music, therapy, and me

The prayer shawl I started OCMT 2023 is over - at least the live portion of OCMT 2023 is finished. I am interrupting my really short stretch of nostalgic posts on Sundays to reflect a bit about the Online Conference for Music Therapy, and how it has enriched my life over the years. In 2003, I took a course on how to develop online courses in the School of Education at my local university. This was part of a minor in Curriculum and Instruction, and it was one of the first courses offered on this topic (at least, according to my professor). I developed an online course for education teachers on how to add music into the elementary classroom. I didn't have a place to put it, but I started thinking about using the internet to teach music therapists things. In 2010, John Lawrence, a music therapist from Canada, sent out a message on the Music Therapy Listserv asking if anyone would be interested in starting an online conference for music therapists. After about a week of contemplating i...

My busiest weekend of the year is almost over, and I have survived with little to no aftereffects (as of now!). Last night, at 5:45pm (my time), the eleventh Online Conference for Music Therapy finished up. We had started the evening before and then hosted music therapists from all over the world as presenters and attendees in our online format. I have been part of the planning of these conferences from the beginning of it all, and I love and dread every moment! Now, the love of this conference definitely overcomes the dread that I get, but the weekend of conference is usually my most stressful weekend of the entire year. I have anxiety dreams about the internet going down, missing presenters, things that I have to do not getting done, trying to talk and not being able to use my technology, and all sorts of things that are related to helping to run an online conference and many other things that have absolutely NOTHING to do with anything! It is the one Saturday morning per year that I...

This evening is the beginning of OCMT - the Online Conference for Music Therapy's annual conference. So, I am awake an hour before I set my alarm, sitting here, trying to figure out when I am going to get all sorts of things done before tomorrow morning when I have to be moderating presentations. Today is not a snow day...yet. I am not holding out much hope that it will be a snow day at all, but another snow day would be really convenient for me. So, that means that it will not happen. I will do my usual things for this conference. I will spend some time explaining to people that they cannot register after the fact. I will send lots of links to panicked presenters who didn't register. I will be present for the opening part of the ceremony, and then I will head out to get some sleep while the other folks take their turn at the helm. I will come back when I wake up. I am an early morning type person, so I will be helping out in the early morning hours. Then, I present on music th...

My typical view of the Conference You may not know this, but I am one of the founding members of the Online Conference for Music Therapy, Inc . I am also the Continuing Education Coordinator and the Treasurer, so you can rest assured that this is a passion project of mine. I've been involved in this organization since its inception, and I've been part of eight wonderful, interesting, stimulating, and challenging conferences. The first weekend in February is one of the best and most grueling weekends of my year, but it is so worth it! I hope that this post will encourage you to do two things. (My business course is teaching me all about persuasive speech to close a deal - here's one of my first tries!) I hope that you will reserve the first full weekend of February (the conference starts on January 31 for us North American-types) to attend the conference. You can earn CMTEs for attending, and you do not have to attend the entire 24-hour conference on that day/night...

My brain is still not working the way I think it should, so I am not going to try to synthesize my current text this week. Instead, I would like to direct your attention towards some FREE resources written and distributed by our friends in the AMTA - not the American MTA, but the Australian MTA. (From now on, I'm going to indicate this as the AusMTA just to help those of us who are American-centric and just cannot imagine life outside of this country - tongue FIRMLY in cheek here, and LOTS of SARCASM in that statement, okay?) I follow the AusMTA on my facebook social media feed, and I enjoy seeing what is happening with music therapy in Australia. Today's post offered some free resources that I was able to download without being a member. I thought I would share the links to those readers who are interested in getting free stuff and some clinical and advocacy enrichment.  DISCLAIMER: I have not read these documents completely at the moment, but I am looking forward to doing...

I took a two-day blogging break this weekend because I was doing something I love - The Online Conference for Music Therapy . If you've never heard of this experience, I am so sorry since I obviously haven't been speaking of it as often as I should be! This is a 24-hour, interactive and recorded, international conference of music therapists. It happens the first weekend in February and is attended from the convenience of my home. I get a chance to hear from lots of music therapists that I would never interact with otherwise, AND I can do it all from my couch! Have I mentioned that I love this conference? It has been almost 12 hours since the end of the conference. I am still recovering from another bout of the flu, so I begged off at 3:30 after my 12 hour shift. I am just now at a point where I am able to remember most of what I heard during the conference. It's time to start synthesizing. When I get to the end of this conference every year, I spend time thinking ...

