music, therapy, and me

Camp - Day Two Today was the second day of camp. I had an opportunity to use drums of an excellent music therapist, entrepreneur, and all-around good guy, Barry Bernstein. Barry, AKA Bongo Barry, passed away last September very suddenly. His death was unexpected and shook the music therapy world as well as the camping world deeply. I appreciate the use of his instruments and hope that his family know how much we loved Bongo Barry at camp.

CAMP! It is time for camp again. I am immersed in the world of autism and Asperger's and am enjoying every second of it! I got some hugs today from campers that remembered me from last year. What a great feeling. I ran both arts and crafts and music therapy today. The first MT group was gypped out of a good experience because it was raining. The guitar and instruments had to stay in the car. The other two groups rocked! Literally as well as figuratively! We engaged in several improvisations and let things develop from there. Kids were taking turns, improvising melodies and lyrics, indicating that they were interested in what was going on, and generally acting just like kids at camp! What is it about camp that makes some things easier to handle? I saw campers with significant developmental issues sitting with their peers, arms around each other, and singing loudly. I saw campers engaging in interactive play - something that is difficult for many of the kids in other settings. I saw ...

New Moon Yesterday was the new moon. You hear lots of things about the effect of a full moon on people, but you rarely, if ever, hear about the effect of the new moon. For me, a new moon often means headaches, a general feeling of snarkitude, and a lack of focus. I see effects in my clients as well. Yesterday afternoon, a young man entered the music room upset. He tends to get very hysterical about things very fast. He started one of his verbal loops and escalated quickly from participating to screaming, "Maybe Thursday...Stop Screaming..." and other phrases during the session. There was no soothing him. There was no opportunity to assist him musically. There were no antecedents. At that time, I completely understood how he felt. I had been feeling similarly myself. A situation arose where I had made a decision, made a glaring error in how the decision was conveyed, and then spent the rest of the time engaged in arguments with the person who needed the decision. Every time I ...

Future Glimpses What do you think the world will be like for music therapists in twenty years? I have thoughts of therapists singing songs by Madonna, Michael Jackson (before the weird stuff happened), and Guns and Roses to get the attention of us post-boomers. Music therapy lecturers will be talking about the eighty years of music therapy in the States, and how much the changes in music therapy have taken us forward. Do you think that there will be more music therapists involved with AMTA? Do you think we will even have an AMTA? Will therapists have to spend more time in assessment, evaluation, and paperwork rather than doing direct treatment? What will happen? The possibilities are staggering...

Did you know? ...that music therapists are a unique brand of people? If you are reading this, then of course you do! Each music therapist approaches the act of therapy based on his or her experiences, ideas, interests, talents, relationships, and clients. Every session is completely different and that is the way it should be. I am a music therapist. I have often fell into the trap of comparing myself to others. The "I should be doing..." trap. I remember sitting in a presentation about music in geriatric settings and thinking, "I should know all the words to My Merry Oldsmobile ." I felt that I was not a good music therapist because of my lack of knowledge. I then engaged in some cognitive retraining and thought, "I may not know that song, but most of these folks couldn't sing a Britney Spears song if their life depended on it." It was like a lightbulb went on over my head. I wasn't an inadequate therapist, I was the perfect therapist for the clie...

The Therapeutic Use of Self Music therapy is a combination of client, music, and therapist. We do not often discuss the use of therapists in the therapeutic relationship, but the therapist is a key to the success or failure of music therapy. I have a slight headache today and have not slept as much as I needed to last night. This will affect my interactions today. I will try to remain consistent, positive, and focused on others during the day. This is perhaps the most difficult part of being a therapist - ignoring the personal in favor of the therapeutic. To be a therapist, you have to find the balance between "you" and "therapist." I take my baggage with me into every session. I will be taking my current insomnia, my slight headache, and my current outlook on life, my job, etc. into every session. I can try to stuff all of that deep into me and not let it affect my life, or I can use it as part of therapy to assist me in working with my clients. The challenge is to...

June 5, 2010 In the past two days, I have been the flag carrier for the behavioral movement in music therapy. I have tried to demonstrate the commonalities between music therapists rather than the differences. It has been an interesting exercise as I do not think in the same terms as folks from different philosophical backgrounds. I am enriching my vocabulary and nomenclature with every post. Others have started to speak up as well. We have had several posts where people have protested the anti-behavioral climate of the listserv, the negative criticism of presentations offered through our organization, and general dissatisfaction with some of the things that occur on the listserv. This is good, healthy, and needed so we can become a more cohesive group of professionals. The other thing that has happened in the past two days is that I am on the organizing committee of the first online conference for music therapy. It is scheduled for March 5-6, 2011 and will probably take up some time. ...