music, therapy, and me

I am sure that I mentioned that I brought back an old closing TME (therapeutic music experience) this week. It occurred to me that I had not sung the song for years due to interns being in charge of sessions and bringing their own music into our music therapy culture. Many of my "standard" TMEs have gone by the wayside. Right now, though, there are no interns at my facility. I closed that program in October after having zero applications for a year. For the next year and three months, I am bringing back the TMEs that I love and that my clients have loved over the years. It is time to rediscover things that are long forgotten and to introduce them to my current clients. This week, as I have been encouraging my clients to select their own music interactions through decision making and exploration of the music room, they have been making requests. I currently have requests for using the parachute, using the traffic cones, and using the bouncy balls. Some of the behavioral health...

When I was an undergraduate, one of my favorite courses of all times was Sociology of Music. It was taught by my favorite professor in the department, Dr. George Heller, and the topic really tickled my fancy. During the course. we had the chance to select a term paper topic that included discussion about culture and music, and I loved looking for information that showed correlations between societal events and musical themes and elements. I started thinking about this course yesterday when I was working in my office.  To keep myself company during non-group hours, I watch downloaded television shows. Currently, I am enjoying vintage television. I am watching the first ever season of Columbo. It came out in 1972 and is just chock full of 70's kitsch. I am loving it. Now, the thing that made me think about Sociology of Music was listening to the soundtrack of this old television show and linking it to other soundtracks of the same era. This will take too long to explain in one post, ...

It is almost spring here - the temperatures are getting higher and the snow drifts are melting slowly. I know that there will be a return of the ick at some point, but spring is coming. I was speaking to a coworker yesterday about how much I enjoy winter but really like spring and autumn. I am not a fan of summer - especially where I live now. The humidity makes it difficult for me to breathe, walk, and exist without pain, but winter offers some respite to it all. If I have to rank my seasons in order of preference it goes autumn, winter, spring, and summer. With the return of spring-like temperatures, I am starting to get some itches to create routines and systems and get things going. This happens every year. The shift from winter and hibernation urges heads me into energy and planning urges. I completely understand the concept of a Spring Cleaning - I just don't like cleaning. Anyway... I remembered a song that one of my clients helped me write as a closing therapeutic music exp...

I am a library person. Now, I haven't been as dedicated to going to the library as I would have liked in the past several decades, but I am back now. When I was a kid, going to the library was a great adventure. I had no restrictions on what I could check out, so I would get novels by Frank Herbert and Nancy Drew stories in the same trip. I roamed the young adult books and the adult fiction sections to get as many books as I could hold. I loved the library in the towns where I grew up, but I only remember the last hometown's building. In 2024, I made going to the library in my current hometown a priority for myself. I finally remembered how much fun it was to be surrounded by books and to select some to borrow. I got a new library card and then joined the summer reading program. We had to read 10 books to qualify for the prize - I read over 50 in three months. Since the summer reading program, I have been going to the library as often as possible. I have only really gone into t...

It is Monday, which means that I now give myself permission to get into a bit of a rant or express opinions that I hold near and dear. So, here it goes. I was thinking in the shower this morning about education and how students interact with the world these days. My sister, a second grade teacher, has a group of students that are challenging her this year. The students have not settled into any sort of learning routine. They have no interest in learning anything. All they want to do is play without consequences. Almost all of her students are performing significantly below grade level, and they have not been taught how to learn in their school experience so far. She is struggling to find ways to engage their interests while teaching curriculum (which is an entirely different rant) and reining in the extreme behaviors that happen every hour in her current classroom. I feel that we have shifted so far away from teaching into the realms of social-emotional development that we have forgott...

When I am writing music, I tend to do one of two things. I either start with a specific client in mind and write for that client's goals and objectives, or I start with an idea and let the idea grow regardless of the clients that I am serving at the time. I spend time with lots of hypothetical clients - thinking about the vast number of clients and their unique goals as I develop songs and therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). Today, though, I would like to start with the first focus - that of a specific client and his or her or their goals. Currently, I am sharing a wall with a class of students who are experiencing lots of life and school changes. Two students have transferred from residential care to home care and are now day students. One student is brand new to the classroom. Another student recently left the class. All of these changes have shifted the dynamics in the classroom group, and old behaviors of concern have reemerged as well as finding new behaviors to contribute. ...

