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December 2012

It is fitting that my last blog post as a music therapy intern is about transformation.  I have been reflecting on the growth I have made as a music therapy intern, and the growth I still need to make as a music therapist.  To start, my brain has been trained to operate in many situations by creating goals first, and a couple of benchmarks for each goal.  One of my main goals as a music therapist is to transform lives positively through music.  In this process I am also transforming myself to meet the needs of others.  As an intern I have been thrown into many new experiences, and once each experience is complete I am more transformative as a music therapist.  Hypothetically, halfway through my internship, my benchmark goal was to be able to adapt effectively to 30 new environments.  By the end of the 6 months, my final goal was to be able to adapt to 60 new environments.  I was probably exposed to even more situations and environments that I don’t even realize.  After internship I am planning on spending time thinking, growing, and reflecting on my transformation into the professional world!

Sayonara,

Hilary White

Ah, intuition. The aspect of our lives that guides our instincts and actions, if we let it. At this point in my life (recently graduating college and heading into the real world), I find myself relying on intuition to guide where I want to go next. As a music therapy intern, I also find myself relying on intuition during sessions. Sometimes our best ideas come from fleeting instincts. One of the biggest mistakes I think we make as human beings is second guessing ourselves. Follow your heart and intuition! It is most likely the direction you are meant to go.

-Marjie

Heading into my last couple of weeks as a music therapy intern, I have been pushed to balance my time.  Lately I have been working on finishing my case study, recording my CD of original songs, and seeing some of my clients for the last time.  I have also been preparing to move across the country before Christmas.  It’s a busy month, but I’m focusing on getting enough sleep and food to keep me going each day!  Balancing work and personal time is a challenge, but this internship is a great experience for figuring out how I can be the most productive with my work.

– Hilary White

Research is a key aspect of the music therapy profession, especially since it continues to be a growing field! In order to find better ways to treat clients and make progress in music therapy, we rely on research. Many music therapy professionals and music therapy students are members of AMTA (American Music Therapy Association), which provides yearly access to music therapy journals. Two journals are quite prevalent in the field: The Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives.

As music therapy students, we are frequently conducting research projects for classes and practicum, but it’s important to carry those research habits beyond the classroom into the field! I’m already getting into the habit of planning my daily sessions, but it is important to find research to back up the REASON for each music therapy application. This word of the week was a nice reminder for me to keep up with the research skills I developed in undergrad!

-Marjie

ImageAs I pulled this word, I immediately thought about John Wooden’s pyramid of success.  Growing up playing basketball, and eventually playing in college, I always looked up to John Wooden as a coach and source of inspiration.  In this TEDTalks interview, John Wooden shares some of the advice he gave his players on the difference between winning and succeeding.

In music therapy, I always try to think about having successful sessions as a by-product, and never a goal.  It is challenging to differentiate success as a therapist, and success for your client/clients.   In the end, the best way to look at success is with profound simplicity.  Did I bring out the best in myself?  Did I give my client/clients the opportunity to bring out the best in themselves?

– Hilary White

I drew this word of the week during a very appropriate time! I am now shifting from co-treating and taking data to planning and leading music therapy sessions on my own. My mindset is changing, and so is my endurance level. Going to school for music therapy takes one type of endurance, but actually practicing music therapy takes another type completely! Many music therapists experience something called “burnout”- it turns out that devoting your time and energy to other individuals can take a toll on your soul and mind after a while! I found this blog post, from MT-BC Roia Rafieyan’s blog The Mindful Music Therapist, to be a nice exploration on the reasons for MT burnout. In her blog, Roia also mentions this article by Ryan Howes, which gives insight to psychotherapy burnout, and ways to cope. It makes sense that while we put time and energy into the well-being of others, it is important to take care of ourselves too. I hope to keep these things in mind as I pursue my career in music therapy!

-Marjie

Everyone uses communication skills.  How we differ is in the effectiveness of our communication skills.  As I grow in music therapy, I have noticed how each individual tries to communicate with and without music.  It is human nature to tell each other stories.  I found this article very interesting, and it surely embraces the idea of how we make connections through personal stories.  The challenge as music therapists is telling stories through music, especially with people who are non-verbal.

