Music, Therapy, and Me - The Reason Behind My Blog
Welcome.
My name is MJ, and I am a board certified music therapist who has been in professional practice for 33 and a half years (yes, I will ALWAYS celebrate the half year!). I have recently left a full-time position as a school based music therapist because 30 years means a pension and an opportunity to do something new. I am trying to figure out what the "something new" part means to me, so many of my recent writings have been targeted towards what I want to do next. I started my career in the last century, and I intend on continuing my journey as a music therapist through the next couple of decades.
I started this blog back in 2006 when there were no things like TikTok or Instagram. I am not entirely sure why I named it what I did, but it was probably because my website name was already taken by someone in the blogosphere. So, I sat down and thought about what I wanted to write about.
Music was definitely on the list. So was therapy. I also quickly realized that I also wanted a place where I could talk about myself as therapist, as musician, and as just me. So, I started with one post.
It took quite a bit of time to get into a blogging routine, and the routine that I have now changes frequently. I do try to write as often as I can about music therapy and how I navigate the world of this profession. There are times when it is difficult to write, but that is part of being human, right?
When I write something that I think people might like to read, I post on social media about the blog. When I write something less interesting in my mind, I write but do not post on social media. I have social media accounts on Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, and LinkedIn. My handles vary but usually have something to do with musictherapyworks because that is my business name. I have a website as well - one that needs attention from me right now. I also have TPT (formerly Teachers Pay Teachers) and Etsy shops where I make things for others to use or purchase. I think that's all - I also have a TikTok account, but I am not using the app right now for political reasons. I enjoy making videos, making digital products for music therapists, and offer continuing education coursework as well.
My favorite thing to do is to talk to music therapists, interns, and students about this profession. I love Zoom meetings and getting to know people who are also interested in music, therapy, and themselves.
I have very strong opinions about how our profession should be happening, and I share them here because it is my place to work through my thinking. If you do not agree, you are always welcome to challenge my thoughts and opinions, but I also reserve the right not to publish any comment that I do not like. That's my prerogative, I believe, as a person. I can hold the opinions that I hold without having to change my mind to meet your opinions. There you go.
As of this post, I have written 4,079 posts. I would guess that most of them are not really all that interesting to anyone other than me, but there are many ways to find information that might be relevant to you and your personal journey in music, in therapy, and in discovering yourself.
Since I am a vintage music therapist and have entered a new way of doing my music therapy life, I am trying to figure out what comes next. I have put on a couple of CMTE opportunities that have been interesting to run. I am trying to figure out what to do next, but as that is going on, I have two other things happening - intern webinars and a self-study course. I am trying hard to develop other products as well.
It is time to finish up my writing for this morning, so I am going to head to my planner to work on different tasks. Tomorrow has a themed post coming - Just a Song Sunday - where I talk about using specific songs or elements of music to work on specific therapeutic outcomes. There you go.
Thanks for being here.
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