music, therapy, and me

My last therapy day happened yesterday - two groups and a Holiday Sing. I have to go to work today, but I will not be seeing clients. I will be avoiding the physical behavior management training that we have this morning because I just plain old hurt. The only thing that has torn me from my comfortable bed this week is the thought that I do not have to get up at 4am next week or the week after. It is time for some rest, and I am looking forward to that and to the next six months at work. Rest is something that I crave, so I am glad that there is only six months left of this particular job. Anyway, today's plan is to get through whatever training we have to do and then skip home to take a nap! That's the plan. I have to clean out my car and get it washed. I need to wash dishes and put them away in the kitchen. My to-do list is getting longer and longer, and I just want to sleep my available hours away! In this quiet December morning, I am trying to think about what has happened ...

It is finally here. The last day before Winter Break. It is also the last Holiday Sing that I will lead as music therapist at my current job. I may be involved in other holiday concerts in my future, but not at my current job. This is it! I am exhausted, but hopeful that I can get through it and then collapse into sleep without stress for the rest of the day. My last two groups are cancelled due to the  Sing, so I have two more groups to lead before I am done being a therapist for 2025!! This is manageable. I need a shower and some somewhat festive clothing that will accommodate getting onto the floor with some of my students. After my sessions, I will spend some time getting my playlist, amplifier, and microphone setup before heading into the world of Sing time. Santa is coming during the dance party part of the Sing. That should throw everything off the rails, but it is something that we can do to help our students and our staff through a rough month. In addition to the usual hol...

I did it! I spent most of my weekend engaged in crafting, and I have a new trip journal to show for it! One of the signature pages The front cover Now, the pictures here are just a bit of what I actually created this weekend. This journal has five signatures of about 20 pages each. and I managed to put in pockets and pictures and things called belly bands all over the place. It is ready to go on a trip with me later this month!! It is the second journal that I made over the weekend. The first just did not work the way I had envisioned, and the paper I used (wrapping paper) spread ink all over my fingers. So, it is currently abiding at the bottom of my craft bag, waiting for the oblivion of the recycling bin here pretty quickly. That's the nice thing about making things out of recyclable materials - it is okay to dispose of them as well! The actual experience was pretty fun as well. I met some new crafters and chatted about different things during the two days. That is the kind of o...

It is almost here - I am going to spend the evening and tomorrow in the company of fellow paperfolk - a crop weekend! I have never done this before, and I am both excited and queasy when I think about what I am about to do. I no longer scrapbook the way I used to - too much space to cover for a book that is not really easy to move around, so I am not sure if the projects that I have available will actually be okay. I mean, I know that the purpose of this weekend is to just engage in some crafting, but I want to fit in and make friends. That is the part that is excruciating for me - the wanting to make friends. Anyway, I will be constructing a new trip book. The one I made several years ago during my March Christmas visit is almost full. I will be filling it up with the events of this past summer - I didn't travel, but I was host to my aunt, sister, and mother once, and then my Mom came back for my surgery, so the summer months were busy. Once I can sit down and journal all of that,...

 Here you go! A demonstration of my new TMEs by the Numbers file in my TPT store! Available for free!!

So, here is the deal. I have come up with a system to boost my creativity when it comes to writing therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). Of course, I can't upload the video file that I just put together to get you to see what I'm talking about, so this entire post is just a practice in futility. Ugh. Anyway, my dice have dictated that I write a chant that focuses on motor skill development, in an AB form, using Orff/Keyboard instruments, for the month of November, and working additionally on oral motor and speech skills. I also rolled that I should do things in the key of F, but that has nothing to do with a chant, so that dice result is moot! (Thank goodness!) Gak! While this has been a good way to help spur my creativity when it comes to writing TMEs, this is not the best time to be engaging in this practice. I will work on it a bit more this afternoon after my five sessions are finished. I tweaked my finger (the one that's been broken twice by clients) yesterday. I will ...