I am awake, on this fourth day of my mid-summer break, at the early hour of 3:30 am, attempting to figure out what to write about today. I awoke to find a very complimentary blog post by my friend, Janice. Please check out her blog , especially her journal club posts and her information about how to get CMTEs. I've found these to be very valuable over the years and think that everyone should be paying attention to what Janice has to say. (Hi, Janice!!) The post is making me think a bit about what I write here, so I am going to engage in some random thoughts to figure out several things happening in my life. Random Thoughtstream One: I'm feeling a bit unsettled this morning. I awoke very early, even for me, and was sucked into a series of thoughts that did not allow me to settle back into sleep. I'm not quite sure what is going on, but I do know that these early mornings and the accompanying unsettling thoughts seem to come more often these days. It is something that I s...

Don't you hate it when you are all settled on not thinking for a time and then someone posts something that you just can't stop thinking about? I do. Recently, a post on Facebook started me thinking. The post was about cultural appropriation - you know, when people from one culture take over the cultural characteristics of another culture, and in doing so, negate the purpose and traditions behind that culture. I admit that I did not respond to the original post, specifically because I am not sure how I feel about all of this. I am one of the privileged. I am a highly educated, American woman who has a good job and more than enough. I fit into all the categories of "privileged" in this world. I have instruments and objects from other cultures in my home. I don't adopt the ideas of other cultures, but I probably appropriate those ideas as others have before me. I would never state that I was playing my angklung the way that the persons of Indonesia would, but ...

It is finished. The Online Conference for Music Therapy for 2017 (OCMT2017) is finished and now it's time to watch the recordings and soak up all the music therapy knowledge shared with us all.  This international, online conference for music therapists offers so much for us all. I listened to folks in Russia speak about how they are just now learning about music therapy - there are volunteers who are starting to offer music therapy to persons with disabilities in that country. I listened to a therapist from Chios, Greece who provides music therapy groups to refugees fleeing the Middle East and seeking asylum in Europe. I listened to therapists who described their own work in many different places in the world. I came away inspired - as always. Now, I am going to spend some time thinking more deeply about what I heard and what I think. I think I will watch the recordings for some time and get more food for thought as I work through all of these points about music therapy. I...

It is the first Friday of the month of February, so I am getting ready for the Online Conference of Music Therapy. This is an annual conference, run by a non-profit agency that I am part of, and tends to be both the most stressful and most energizing music therapy event that I participate in every year. The stress aspect comes from being behind the scenes. There are so many things that go wrong during an electronic conference that attendees never experience. This is because the Board of Directors have learned how to use the platform from the inside out, so when things happen, we know how to take care of them! But, when a link doesn't work or a presenter's computer dies, or wi-fi just isn't doing the job, the Board members are scrambling to figure out solutions. (Sarcasm now.) It's SO much fun! The energizing aspect comes from what actually happens during the conference. I love hearing about music therapy's status in different parts of the world. I enjoy learning...

As I am busy getting ready for the Online Conference for Music Therapy (OCMT) 2017 conference , I started thinking about other music therapy organizations. Lo and behold, a quick Google search and I found a link to many different organizational websites. Guess what? This resource is available on our very own music therapy association's site!! Go American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) !  My experiences with OCMT have shown me the differences in music therapy around this planet. Some countries have well-developed professional identities. Others do not. It is interesting to see where my ideals and visions of music therapy meet those of others in places far remote from where I learned about this profession. I encourage you to take advantage of the work of the AMTA International Relations Committee and check out some of these sites. I'm going to spend the weekend listening and speaking to international music therapists at OCMT 2017. You are welcome to join us there as well!...

I feel sorry for the American holiday known as Thanksgiving. It comes in the increasingly commercial period of time between Halloween (the candy holiday) and Christmas (the "spend all your money on those you love" holiday). Hidden in the middle is small little Thanksgiving - a day dedicated to remembering the gifts we have because we live where we live. I am NOT a fan of traditional Thanksgiving foods, but I am a fan of the thoughts and ideas behind the holiday itself. There will be no turkey, cranberry sauce, or (shudder) stuffing at my Thanksgiving meal, but there will be thoughts for those near to me and far away.  I am usually far away from my loved ones on the holiday, so I can spend it however I want. Most of the time, I just cook a special meal for me and then spend the rest of the time doing my usual routines. I don't go shopping at all (unless I REALLY have to), and I talk to everyone in my near family. There will be dishes to do and laundry to wash. There wi...

