Thrifty Therapist

It is time for a new series - The Thrifty Therapist - something to happen on Tuesdays because I like alliteration and themes. Here's what I'm thinking...

One of the things that unites us all is a quest to get more for less. We music therapists are no different from anyone else - we want things that work for us for less money. So, I am working on ways to do just that.

Now, this does not mean that things will be free, but there are ways to find materials, share ideas, and stay within a firm budget as a music therapist. This series is going to be a way to share ideas and things that have worked for me in my decades of being a music therapist. There will be products that I use, things that I offer and sell in various places, some free things to download and use right away, and some questions and surveys of the music therapy world. I have recommendations for gifts for music therapists and for equipment, instruments, and supplemental materials for working with different populations of music therapy clients.

I have big ideas for this theme... and for my website!

So, here is the first post for this new theme - The Thrifty Therapist!

(Please also keep in mind that this is not just directed at music therapists, but at any therapist who wants to maximize their budgetary dollars, so not everything will be directly applicable to all music therapists.)

This was my very first infographic. These four things are things that I have used over and over in my life as a school-based music therapist. Three of the four have a cost associated with them, but they are things that will make life as a therapist easier. The last one, the idea box (can you tell that this was designed before electronic devices took over our lives??) is something that is completely free but takes some mental energy and output.

I don't think that you can find free laminators or Velcro often, but you never know until you ask. Places like Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing groups can offer some stuff occasionally. I find big bags at thrift stores and through my local Buy Nothing group for little to no money. I like having different bags for different types of sessions.

What types of things do you use in your music therapy practice that helps you work smarter and not harder?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
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...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
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 ...
Read more