I am thinking that it is time for a soul-searching type of post. I am struggling with things that are happening in our world, and I believe that every person has to come up with their own way of dealing with these things. However, I also have very strong opinions about what is right and what is wrong. I am trying to reconcile myself to the things that I am drawn to do and the ways that I can respond to things outside of my home. I have to get back to what I believe, so here I go. I believe that every person deserves the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every person is valuable. I believe that every person has the ultimate right to decide what makes them happy in their time on this earth. I believe that there needs to be structure and boundaries in society to protect those who are unable to protect themselves from those who feel that they can control how others live their lives. I believe that we are the product of evolution, and I can recognize that ...

Our current round of inclement weather is over, so I will be returning to work for the first time this week. To a Friday schedule where I only see the adults who are transitioning from school work to work for a leisure session rather than a music therapy session. It feels silly to go for one session, but that's how I get paid, so off I go! Yesterday at this time, the temperature was -9 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills that were dangerous. Today, the temperature is 4 degrees with no wind chill at all so it actually feels like it is 4 degrees outside. We will be experiencing spring temperatures by Monday - 60 degrees! I am hoping that we do not have any more snow days. We have had eight now which means that we will have to make up a work day at some point. This is the first time this has happened since I stopped going in for inclement weather days, so I am not exactly sure how it will happen for me. In the 29 years I've worked this arrangement, we have only had to make up time...

I will not turn this into a rant.  I am trying to figure out things around me, but I am also trying to keep my emotions in check. We are getting ready for another snow storm, and I have the day off for a national holiday, so there's not much to do outside. I am going to head to the library for the next round of books before the snow arrives. I anticipate that there will be another inclement weather day tomorrow since the snow is predicted to be heavier at work than here at home. I have picked up my grocery order, so I have plenty of food to get me through any sort of situation that occurs here. I also have plenty of matches, blankets, and ways to cook food without having electricity, so I should be good for another blizzard this winter. I was thinking about several things this week - blind reviews for conferences, how I am less depressed during the winter months than the summer months, the state of our government, what to present at the World Congress for Music Therapy 2026 in Ital...

One of the things that I have nearby me both here and at work is my songwriting kit. It isn't fancy, but it is something that I have found that I use when I am in a songwriting mood. My kits reside in the pencil bags that I have collected as part of my love of stationery items, and they are small enough to fit into my bag. Inside my kit, you can find post-it notes of various types, pencils (of course), erasers (of course!), index cards, and sheet music. I have decided to make some stickers to go onto my index cards or my idea books to help me keep the music going and flowing.  Making stickers is not something new to me, but making sheet music stickers is. I have stickers for project management, TPT files, and all sorts of things, but I have never made sheet music stickers. This is a bit of a "duh" moment for me. So, how do I do this?? I use labels and my printer. It is really simple to make these types of functional stickers. I use Word or Powerpoint most of the time. It ...

I have seen lots of comments from various sources about how some people use 2 spaces after a sentence before starting the next sentence. This appears to be a generational thing that is often bemoaned by those who never had to go through a typing class on an old electric typewriter. I find it interesting that these rules are something that people cling to - whether that you are supposed to put two spaces after a period or whether you should only use one. I must admit that I was pressured to change during graduate school, so I did. I no longer put two spaces after a period/full stop. I wonder who comes up with the "rules." Who out there decides that it is no longer appropriate to hit the spacebar twice? In my case, the American Psychiatric Association made that decision, and I went along with it because my professors required me to do so. What is going to happen if we ever move from a character-driven writing format to something else? All those who deride 2-spacers will become ...

It is a snow day today. I can't see outside yet, so I am not sure how much snow we have at the moment, but it was enough to have the superintendent cancel yesterday afternoon. Everything is closed here, and I am at home. I considered spending the night last night at work in my office so I could have an extra day off at some point, but I also considered my age, my movement ability, and my need for some comfort. I am here at home. I will do my best to get something accomplished today. I got a delivery late last night of poly envelopes for different materials. I have been using these to organize cards and visual aids at work, so I bought some more to help with containing things here at home. I will start the process today. I also have laundry, dishes, and other home chores to pay attention to. There is never an end to all of this. I also have to find stamps so I can send out some paperwork. I am a bit disappointed to have this week interrupted by snow because I was having fun with my ...

It is almost payday, so it is time to look at my current entertainment budget which I am monitoring through the use of envelopes. If you are not sure what I'm talking about, here is the link where I started my discussion. It is the first time for looking at my spending and getting things back to full envelopes. I spent all my fast food money and more than what was there this past pay period. I had two large food orders (one was benefiting the region's music therapy student association) which cleaned me out and cleared out much of my miscellaneous envelope as well. I just made a Thriftbooks order, so money has to come out of that envelope as well. The cash that is there will be put into my replenishment fund because I used my card for those purchases. I will take out less money from this paycheck to get me back to the amount that I keep for entertainment. I did not spend money on crafts this month. I did not spend money on my home this month. I did not spend money on the other ...