–  Hilary White

The month of October has been particularly busy for The Music Therapy Center. At the end of week one during my internship here, I helped represent the company at a booth in the annual Autism Speaks Walk. Being a part of this event, in addition to other events throughout October, showed me the importance of community involvement.

Parents, professionals, and community members approached our booth at the Autism Speaks Walk. Through many friendly conversations, those of us manning the booth had the opportunity to reach out and lend a helping hand to parents who were looking for opportunities to improve the life of their child with Autism. We had a sign-up sheet to set up free screenings, and brochures with the different resources we provide.

The Music Therapy Center also recently started a new program called “Jam Sessions” in collaboration with an organization called Banding Together (click the link to see their website!). These sessions are an opportunity for adolescents with special needs to interact with their peers, make music, and have a great time. Each participant is paired with a “mentor”- who is there to help the individual sing and play instruments, and model appropriate social interaction. Prior to the first session, we had a training night for volunteers, where the internship directors gave a presentation on Autism and special needs, as well as music therapy. The first jam session was a blast- the room was filled with smiles and great music making. Not only is it a great opportunity to enrich the lives of adolescents with special needs, it was an awesome way to educate community members on the profession of music therapy and its countless benefits.

These are just two examples of MTCCA’s involvement in the community; there are many other events held by this company, and I can see the value that comes with each different event!

-Marjie

Music therapy is very diverse in its clinical applications.  During my internship at the Music Therapy Center of California I have worked in individual and group settings.  The individuals and groups also have a variety of diagnoses such as Autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Apraxia, Dysarthria, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, Stroke, and Traumatic Brain Injury.  The diverse client load lends itself to diverse approaches of using music to meet non-musical goals.

During internship I have focused on learning and applying neurologic music therapy.  Neurologic music therapy is evidence-based and focuses on using techniques that can be generalized into life situations.  Instead of seeing music therapy as black and

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 white, neurologic music therapy allows for an addition of various “colors” or techniques to accomplish goals such as attention.  Within the goal for attention there are five different NMT techniques that breakdown what type of attention is being worked on: focused, selective, divided, alternating, and sustained.

– Hilary White

First of all, I’d like to introduce myself! My name Marjie Halverson, I’m the new intern at MTCCA, and will be alternating blogs with Hilary each week! I look forward to sharing my thoughts 🙂

Method.

This week’s word is Method. I could discuss the scientific method or the method section of research articles, but I’ve chosen a different route! The first definition of “method” on dictionary.com is “a procedure, technique, or way of doing something”.  I think it’s safe to say that everyone has a method to approaching something; for example- when I brush my teeth, I wet the toothbrush, put the toothpaste on it, brush my teeth, rinse the brush, then suck the water out of the brush to rinse my mouth. Now, what does this have to do with music therapy?

Music therapists are constantly changing their method and process to fit the goals of each client. Some clients may require more attention in a certain area, for example, I observed a session last week where a young client was upset and agitated at the beginning of a session. While the music therapist had a specific plan and procedure for that session, following it exactly as planned would not have worked well and may have agitated the client even more. So, the music therapist began to sing a gentle song to create a calming environment for the client. After a few minutes of this, the client eventually calmed down and the session continued with a different plan than first intended.

As a girl originally from small town Iowa, I immediately realized my method of driving would not cut it out here on the busy interstates of southern California. Accustomed to driving on wide open roads where I could easily zone out and switch to autopilot, I encountered major culture shock when I had to constantly be on the ball with the fast-moving traffic out here! I quickly adapted and changed my method. At first, I didn’t even listen to the radio for fear of becoming too distracted, but I’m happy to announce that as of last Tuesday, I can listen to music while I drive!

I know that throughout this internship, I will be forced to adapt in many ways, from my way of living to the way I approach session planning and leading. I look forward to learning and growing during my time at The Music Therapy Center!

-Marjie