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Being honest with yourself seems to be the best indicator of professional ethics.  I have found that documentation keeps me accountable for what I see in sessions, and shows me how to translate the data into a short excerpt for parents to hear after sessions.

When I go home at the end of the day, refraining from revealing the identity of clients has been the most prominent ethical procedure throughout internship.  I see so many unique clients of all ages, and I am always excited about telling my family and friends about them.  The experience is rich and vivid, but I have to make sure that I don’t give it all away.  I consciously make sure I do not use names, and I keep information I have gathered about clients’ lives outside of sessions between myself and the clients.

– Hilary White

Music therapy lends itself to constant creativity in the work place.  I enjoy designing sessions that reach neurologic music therapy goals in fun and creative ways.  I especially enjoy using my saxophone for name that tune exercises, and rhythm imitations.  Some tunes I have had fun adapting for large groups are, “In the Mood” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing.”  For me, I know I have witnessed a successful creative moment when the music drives the reactions of my clients. There is not much work to be done explaining interventions once a musical rhythm or melody triggers and activates the brain to respond accordingly.  For instance, some rhythms lend themselves to dancing or moving right away.  Other tunes use melody to immediately grab listeners’ attention to hum or sing along.

As a music therapist, it is always the intent to get reactions out of clients in a creative manner.  Here is an article giving insight to the brain’s role when listening to music.  Many famous musicians speak about their personal experiences with emotions triggered by music.  In the end, all music is a creative approach towards activating our brains.

–  Hilary White

Each day I strive for happiness, and I have been wondering how perception plays into the equation.  Some of my clients can hardly verbalize their thoughts, but can keep a smile on their faces.  They must be perceiving their situation differently than others.  What makes us happy? I think it is how we perceive our own situations.  Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist shares an interesting study on the science of happiness.  I am curious how the study would play out with people with special needs.

The only thing constant is change

The internship period brings about many changes and challenges.  As I learn how to meet the needs of various clients, I am also juggling my own ups and downs.  Sometimes I feel like I am only learning from the obstacles and hurdles that cause me to fail.  Instead, I have found that focusing on the positive and steady improvements propel me to progress quicker.  Here I share an article showing that too much focus on failure may lead to unhappiness.  At the end of the day, it seems to help me think about how I changed for the better rather than what I did not accomplish.

As I exercise my brain extensively each day of my internship, I realize how much effort it takes to help others exercise their brains as well.  Knowing that mental workouts are tough, I decided to research some ways I learn best.  I stumbled across an article about jazz teachers, and was happily surprised with how accurate the descriptions of teaching styles are to my previous jazz directors and private teachers.

Last week I spent a significant amount of time learning about teaching adapted lessons, and I think that the tools used for teaching jazz can be very helpful for teaching anyone music.  The article I am sharing can help music teachers help any student of music to use his or her brain to its fullest capacity.

There’s a full moon tonight, and a fun and creative session around this theme awaits.  Songs to be included are “Blue Moon,” “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Fly Me to the Moon.”  Of the list, the most popular is “Fly Me to the Moon.”  The 1964 version by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by the Count Basie Orchestra, gained the most acclaim.  Fly Me to the Moon

As summer in San Diego reaches a peak in July and August, the song “Summertime” is used in many different facilities for a wide range of clients.  “Summertime” is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.  In 1960, Ella Fitzgerald went on tour in Europe, and soulfully delivered the tune.  Ella Fitzgerald performing “Summertime” in Berlin, Germany

A great song for some of the retirement communities is an American Tin Pan Alley song, “In the Good Old Summer Time,” first published in 1902 with music by George Evans and lyrics by Ren Shields.

Resistance defined: fighting, opposition

  • Synonyms: battle, blocking, check, combat, contention, counteraction, cover, defiance, detention, fight, friction, halting, hindrance, holding, impedance, impeding, intransigence, obstruction, parrying, protecting, protection, rebuff, refusal, retardation, safeguard, screen, shield, stand, striking back, struggle, support, warding off, watch, withstanding

Resistance is a common occurrence in music therapy sessions. What happens, and how do music therapists deal with it?  For one example, resistance may be seen and heard while playing musical instruments. As I observed one therapist last week, the trumpet was used in a few sessions for children with autism.  The trumpet is used to increase oral motor function, and pushing through the resistance to make a sound is very fulfilling for each client. In other cases, resistance is seen in clients when transitioning between sitting in the waiting room and starting a music therapy session. The change in environment may be tough for some, and others may be resisting therapeutic work. Many times therapists will need to regulate a client’s body first before diving into more demanding work. Bilateral drumming while moving around the room with paddle drums has been proven effective for breaking down clients’ resistance levels.

The Del Mar Races have begun, and this song is a favorite summertime hit for many of the retirement homes the MTCCA serves.  “Camptown Races” was written by Stephen Foster in 1850.

As the new music therapy intern, I will be tracking my experiences with The Music Therapy Center of California for the next 6 months.  Every two weeks I will be drawing a word from a hat to blog about.