TME Tuesdays: Sick Day Sessions

I am not feeling well. My "unspecified upper respiratory infection with asthma exacerbation" is back. So far, the first three weeks of my new year are not going well. I am going to have to go back to the doctor because my family members will nag if I don't - and, rightfully so as medical attention is the only way to get out of this particular brand of ick. I woke up this morning, very early, with the nasty taste in my mouth again. So, I am doing a breathing treatment and will go to the doctor after work. Yep, I still have to go to work. Right now, I am not running a temperature, but I am sure that will change once I get going. So much fun!

So, what do you do with clients on days when you are not contagious but are not feeling well? Boy, do I have experience with these types of sessions!!

I have the luxury of working in a facility where I stay put in my room and students come to me for music therapy sessions. I know that not every music therapist has a place or the luxury of some of the things that I have as a part of my day-to-day as a therapist, but there are things that you can do for the times when you are not feeling well. I have been a therapist who has moved from place to place, so there are things that can be done no matter what type of sessions you might have going for you.

In no particular order, here are the things that I often use when I am not feeling well:

• Games - I have a collection of games, both board and active, that I use during these types of sessions. We played Hot and Cold with clapping indicators with one of my groups yesterday. With clients who have less mastery of game theory, we play start/stop and freeze dance games. I can run them from a chair, if needed. For clients who have even less game theory mastery, we just play instruments.
• YouTube channel - I have made videos when I am feeling well, and I put them on my YouTube channel. While I have not used them during a session yet, I have shared that channel with teachers who use them in the place of session when I am gone. These videos are mine and curated playlists from other creators. My clients can choose from my videos or from the videos of others to engaged in dancing, learning songs, and some music therapy interventions. All of the music that I create and post is mine or in the public domain, so I do not have to worry about copyright violations. I am very vigilant about not sharing the copyrighted property of others.
• Pixar shorts - This may have to be the plan for the rest of this week because I have moved into not being able to breathe enough to sing stage of things right now. I love my Pixar short DVDs. Shorts are not very long and almost all of them include music as the primary format for sharing information. During a 30-minute session, we can usually watch 4 or 5 of the shorts, so those with short attention spans can shift their focus several times during the session. I usually pair the videos with games or toys or coloring sheets to give us something else to do during the session time.
• Music challenges - I have several scientific questions and challenges that I will pose to my clients at times. These challenges offer us an opportunity to test different hypotheses and figure out some basic information about music and sound effects and all that stuff.
• File folder activities - If you read this blog often, then you know that I am a fan of file folder activities. They are portable and easy to use during sessions. I often pair mine with songs, but once clients know enough about the folders, they can often replicate the songs without me.

There are other things that I will keep in reserve for these days when I am not feeling great. What things do you do when you aren't feeling 100%?? Let me know in the comments.