Mondays used to be my days to talk about being an internship supervisor, but I'm not in that role anymore, so I am not sure what I can talk about on Mondays now. The only thing I've got are my opinions about things. So, Mondays may be opinion days for a bit until I figure out if there is something else to write about. Now, all of my posts are opinion posts, but I tend to try to pull back some of my non-music therapy opinions back most of the time. I don't want this to be a place where I just spew my thoughts about other things willy nilly. I still don't, so I will try to figure out ways to rant or opine about things that directly affect me and my fellow music therapists. Today, it is pretty easy to find something that stirs me up about the world outside my door. There is so much that is going on that affects my profession (and yours, probably) in the halls of our government. I am not confident that there will be much resistance where there should be people standing up a...

There is nothing better than getting into a creative routine. That being said, it is not something that I have been doing very much of lately. It has been difficult to navigate a world where no one seems happy. I got notice that a music therapy acquaintance of mine is in hospice care, the government seems to be floundering in ways not seen for four years, and it is cloudy here. Very cloudy. More snow is coming. All of these things have had an effect on my creativity. I am somewhat snowed under with emotion, and I am not sure that all of the things that I am feeling are mine. I am a highly sensitive, empathetic introvert, and when things get emotional and unsettled, it is best for me to move into my cocoon until I can navigate the world again. I am trying to emerge at the moment, but who knows... Perhaps I should think of myself as a joey instead of getting into a cocoon. Back into the pocket of nurture rather than a caterpillar/butterfly. I like the idea of having a place to retreat to...

It is Friday. I have been at work the entire week (score!!). I am getting ready for my plan/prep day with only one group this morning. The rest of the day will be devoted to cleaning and organizing. I remembered to put the dolly in the back of the car, so if I get enough cleaned and organized, I can bring that in to help me move things across the treatment room to the storage areas. I am going to put the large instruments in the leaky room and the storage things in the storage room which is now my ultra large office space! I have done this before, but I have never had both of the office spaces to use in the past. I have had to cram things from both rooms into one room, but now I can spread out a little bit. The plan is to move things out of the office (I just have two large cabinets in there right now), clean and scrub the floor, place carpet squares on the floor, put the drum set up in the room, and then use the remaining space for the other large instruments that we do not use very o...

I am a packrat. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it means that I am more likely to keep something based on its potential to become something else than I am to throw it away. That means that my home is never neat and minimalistic - no matter how much I try to make it so. I picked up some free magazines at the library the other day - Elle Decor and Veranda publications. I looked through them this weekend after I was finished with the Online Conference for Music Therapy stuff that happened, and I had to laugh out loud. The decor and examples shared in those two publications were SO not what I like, do, or want to achieve in my home. I laughed out loud at the featured furniture selections which were not under $12,000 dollars. I will NEVER have a chair that costs $12,000 dollars! EVER!! There are so many things that I could get for that same amount of money. I quickly decided that subscriptions to these magazines will not suit me at all, but the pictures are nice. I might cut the magazi...

Something happened between my last post and this one - I had to do a last minute presentation to fill up time at the Online Conference for Music Therapy . I selected a presentation that I did a long time ago called, "Been There. Done That. Now What? - From Slump to Career Pivot." I guided participants through a couple of exercises to help clarify future plans, and it helped me as well. I was very honest with attendees about my own struggles - the ones that I was writing about in my post earlier that morning - my continued feelings of inadequacy and "not being good enough" (AKA, imposter syndrome). I went through the exercises with them as we were talking about this situation. I thought about my current future and what my "no boundaries" future look like, and how I can merge them together in small ways. I finished the day in a better mood and with a better outlook for my future than when it started. One of the things that I try to do on this blog is to offe...

It is halfway through the Online Conference for Music Therapy, and I am feeling like a failure as a music therapist. This happens every so often, and when this happens, it usually has to do with hearing what other music therapists are doing in their practices and then heading down into comparison canyon and then moving over to imposter syndrome island where I tend to wallow. It often leads me to wanting to do more for me and for my clients and then feeling like a failure because I am not doing the same things that others do.  I have to claw my way back into understanding my own successes as a music therapist and figure out what I want to contribute in my career and role as a professional music therapist. I am a natural music therapist. I have been singing since birth, and I love singing with others. My first instrument (other than voice) was the cornet - my father's cornet - and I played that at school because I was not allowed to take both band and choir for my electives due to ne...