Just A Little Something for My Amusement





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Therapeutic Elements of Music

In the year 2010, Dr. Deanna Hanson Abromeit, professor at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, presented A Closer Look at the Therapeutic Function of Music , a presentation at the American Music Therapy Association's Annual conference. I was unable to attend the presentation, but she was kind enough to send me a copy of the powerpoint for my files. How many of us really analyze the way we use music with our clients? How do you describe the reasons why you sing a specific song at a specific tempo for a specific client? Every so often, the music therapy listserv erupts in a discussion about the appropriateness of sharing therapeutic music experience ideas. One camp feels that we should not share ideas with one another due to the fact that it diminishes the individualization we offer to our clients. The other camp wants new ideas on how to engage clients providing them with novel and interesting experiences. I can understand the point of both groups. There is a danger in...
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Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

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One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
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Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

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It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
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