Usually, I do a Make It thing on Mondays, but I didn't make much this weekend, so there really isn't much to report on. I cut out some gift tag materials and straightened up the floor in the office/craft area but that was all. I did lots of online shopping and have some logistical shipping problems to solve, but that's okay. I like challenges.  So, all that to state that I am not going to share something that I have made this week. I am just going to talk about getting ready for our next break. It is only twelve days away. Twelve angst-ridden, scream-filled, disappointment brewing, stressful days. The biggest problem that we as the faculty of the school have is that our Behavioral Health Technicians (BHTs) do not get a break and have to face two weeks of non-school programming without us including two major holidays. It makes it awkward to feel happy about getting some time off. Guilt over. Time to move into some gratitude. I am grateful that I can navigate this time of yea...

'Tis the season when I am inundated by the sounds of the holiday season - everywhere you go... I am going out into the world of retail later this morning to see if I can find some things for my Mom's holiday and birthday. While I am out, I am sure that I will be hearing versions of holiday music while strolling up and down the aisles of my local stores. I tend to avoid stores during this season, mainly because I am not a fan of crowds, but also because the sounds get to be overwhelming. I get tired of the entire holiday hoopla, but it is better now that I am not stressing about extra church services and many programs. I have to get some things for my Mom's stocking, so I have to head outside of my home for the express purpose of shopping. Thankfully, there is drive-up service as well as online ordering, so I can keep most of my shopping where I want it - away from the constant musical bombardment of holiday music! That being said, my favorite song of the season is a hymn ca...

Okay. It is crunch time now. Fifteen days between us and winter break. Let me tell you, folks, working with children this time of year is not for the faint-hearted! There is just not enough time, energy, or words to explain what happens in schools between Thanksgiving and winter holidays. If you have never worked in a school during this time, then kindly just nod your head in sympathy when a school teacher or therapist expresses their levels of exhaustion and/or overwhelm. My week started with a horrible day - all of my clients were disgruntled and snarly. The week has progressed into more kind conversations and emotional expressions, but the noise level in the class next door is very loud - which is very unusual! We are having constant shifts in classroom composition both with students and with staff members, and we no longer communicate these changes with all school staff members. I have not had the expected staff members in most of my sessions this week. That changes how I do things...

I am not looking forward to work today. On Monday, the groups that I see twice a week were just plain old mean and nasty to each other and to me. I hope that they will be a bit nicer to each other today, but I am not anticipating that things will change significantly. Once I get back here from work, I will have a meeting with a couple of people to start planning for a new symposium. It will be a late night, but it should be a productive one! Is it only Wednesday? Seventeen days left before break. I hope that I can do it without taking time out, but who knows. To add to my list of stressors, I have required that I eat things from my home rather than getting food from other sources this month. It has become way too easy to justify getting food delivered while I am still shopping for food to put in my pantry. So, I am making myself heat things up. Yesterday's dinner was a taco salad - quick, easy, and no extra money spent on food. It also means spending some time meal prepping on the ...

I am a music therapist who gets creative blocks at times, and that fact just annoys me. I do not like it when I cannot create something just whenever I want or need to do so, and I have explored many different ways to spur my creativity over my many years as a music therapist. The other day, I grabbed a set of Dungeons and Dragons dice at Five Below. I have followed several people on various social media platforms who use these to make decisions - I especially enjoy Roll for Sandwich - check it out! I thought that this could be a good format for me, and I turned it into a couple of therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) already! Now, I have released this as a free resource in my TPT store . (It will not always be free - get it now!!) You have to have an account in TPT to access the information, but signing up is free and there are tons of free resources that music therapists can use and adapt.  Here's how it works. I have determined a criterion for each die value. Each die has a diff...

There are nineteen days between now and the end of the work month for me. Fifteen of those days are work days, and I am getting ready for the last winter break of my career (probably). This is a year of lasts for me. I will be retiring from my current job and transitioning into another role as a music therapy professional at the end of my contract year. This is my last December as a school-based music therapist, and I am both happy and nostalgic about it all. If you know anyone who works in school settings, then you know that this is one of the most difficult times of the year - in ANY school. In my school, things are compounded by it being a residential and day setting for children, adolescents, and young adults who have significant developmental and psychiatric symptomology. Amplify the usual pre-holiday excitement with trauma backgrounds and the uncertainty of family involvement and you get the miasma that my students bring to their music therapy sessions this time of year. Meanwhil...