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May 2025

Every week, interns and newer team members participate in a topic-focused, supervisor-led symposium. Over the course of my internship, I have had the pleasure of engaging in meaningful conversations and discussions about our various client populations, musical and non-musical techniques we can use in session, how we can improve our therapeutic skills, and different experiences that we have had working with our clients. One of my favorite topics that we have discussed in Symposium is Temple Grandin and her book, Thinking in Pictures. 

I had previously heard about Temple Grandin in high school, but never took the time to learn about her and the astounding literature, speeches and research that she has been a part of. Thinking in Pictures shares Temple’s insights into her visual thinking process. She describes how she processes words as vivid mental images, comparing her process to a VCR tape constantly playing in her mind. Her testimony has helped me open my mind to consider the diverse processing styles of my own clients and how I can adjust my approach to better suit or accommodate their needs. 

In her chapter, Autism and Visual Thoughts, she writes about her incredible process of designing complex livestock machinery, primarily through mental visualization. She explains how she mentally referenced previous livestock designs that she had studied, and how she built and tested these designs in her mind before bringing them into a physical form.

“When I do an equipment simulation in my imagination or work on an engineering problem, it is like seeing it on a videotape in my mind. I can view it from any angle, placing myself above or below the equipment and rotating it at the same time. I don’t need a fancy graphics program that can produce three-dimensional design simulations. I can do it better and faster in my head” (Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, 2006). 

Her visual processing method not only highlights the fascinating possibilities of a visual thinker, but also emphasizes the importance of playing to someone’s strengths when working towards a specific goal. 

Reflecting on her chapter, I feel more educated on visual processing and incorporating various visual aids for my clients. This could include physical lyric sheets, physical music scores, adapted music lead sheets using shapes, numbers or images, or even giving clients the space to draw or map out what they see when engaging in a session. 

Grandin’s emphasis on the value of different thinking styles also inspires me to advocate for a broader incorporation of learning styles and processing styles within my therapeutic practices. I feel that creating space for different or unique processings of each client can foster a more enriching and supportive therapeutic relationship and environment.

In conclusion, Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures serves as a powerful reminder of the diversity across human cognition. As a music therapy intern, embracing this diversity by adapting my methods to accommodate various thinking styles will enhance the efficacy of my sessions but also honor the individuality of each client I have the opportunity to work with.

  • Mia Falcon

MTC partners with Banding Together, a local San Diego nonprofit,  who has  many partnerships and connections throughout the San Diego area. One of these connections is SurfDog Records. SurfDog and Banding Together partner to host Soundcheck Jams, a unique experience that gives special needs individuals the opportunity to join nationally touring bands onstage during their soundchecks at a local music venue in the greater San Diego area! Some of the musicians they have worked with include Michael Franti, Shaun White, Ziggy Marley, Jason Mraz and most recently- Grammy Award Winning band, Ozomatli! 

I got the amazing opportunity to participate in and assist Ozomatli’s Soundcheck Jam in August. Only one month into my internship, and I was already exposed to amazing experiences like this!

Ozomatli is an LA based rock ban formed in 1995. They have a unique and genre-bending style which incorporates aspects of salsa, jazz, funk, reggae and hip-hop in their music. Winning two Grammy Awards for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album and a Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Ozomatli has left imprinted upon the music industry, making this opportunity even more exciting for both myself and the Banding Together participants!

I arrived at the BellyUp Tavern in Solana Beach to the sight of excited and eager participants, ready to enter the venue and JAM! While waiting for the venue to finish setting up, I got to meet and mingle with the kindest participants. This was a great introduction to some of the folks that I’d later meet at the Fall semester of Jam sessions! 

Once we entered the venue, you could see the participant’s faces light up. The venue was cool and intimate, with interesting lighting and fun decorations. We all gathered on the dance floor area to listen to pass out our instruments, listen to the band warmup and perform a few songs for us-our own private concert! After the participants went backstage and made their way on to the stage to sing, dance, and play instruments on stage with Ozomatli! There was so much love, laughter and smiling amongst the group, it was contagious. Participants were thrilled to be up on a stage, interacting with the band and playing instruments to Ozomatli’s awesome music. We stayed on stage for 2 songs, jamming, singing, laughing, and dancing  before we exited, chatted with the band and took some pictures which can be seen below! 

All in all, Soundcheck Jam was a great experience, one where I was able to meet both new participants and an amazing group of musicians! I feel so lucky to intern at a company that provides amazing inclusive opportunities for their clients and team members. 

