5 Steps to Creative Therapeutic Music Experience Development

I enjoy making things. I like taking an idea, trying to make it into a reality, and then trying it out with my clients during music therapy sessions. Then, I REALLY enjoy sharing those ideas with other music therapists to see if what I make has value outside my own small corner of the music therapy world. To that point, I've sponsored a giveaway of the things displayed below as a good step towards getting others to use my tools.

I also enjoy finding out what other therapists out there are making, using, and doing in their own practices. One of the things that I've noticed is that we, as a collective, are able to take one simple idea and expand it, shift it, and adjust it until it is a multi-faceted, therapeutically-enriching, deep music therapy experience that affects more than just the clients we have before us. 

The problem is that we don't always have the opportunities to participate in a collective experience. Often we are the only music therapists in our facilities, or we are just so busy that we don't have the time to sit down with a bunch of others to talk about a particular song that we use in our music therapy sessions or about a particular client whose music therapy progress has plateaued. There is power in the connection of minds and in exploring our own creativity.

Creativity, though, fluctuates throughout our experience. I have found that creativity ebbs and flows. There are times when I am stuck in a concept, a song, a way of approaching a particular client, and I want a spark but don't get one. There are other times when I cannot contain the amount of ideas that are occurring to me. I have become used to these ups and downs and have figured out ways to keep myself going.

Here are my top tips for sparking some creativity:

1. Start with the idea of a particular client. What does that client like? What types of music is most effective with this client? What is his/her current level of functioning? What are his/her current music therapy goals? How can you engage that client in music therapy interaction? The answers to those questions should start you thinking about how to structure your TMEs for this client - OR - Start with an object. I often stroll around the aisles of the local Dollar Store looking for something unusual or interesting. I figure that if I am interested, I can figure out a way to use it with my clients. Start with a particular song.
2. Brainstorm everything that you could do with the client or with the object or with the song. Think about what the client contributes to the session. Is there anything that you shouldn't do with the client? Are there things that you really have to do with the client (goal areas)? With an object, use your senses. What can you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? How could you use this object? Is there a theme that the object fits? (For example, how could you use a toy truck? Do you have songs about transportation? Do you have letter songs where this object can be used? Could you pair the truck with a song to increase sensory stimulation on arms and legs? - There is no limit to what can be done). With a song, look at the various elements of the song (any of the Sing a Song Sunday posts on this blog will give you an idea of what elements to examine). What can you change or adapt to make the song something good for your client?
3. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN! Keep lots of idea boxes or books around. You don't have to see every idea through to the very end, but if you don't document it, there is a good chance that you will forget the idea until someone else offers it to the world.
4. Try your ideas with the client or with the object with more clients to see if the ideas work.
5. Share those ideas with others and expect adaptations from those others.

One of my mantras is that a good music therapist is a creative music therapist. As a group of people, I feel that we do our best work when we are able to engage the client in a creative experience that enriches his or her journey towards his or her particular goals. There are times when that journey is very structured and there are times when the journey goes in ways that are creative and unexpected. The good music therapist can create both before, during, and after the session to promote the benefit of the client.

Are there other things that you do to increase or spark your own creative process?

My latest idea/obsession? A bag for music therapists so you can easily tote lots of stuff around with you with pockets for lots of different instruments and objects. That one is still in the "brainstorming" phase (step 2 up there), but I see some potential.

Happy creating, Therapists!