music, therapy, and me

The second ever (and hopefully, the first annual) Creativity Camp by musictherapyworks.com is now finished!! I am exhausted, but I feel good about what we accomplished this weekend. I have a BUNCH of new projects that are finished that I was able to complete in the 8 hours we were together, and the pile is growing as I get more inspiration from the campers' projects. That is the best thing about doing creative professional development workshops with and for music therapists - the expansion of ideas based on a similar format. I have done this type of workshop at regional conferences twice now, and this was the second online version of making things that I have finished. I think this will become a yearly workshop that I run from here at home. I have TONS of ideas that I enjoy sharing as starting points, so why not?? Currently, all of the cleaning that I did in preparation is in shambles. One of the problems that happens when creating is that there are messes that occur. While all of ...

Yesterday, I enlisted the assistance of my mom and my sister to start with my new project for the next year - sing about themes . I am planning on releasing these thematic packets every month this year to supplement music therapy programming for clients of all ages and goal foci. These thematic packets will come with 4-6 therapeutic music experiences (TMEs), ideas for adaptations to all TMEs for various populations, and a couple of digital files to make visual aids for clients to use during sessions. The first theme is one that is dear to my heart and will be kept a secret for a bit of time, but rest assured that I will be sharing it as soon as I can. The fun for me comes in collaboration with my creative relatives. We are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to creating. I've told you about my mom's current creative force - Barbie furniture and houses, but my sister is also very creative - she channels her creativity into specific projects one thing at a time rather than ...

Let me get this out here from the beginning. I did no professional reading this week. I moved my books to my comfy papasan chair to encourage me to read, but I didn't touch them other than that. They are still sitting where I placed them, but now they are covered by the towels that I have used this week. The towels will be going upstairs because it is laundry day, but the books will stay put.  Yesterday, I wrote a very long post about my current state of being, but I did not publish it. There are times when I write but I don't share. I was able to work through some of my thoughts and expectations that I put on myself in a way that allowed me to distance my emotions from my realities. The last thing I did before sleep last night was to draw my goblins - my woulda, coulda, and shoulda goblins.  If you don't know, one of the things that indicates to me that my emotional brain is taking over and I need to do some self-regulation exercises is an increase in the woulda, coulda, s...

Today is the last day of school for the 2021-2022 regular school year. The kids were finished up yesterday, but we teacher-therapist types have one more day of professional development and progress notes to complete before we head off into the world to do things not at all related to our jobs. My interns and I will be making things today. I enjoy doing a full out creative experience with people who do not always explore their own creativity. I have led some CMTEs on creating visual aids and have just finished two projects for a course that I am taking that are part of the entire visual aid thing... I am trying to convince my anxious brain that I am able to wait to go to work until after my usual time. There is nothing at work that is pressing or time-framed at all today. I do not have to get to work early - I can wait and work at the regular times. I have gathered some of my "must have  materials for making things, and they are waiting on the stairs for me to go up. These "mu...

Today is the day that our Halloween-themed door HAS to be finished. This is the second time that we've had a door competition for Halloween (interestingly, this is the ONLY time of year that we do anything at all - nothing for all the other celebrations or holidays of the year - just Halloween). Anyway - it has been quite the production, and I am going to try to post a video of what my interns and I came up with this year. We'll see if it works!! Last year, I had to do this entire process by myself. This year, I have the assistance of two VERY CREATIVE interns which has made the process both more challenging and significantly easier simultaneously. Every day I walk in, my co-therapists have had ideas, so our door has morphed from a simple scene on the double doors entering into the music therapy room to something that now encompasses much of the hallway as well. At the same time, we have shared the responsibilities and the work, so that makes this door SO much easier than las...

Okay, okay. I know I write about this lots and lots, but today is a day where I get to make some things...with my interns...during work hours...with my stuff... That means that I have to collect various and sundry things - my big laminator, my laminating pouches, some punches, some fancy scissors, fun paper, my book of music games (which I found AGAIN!), and my imagination before I leave for work this morning. I want to make some board games today, so I'll be focusing on using my book of music games (which is no longer in print, so I'm going to be working on making other copies of these games so I have them forever and ever in multiple forms). After our individual music therapy sessions, we are going to make things. I can't wait!! I went to the Western Regional conference last year and was able to run my first Make and Take session for clinical music therapists. We made a schedule board - something that many of us use in interactions with clients who learn best with a...