During the pandemic, music therapy, like most of the world, went virtual. This shift allowed therapists to continue work despite physical distancing and learn and adapt to the ins and outs of VMT through Zoom. There are still needs for VMT today, and I have had the pleasure of working with a client virtually. Here are things that I have learned to help my session flow, and things you might consider if doing VMT. 

  1. Original sound
    1. Before your client logs in, it’s important to set your audio settings to original sound. This allows for participants to hear both your voice and your instrument in real time rather than canceling each other out or causing a delay.
  2. Use visuals through a session powerpoint or slides
    1. Using session powerpoints helps provide visual cues and/or schedule/structure for clients like lyrics, visual choices, or images, for clients to be aware of session flow and help therapists transition between interventions.
  3. Be comfortable with sharing your screen.
    1. Using session powerpoints requires the therapist to share their screen with their client through Zoom. Being comfortable with this allows sessions to flow seamlessly, especially when sharing audio or video. 
  4. Use the keyboard to your advantage
    1. Keyboards are essential to VMT as they have several different features that help both the client and the therapist and support the flow of sessions. 
    2. Add a style : backbeats (called styles on most keyboards) add a continuous driving loop that is easily heard for both client and therapist. Backbeats can be adapted to fit different genres, time signatures, and instrumentations which apply to a variety of needs in sessions. Giving options between different style options (e.g. rock or dance beat) gives for variety and choice within the session for the client
  5. Using single-finger chord accompaniments when leading movement interventions
    1. Movement interventions through zoom can be difficult due to the lack of in-person modeling, the limiting view that therapists have of clients, and potential audio/visual lagging. Thankfully, most keyboards have a one-finger chord accompaniment feature. 
    2. This allows the therapist to play full chords by pressing only the root note of the desired chord. This feature frees the therapists hands for modeling movements while still easily accompanying themselves.
  6. How to sing with someone else through zoom
    1. Singing in unison with someone through zoom is challenging due to the audio lag between participant and host. In my experience, it has worked best when either therapist or client takes the vocal lead when singing. The client I work with experiences vocal fatigue, so I typically lead songs and implement frequent phrase fill-in opportunities.
  7. Pause for understandings phrase fill-in
    1. Implementing phrase fill-ins sets clients up for successful singing opportunities while avoiding the audio delay. This also functions as an indicator of client engagement or understanding.

Tips

  • Test your tech
    • Testing your audio, video, internet connection and share screen components before client login helps the session flow smoothly
  • Be flexible
    • Know how to troubleshoot for technical issues/glitches

Mia Falcon

Every Thursday, I spend a majority of my day at a retirement/memory care facility in the community. I have the pleasure of working with two memory care groups, a resident choir, and a keyboard  class. This facility has introduced me to some of the kindest, funniest, most musically inclined and  gentle spirited people. I have found that there is truly something special about the way music brings out the personalities and emotions of those residents living with memory loss. There is so much joy in small interactions or exchanges that remind me that I love doing what I do. 

Some of my favorite moments happen very subtly amongst the memory care residents. The residents in these groups have a wide range of physical, cognitive and verbal abilities depending on their stage of memory loss. I tend to take my time interacting with those clients with further progressed memory loss, specifically those that are non-verbal and typically non-responsive in conversational situations. 

In my second month, I was co-leading with a team member  and she was singing the folk song ‘I Love the Mountains’. The chorus of the song has a catchy phrase of ‘boom dee ah da, boom dee ah da, boom dee ah da, boom dee ah da’ that the residents love to join in on. One of the further progressed residents that is non-verbal and oftentimes looking off into the distance during group began to light up as the group continued singing the song. I had never heard her sing or talk, even when asked direct questions and had observed her as having low engagement or response during sessions. After the 3rd or 4th repetition, her face was alive and she was singing the boom dee ah da chorus. I could hardly contain my joy! 

There are several moments where clients have alertly sat up after a cat nap when they hear the group singing, and even join in themselves by singing, clapping or tapping their foot. Or moments where residents interject in discussions or songs to swear that they had met the artist that wrote it or performed it. These moments of spontaneous engagement aren’t limited to passive participation, they also come alive during more structured and interventions like TIMP interventions. 

During TIMP (Therapeutic Instrumental Movement Performance) interventions, each client gets an instrument (typically a maraca, small tambourine or hand bells) and is prompted to follow along with my visual, musical or verbal movements. I have had several laughing fits when residents begin to freestyle/improvise dance moves. You would never expect to see a 90+ year old man in a wheelchair to stand up and shimmy while you’re singing ‘Shake Senora’. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a Music Therapy intern, it’s that sometimes the best moments aren’t the ones you expect and play for, but they’re the ones that happen spontaneously, amidst the laughter, smiles, jokes and music that we create together. 

  • Mia Falcon