music, therapy, and me

Here it is, Wednesday again. We are still all messes at work - kids are not doing well on the whole. Everyone is tired and crabby and just plain old mean to one another and to staff. It's taking a toll on us all. Even though it is Wednesday and we don't have a day off until October 20th, I am determined to be less likely to complain about Wednesdays than I have been in the past. I have written two complete TMEs so far, spending a total of 90 minutes on both. I have three TMEs to go to get to my goal of five TMEs written in a week. I don't have much time to write TMEs today, but I might be able to get one in during my limited breaks on this busy group day. I am not expecting to write one today though. I think it is fine to save three TMEs for the next two days - I have lots more office time on Thursdays and Fridays than I do on Wednesdays and Tuesdays. I am feeling pretty good about my accomplishment. In addition to finishing two TMEs in my new database format, I also have t...

Okay, okay. It is actually Monday when I am writing this Synthesis Sunday post - mainly because I got busy yesterday with other projects and situations and did not get into the research part of Sunday. So, here we go again!! I have selected my article. It is not from a music therapy source because I want to expand my vision. Here are the details... Eren. B. (2015). The use of music interventions to improve social skills in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in integrated group music therapy sessions. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 207-213. Retrieved from: www.sciencedirect.com I selected this particular article because it hit several of my keywords - adolescents, group, music therapy, socialization. The article itself doesn't have much information - there is no real quantification involved in the article - no numbers, no comparisons, no statistics - but there are more references to practical applications for things. I am looking forward to continuing r...

I am a dabbler in many things. I am a musician, an occasional poet, an artist, a crafter, a writer, a mentor, a knowledge-seeker, a technician, and other things as the mood strikes me. I am always interested in the roles we all take during music therapy sessions simply as a part of our regular routines. As a music therapist, there are times when I act as leader. There are other times when I am follower, model, supporter, translator, mediator, focus, magnifying glass, teacher, and learner. Sometimes I flit through all of these roles (and more) within a single session time. Just as a reminder for me later on, on this day (which happens to be my nephew's second birthday), here are the roles that I am taking, both in my personal life and my various professional lives: Currently I'm... reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman watching Death in Paradise thinking about CMTE pre-approval and course content fussing about getting everything done that needs to be done during th...

I had a bit of a fitful night last night. I fell asleep before I turned off the light so slept in the full light of my room. I woke up several times for unknown reasons (probably having to do with the light on), but was able to flip over and fall asleep again without too many problems. I did wake up convinced it was Thursday and getting my Thursday routine started in my head. I think this was influenced by one of my anxiety, medication dreams that seems to be something about how I forgot an intern webinar (which I have only done partially once, but which I NEVER want to do again) on self-care. I was relieved when I awoke that it wasn't Friday (that would mean I had missed the webinar), so started thinking it was actually Thursday. Here's a sample of my script. "Take a shower. Write a Thoughtful Thursday post. Check over the powerpoint for the intern webinar tonight. Make a post-it reminder for the intern webinar. Do your stretches. Take water to work. Finish session plan...