This will not be my traditional TME Tuesday post - I am currently enjoying the early morning hours of World Music Therapy Day as well as the aftermath of Independence Day here in the states - so just be prepared. Today's post is called, "The Reasons Behind." This is a brand-new idea that is floating in the back of my head. I intend this to be a song that addresses the reasons that I have for doing what I do - music therapy. This is not really a song intended for therapeutic purposes at this point, but I think it will be readily adaptable to some clientele. (My kids, probably not so much, but I could see this type of song being the TME for a group of people exploring their own patterns...hmmm). I go into songwriting through different paths. Sometimes I start with lyrics. Other times, a melody line floats into my head. Today, I feel compelled to start with a chord progression. I've been obsessed with a specific chord progression lately. It comes into my fingers ...

'Tis the season for MJ to start getting stressed out. It is Online Conference for Music Therapy season. If you haven't heard about this Conference (affectionately known as OCMT), you aren't alone, but I'm going to tell you a bit about this conference. This is the first, completely online, international conference for music therapy. We've been running these opportunities for 5 years now, and each year gets better and better.  Now, in the interest of full disclosure... I am a founding member of this conference, and I am the treasurer and Continuing Education Director, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I like this conference because I get to know and hear about music therapy from around the world. I don't like the insane 24 hours of behind the scenes work and stress that comes from being one of the people who runs this conference, but there are downsides to every conference. This one just happens to be electronic in nature... In the next (shudder...

I am just on the edge of my seat excited about Creativity Camp 2015! It starts in three hours and will be something... My "helper", treats, and one of the Creativity Camp projects! I am heading into this webinar for music therapists and MT students/interns the way I head into many of my sessions - I have an idea of what I am going to do, but am viewing that idea as a possibility rather than an actuality. I've sent out "get ready for camp" letters to participants with the activities to choose from, and we'll see what participants actually want to do once we get started.  I am hoping that this will be a time for collaboration, creativity, and networking for all of us at Camp. I've got my mini M&Ms for sustenance and my "helper," Bella, who will probably insist on sitting in the middle of all of the things that I need to do during this webinar! Aah, Cat. Before I start Camp, however, I have a meeting for the Online Conference for M...

It's that time of year again. Registration for the Online Conference for Music Therapy (OCMT) 201 5 is now open and running. **Now in the interest of full disclosure, I want you to know that I'm a founding member, the continuing education director, and the treasurer of OCMT, so keep in mind that most of this post is written from the point of view of someone who is deeply involved in many of the things that happen at the conference. There you go! ** When I answered a post on the music therapy listserv in 2010, I never imagined that I would still be as involved in this conference as I am now. I was nominated by my fellow founding members, John Lawrence (who was the first founder), Aksana Kavaliova Moussi, and Demian Kegotuk, to be the treasurer. I protested. I thought I would be better as the conference organizer, but the simple truth was that I was the only American music therapist, and all of our bills required payment in United States currency, so I got the job by defaul...

My Facebook news feed is exploding with Music Therapy friends' posts about Vienna and the upcoming World Congress of Music Therapy. I am simultaneously really happy for them and extremely jealous at the same exact time. I would have loved to be traveling to Krems to meet with music therapists from everywhere in the world. Unfortunately, I was not able to do so. Having been to two World Congresses (one in Washington DC and the other in Brisbane, Australia), I can state with absolute certainty that my friends have a wonderful experience before them. They will hear so many different ideas of the power of music therapy, be challenged by the philosophies and treatment styles, and feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that is put in front of them. The sheer quantity of information present is amazing. We music therapists are doing so many different things in so many different places in the world that when we get together we spend lots of time trying to explain to each other what...

One of the things that I like to do is to work with other music therapists doing music therapy things. I often interact with MTs so I can learn more about what we do as a collective (do we sound like the Borg?). What you do as a therapist in your particular environment fascinates me as it is probably COMPLETELY different from what I do as a therapist. As I've been a therapist, I have attended two world congresses. These experiences did a great job of opening my eyes to the differences between not only therapists, but the different philosophical viewpoints of therapists in other countries. I have realized that I approach music therapy in an American-centric manner, definitely influenced by the founders here in the United States. The world congresses of music therapy really opened up my eyes to the fact that there are different views of how music works that are extremely different from my own. The problem that I have found is that congresses are too short and too crammed to really ...