music, therapy, and me

Here I am towards the beginning of my break, and I am trying to figure out where to start on my to-do list. This tends to be my stumbling block - getting started. Once I get started, there isn't much of a problem with completing a task, but getting started is my downfall. My list of things that I SHOULD (there's that goblin again) do this week is varied and getting longer every moment. Laundry Cleaning the bedroom out completely Organizing the office Writing several TMEs for my website and my clients Finishing a CBMT pre-approved provider application Washing the dishes Cleaning the bathrooms Organizing the craft room Oh, the list goes on and on and on... I have taken several naps already during break, and I think I will get started with something here in a couple of minutes. I'll find some comfy clothes and will start by folding the clean laundry that is sitting on the floor right now. There you go - a starting point. Once I get a point to start, I can pro...

I went to sleep last night in a bit of a disordered state due to a glimpse of something that I had forgotten. I happened to look in a work folder that had a couple of tasks in it that I had blocked out of my mind right before turning off the computer and trying to sleep. I thought I had successfully lulled myself into a state of calm since I was able to go to sleep telling myself to wake up at the regular time and work on the task when I awoke, but I guess I was not able to completely calm my other brain. I woke up at 2am this morning and got to work on the task immediately. Now, fortunately, this task was not overdue or anything, just a little something that I had forgotten was sitting in my task box. It was easy to complete and send on to the interested parties, but the interruption to my sleep pattern was enough to get me thinking about how I approach tasks - whatever those tasks are. In my ever-ongoing quest for organization, I have found that I am a good list maker. I can knoc...

One of the things that I struggle with (other than getting TME ideas up on my website), is leading my clients into higher levels of thinking and processing information. It really isn't a surprise to me that they do not do this skill easily. After all, they do have the double diagnoses of developmental disorders and psychiatric concerns, so abstract thought is not something that they fall into - they require lots of practice. My kids function on impulse and often impulse alone when engaged in anything. So, in my constant quest to help them practice, I write songs. Lots of songs. I try to incorporate easy melodies, snappy meters, and engaging rhythms, all while helping them practice some cause/effect and consequence thinking. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I am excited that I found something that at least engages their attention for the duration of the song. I wrote an "If I ... Then I" song.  Now, some of you may be thinking, "I've got hun...

Ah, I am human. This is a fact that I am reminded of on a regular basis, and I have to keep myself grounded with this thought, "I am human, and I am that way on purpose!" In almost every intern's time with me, I have the "embrace being human" discussion. This generally starts with a conversation about "I should have known to do fill-in-the-blank during my last music therapy session." My response is almost always, "Why should you have known fill-in-the-blank ? Have you ever tried it before?" "No." "Then why do you have to know everything right now?" My point is always that none of us are perfect, born knowing everything about every single client during every single session. Yet, many of us therapists blame ourselves when things do not flow as we want them to. We often say things like, "If only I had tried this things would have been better." "I should have known that Client would have screamed when I p...

Good morning. It is a somewhat chilly day here in the Great Plains of the US, and I am stalling, trying not to face the inevitable of having to go outside on my way to work. So, I am here, writing about random stuff going on in my life. Read on, or not, it's up to you. There is a determined and strangely stubborn cat sitting between me and my keyboard. She has been pretty clingy lately - not sure why. We will have lots of together time this weekend as I will be home on Friday for a snow day makeup day. I will also be home most of next Friday and then an entire week for Spring Break! Maybe she is just getting in some time so she can ignore me on Friday - that is entirely possible. Speaking of days off, I am getting prepared for some time away from work. I have found that vacations are extremely important for me as an introvert and as a therapist. I need time away from the demands of following the client's lead in the music therapy session all the time. I also like havi...

Forgive me as I start a new pattern - I hope I'll be able to keep it up for some time here. Tuesdays will now be Therapeutic Music Experiences (TME) Tuesdays. I'll share something to do with clients each week on Tuesdays... Here we go. TME #1 during this new venture - drum roll please... Rhythm Wheels! For a full TME plan, check out the Ideas and Experiences page on my website: www.musictherapyworks.com . (Give me a day or two to get it all finished up, please.)  I use these wheels to explain the concept of rhythm, measures, and music notation to my clients. Each piece is proportional to every other piece - in other words, the eighth notes are half the size of the quarter notes, the quarter notes are half the size of the half notes, and so on. The visual aspect offers my clients with a concrete representation of an abstract concept - the duration of notes in relation to the other notes. My clients assemble a wheel using randomly colored note pieces and white rest pieces...

I am approaching an anniversary of sorts - the 500th post on this blog will be the next post... not this one. This one is merely number 499, so I'm going to take this post to review my blog - the good, the bad, the ugly. I started writing this blog in 2006. That first post was the only post for the year. I guess I fell into the pattern that many aspiring bloggers fall into - that of having great ambitions, but not taking advantage of those ambitions. The next years were better, but I really hadn't found my blogger groove. As the years have passed, I have tried to offer a glimpse into my world of music therapy - the professional concepts and issues that have come up, my personal experiences as both human being and music therapist, and some insights into the music therapy reality that I am privileged to share with my clients. Sometimes I am able to complete my goals well - others, not so much, but, heck, it's my blog, and I get to do what I want here. As this annive...