make a bigger impact on how I feel about myself than the many clients who do seem to like me and what I do with them. I want to give my clients what they want and need during their mandatory time with ...
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Thursday

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Yesterday was a day off for me. I had reached the end of my compassion and was stuck in compassion fatigue, so it was time for a self-care day. I was exhausted, even after a full night of sleep, so I took some of my precious time off for yesterday. It was a quiet day where I got some things done. I took out my yard waste trash can with the remains of a branch that fell during our last windstorm. I took out my trash can as well. A load of dishes is waiting to be unloaded. The sink is clean. I picked up some stuff in my craft space. I took the read books out of my To Be Read pile and brought them downstairs to the library room. It might not sound like much, but these tasks are the ones that have been nagging me - things that can be done in less than five minutes but that are no fun for me to accomplish. Today is the last day with students before our break. I have four groups to navigate and then all I have that is structure for tomorrow is a faculty meeting. After our meeting, we will us...
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The Thrifty Therapist: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

My mother is currently WAY into making miniatures. I mean, this techno-phobe, almost octogenarian is watching YouTube videos and hunkering down with her bits and bobs and is making things for a currently fictional Barbie house. She is making plans for us to work on making some rooms for the Barbies that she is collecting. So, why am I putting this on my blog? My mother is the QUEEN of making things out of other types of things. She has always done this and always will. She is having so much fun making things, and she will continue to make these things until she is finished. That's how Mom goes - full-out until she is done. Her latest craze has been making plants for Barbie out of tape, markers, twist ties, and bottle lids. That's right. She has made some house plants for Barbie's soon-to-be-made Dream House. My mother is my original Thrifty Therapist. She is an Occupational Therapist (retired) and has always been crafty as well as artsy. We used almost everything over again...
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Facing the Last Week of School

I just don't want to go to work this week, but I know that I will regret it if I do not go. It is Spirit Week and the last week before winter break, so there are so many things that are happening that will just fan the flames of hyper-emotion that is already simmering in the body of each and every one of my students AND all of my co-workers AND, of course, in me. Staying home would be a cowardly act and would not do me any good at all. So, I will be heading out into the world to go to a job where there isn't much that can be done as far as education is concerned. I need to figure out how to keep my students engaged in something that is not extremely taxing to them but that still offers some of the things that I want them to be doing. It is Musician of the Month and center week, so I want clients to choose things to do, but I also need them to be active and moving, so the centers need to be something that will keep them busy. The major problem that I have when putting together m...
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Songwriting Sunday: Inspiration Comes From Strange Places

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Inspiration comes from strange places. I got inspired by cat videos and a song came out. It is always interesting to trace the origins of songs, and mine usually come from two sources - silly things or client goals. This one came from silly cat videos and is called "Naughty, Naughty Kitty Cat." I paired it with a "Match the Ornament" game during one of my groups. Before the start of my music therapy day, I tend to spend about 15 minutes tuning my guitar and engaging in some random strumming. I think about the day that is ahead, and I either play songs that I know really well or I settle into a chord progression and just start to make music. Usually, good or fun songs emerge right before a group enters the room. Now, I've been doing this a long time, and I know that I will NOT remember a good song if I do not write it down. Since this is the case, I have post-it notes and a pencil in a drawer right next to my guitar stand. When inspiration strikes, I write down l...
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Fun Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th of December, and I am getting ready to lead a holiday sing with about 150 people. It is also payday, so it is not a bad day at all. I am currently debating what to wear and how to arrange my music so all can hear and see. I also have a reward session and a group session to run today before the Sing, so I have to figure out things within a slightly different time frame than my usual Friday time blocking. I got a new badge yesterday because I still cannot find my old badges and my keys. Fortunately, I have spare keys so I can get into my inner doors until I find my old keys. They have to be somewhere where I can access them because they are not anywhere else. I have to have dropped them in my car somewhere because I used them to get out to my car. What a mess, but I can access the outer doors now, so I can get into the building when needed. I need to get into the building today. I have run Holiday Sings for about 15 ish years now. These started when we built the ...
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Thursday Thoughts

I lost my badge and office keys somewhere between the administration hallway and my car yesterday. This is bad because it is somewhere where I do not have it. This is good because there is a small place where it can be, and I hope that I can find it and regain access to the building. Ah, the stresses that happen when you drop things. I am hoping that I will find them once I get to work, but if I can't find them outside, then I have to go get a new badge, put in a request to have my office and storage spaces rekeyed, and way too much hoopla for the day before the Holiday Sing. I feel ashamed about all of this because it just is not something that should be happening.  I feel stupid.   Yuck. I don't like this feeling. Something so little just throws me into a struggle cycle. There is so much that happens all the time that goes perfectly fine - I was able to get through physical behavior management training without associated pain, so that's a good thing, but losing my keys ha...
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