music, therapy, and me

And, here we are - FINALLY! The first day of my break. It stormed yesterday afternoon - lots of rain and thunder while a front rolled through the area. Rain came in bits and spurts but the thunder was pretty continuous there for a while. I am hoping that the storm will have decreased the heat and humidity, but I sincerely doubt that it did. Yeah - a quick look at my weather app shows that we have 88% humidity at the moment with a forecasted temperature of 91 (before the heat index kicks in). The storms did not help at all, but that's okay. It is what summer is like out here. I miss the dry heat of California. No more dwelling on that thought. Let's talk a bit more about what this break will be for me. I am going on an extended break because I am having another bowel resection on Monday. A part of my gut is growing things that it shouldn't, so it has to be removed. My mother is arriving tomorrow to help me out during my recovery. I have two days to get my house in order and ...

One of the great things about being an internship supervisor is getting meet many different music therapy interns - getting to know their ways of doing things, figuring out how to teach them things that they need to know, and helping them meet the demands of the professional world through assignments and program expectations. This is also one of the biggest challenges since each person who arrives at my internship is a unique human being who needs different things from me in order to be successful in my program. Now, before we get too much further into this particular topic, let's establish some things. First of all, I fit into the category of old music therapist now. I have been doing this job as a professional just shy of 30 years. It has been about 14 years since I have been in my last educational experience. I have an advanced degree in my chosen profession, and I have been training interns since the last century (barely, but still, things did start up in the 1900's). All o...

I have been working on a theory about the movie Encanto. Now, here's the deal. This post is going to include details about the movie, so if you haven't seen it and want to see it, then don't read this post. Just go to the front page of the blog and find something else to read about. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. The visual backgrounds and animation are incredible, and the music is catchy and fun. If you haven't figured out why we don't talk about Bruno, you really need to watch this movie. My favorite part about the movie is the familial dynamics that make up the center of the story. I also like that there is no villain. I've been thinking about this movie for a long time, and now I am finally ready to start talking about it all. If you have seen the movie, Encanto, then you know that it is about Mirabel and her family, the Madrigals. Does anyone else love that they are named after a song type? We find out that they have lived in a pl...

Last year, just about this time, I was working hard on a presentation about recognizing compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout and using creative projects to decide where we wanted to go in life. I had never presented on this topic before and wanted things to make sense for those who attended. I was really stressed about the presentation because I had been in that place and found that the topic was intensely personal and difficult for me to share with others. I was horribly nervous about what I was going to say and how it would be perceived. Then, my copy of Moana arrived in the mail. Are you wondering what Moana has to do with self-care and my presentation? When it arrived, I didn't know that it would have something to do with this topic, but I was pleasantly surprised. I am a Disney nut. I have many of the movies, especially the obscure ones that most people have never experienced before. I enjoy movies, but I love Disney moves. I purchase almost all of them....

I have always loved both Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher and the last couple of days have been a bit rough - not just on me, but on many people who loved their work over the years. I have been a bit disbelieving of news stories and people conversing, but it is obvious that the news of their deaths has not been exaggerated but is true. I don't know if I had seen any Debbie Reynolds movies before Carrie Fisher burst into my life in her iconic role, but knowing my family, probably. I remember the effect of the entire Star Wars universe on my life when I was 7, and Princess Leia was a big part of that effect. Here was a girl/woman who knew what needed to happen and did it! (I think my disdain for Padme Amidala is that she spent most of the third movie crying, not getting things done like Leia! - I'm kinda slipping into Stars Wars philosophy role here. I'll stop!) Let the men come up with an escape plan? That obviously wasn't working for her! She was the military strateg...

Here it is, the last Monday of the regular 2015-2016 school year. In 21 days, we will start our Extended School Year (ESY), and things will change. Some of our staff members are retiring, others are leaving, and some of us are going to be in the same place again. My schedule will change a bit - just enough that it will take some getting used to - and then it will change back again. We have seven weeks of ESY, and I think I am ready. I have my basic session themes put together, and now all I have to do is finish up my visual aids and figure out the rest of the session plans. There is always something nice about the end of the year. This Monday, I will see three groups of kids. I will play graduation songs once and will reveal our Musician of the Month for this month. I'm thinking that we may also watch music cartoons this week. I've got some Silly Symphonies, Extreme Music Fun, and Sing Along Songs that will probably fit the bill of music-themed learning. In addition I will ...

I asked my older adolescents to plan their music therapy sessions for this summer session. They all wanted to watch a movie, so I combined the scavenger hunt from last week to assist them in selecting a movie to watch for the next two weeks. I usually use movies as a last resort. There are short movies included in my sub plans for when I am away from the music therapy setting, but I rarely watch movies with my clients. I try to have a screen-free environment in music therapy, mainly because my clients spend lots of other time watching the Smart Boards, using iPads, or watching television. This week of movie-watching is something I don't usually do, but I am ready for this. So, how to incorporate movies into music therapy? I am a movie nut - I have hundreds of movies here at home, so I started strolling around my movie library. My criteria for movie selection? PG or G movies only - all others are not allowed in our school. I also wanted movies that my students were less likely t...

There used to be a song (so I'm told) that would play before the movie to encourage you to go out and get a treat at the concession stand. This song ran through my head for about two hours yesterday. I went to the movies yesterday - on a Tuesday night! I did. I'm stretching some of my comfort zones this summer - going out late, paying full price for a movie, and doing new things. So, I went to the movies last night to see Inside Out , the new Pixar movie! It was a deal that I learned about because I am fan of Pixar, and I follow all of their Facebook pages, so I am considered an "Insider." (Insert fan-girl squeal here!) In addition to the movie, I got to see lots of additional information and was given a lanyard with Bonus Points and access codes to more stuff and a lithograph of the movie poster. It was well worth the money that I spent (my sister thought it seemed expensive, but it was less than what I pay to see a musical, so it really wasn't all that ba...