music, therapy, and me

Somehow, someone in Ireland viewed yesterday's blog post over 1,000 times. I wonder why. Anyway, I am sitting at my work desk, waiting for the power to go out. I don't have my flashlight nearby...maybe I should get that ready...the lights have flickered once already, but it was just a flicker...maybe I should light a candle. That would conquer the absolute blackness that is life without electricity (and no candle). I enjoy wild, stormy days like this one is starting to be. There is something quite humbling about being part of an environment where you cannot control what is happening - you can only react. I think this is how my clients feel most of the time, and not by choice. I am in control of most of my own destiny because of who I am, and when situations like this storm occur, I realize just how much I am able to do because of that identity. My clients do not have the same opportunities as I do - mainly because of their life circumstances and a little bit because of thei...

My Brain - thinking and thinking and thinking Have you ever watched a client learn something? You know that moment. The one when a client makes a sound on an instrument for the first time. The moment when the tempo of the music is perfect and your previously quiet client starts to sing all the words of a song. The moment when a client realizes that you are improvising music based on what he/she/they are doing and then start to manipulate the music - taking control of the music that is created. I love those moments. They happen quickly and not every single day, but they do happen. You can see when someone grasps a new concept and when it becomes something real to them. I bet this moment is why teachers are teachers. I know that these moments are part of why I am a therapist. I work for persons who have been diagnosed as having an intellectual disability or a developmental disability. In addition, all of my clients have chronic psychiatric concerns as well. Learning does not prog...

A music therapy friend of mine recently asked for a list of songs that were good to use with kids with emotional and behavioral disorders. This request started me thinking about specific music for specific people. I guess I don't really feel that there are specific songs for people with a specific diagnosis. I like asking my clients to tell me the songs that they like to listen to. Often they are not able to tell me the names or words of songs. I then have to do some detective work, observing their responses and reactions to different kinds of music. I spend time timing their natural movements and patterns to see if they are consistent in their tempi. Often, I can find a tempo preference more easily than a musical preference. What do you see out there in your clinical experiences?? Do you have specific songs that you use when a client arrives with a specific diagnosis? Do you approach each client as an individual? Do you prefer an entirely improvisatory approach?  

Things are not often what they seem at first glance. This thought is just as true in the therapy setting as it is in any other situation or circumstance. This week has been an example of looking deeper into situations that are one thing at first glance, but are something else entirely at the second glance. I have the privilege of being a music therapist at a psychiatric residential treatment facility for children and adolescents ages 5-22. It is part of a larger program that offers educational and residential services for persons with developmental delays and disabilities from infancy to age 3 and ages 5 to end-of-life. (We do not serve kids from 3-5 due to an educational mandate in our state.) Kids come to my music therapy room with a variety of letters put very carefully into Axis boxes. Axis I diagnoses are often from the world of psychiatry. Axis II diagnoses are often developmental in nature, and Axis III diagnoses are other health diagnoses. It is not uncommon for a ...