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Intern Team

For this blog post, I am going to take you along with me for one full day. Here is my typical Thursday. Grab a snack and get comfy, it’s going to be a long one!

6:30am: Wake up!

6:40am: Get dressed and ready.

7:17am: Walk Basil 🐕

7:27 am: Feed my babies, Basil and Nori <3 (and feed myself)!

8:27am: Get my things together.

8:30am: Out the door, in my car, & ready for my long commute to Fredericka Manor!

9:40am: Arrive at Fredericka Manor, prepare for memory care groups.

10am-11:45am: Run group music therapy sessions at Summer House, and Summer House West (memory care).

12:12pm: Write notes/take data about the sessions!

12:30pm: Lunch time! Yum.

1pm: Run the Fredericka Choir rehearsal! On this day, we were preparing for the summer concert that took place the following week. I will include a picture from the concert as well, even though technically it was not this specific day I’m writing about, but I have to show you all! 🏖️

(Rehearsal)

(The concert, a week later)

1:57pm: Back to the music room at Fredericka, ready to run the clavinova class at 2pm! In the music room at Fredericka, there are 6 clavinovas (keyboard on steroids), where residents can come in and learn how to play! From teaching residents how to follow clavinova books where they can enable the accompaniment feature, to providing sheet music books for more experienced residents, I am there to assist and help with any questions the residents may have. 

2:27pm: Get text & picture from Basil’s walker that she was walked and taken care of. Yay! I always look forward to getting these texts. Basil loves rolling in the grass, she is so cute!!

3pm: Change into my shirt for Jam Session later, and head out! On this day I had a longer break in my schedule than usual, but this is not the case most of the time. Twice a month, I have an additional memory care group to run at 3:30pm at Ivy Park. And soon, on the weeks I don’t have Ivy Park, I will be running a group music therapy session for children on base at MCAS Miramar. But on this day, I happily took the break.

3:43pm: Stopped at Starbucks for a midday pick-me-up (they spelled my name wrong 😢).

4:45pm: Arrive at the Point Loma Jam Session location early, and take a nap in the car. Hey, got to catch up on rest whenever you can, right? This is intern life 😂!

5:30pm: Walk into the Point Loma Jam Session location, put on my lanyard, and help unload the van/set up all of the musical instruments. Jam Sessions are presented by Banding Together, a non-profit organization also founded by Angela and Julie (when you are an intern at the MTC, you are also an intern at Banding Together). Here is a snippet from their website: “Jam Sessions are one-hour music therapy groups at a local community venue to promote socialization, emotional expression, community inclusion and communication. During this group, the participants join together to sing and play instruments with a different guest artist musician each week. Participants are paired with volunteers in the community who act as mentors in the program.”

6:29pm: Ready for Jam Session to start!

8:11pm: Jam Session ✅.Van loaded ✅. Time to help the volunteers take data on their participant and debrief the successes and challenges of the Jam Session. Plus, snack time!

8:45pm: Point Loma Jam Session is all wrapped up, I’m out the door and in my car driving home.

9:37pm: I’m home!!!! Finally 😭.

9:40pm: Wind down, have a snack, watch a bit of TV (Dandadan Thursdays, IYKYK).

10:30pm: BEDTIME!!!! 😴

So yes, I was awake from 6:30am-10:30pm, pretty brutal. But what a privilege it is to be tired from doing things you are passionate about. Music therapy isn’t always easy, but the small breakthroughs I see everyday make it incredibly meaningful. And above all, I’m always excited to see what the next day will bring, and how I will continue to learn and grow throughout this internship.

See you in the next blog post!

Leah Kazuko Padilla, MTI

 

For my 3rd blog post, I thought that it would be a fun idea to write about why I chose music therapy as my career. I was assigned to make a presentation about this same topic, and I have to present it in front of the whole team as well, so wish me luck for that!

My parents are both musicians, so music has always been a huge part of my life. My dad took a picture of me with every instrument so that when I grew up and inevitably became a musician, I would have a baby pic with my instrument. I guess they were right!

As I became older, I grew to really enjoy performing. Even though I was on the shy side, I just loved to be onstage singing. My passion started with singing with my mother at church events, then I joined the Boston Children’s Chorus, which gave me so many amazing opportunities. From there, I joined every opportunity that my high school had in the performing arts (choir, jazz band, dance, drama club, and music recording classes).

When it was time to apply to college, I was hesitant about pursuing music. The plan was to go to college, study psychology, and become a therapist. Psychology was another big interest of mine, and I knew that I wanted to help people, so this seemed like a good plan. But it felt wrong leaving music behind. So I auditioned for Berklee on a whim. Berklee was the only music college I applied for, and it was a last minute decision, so I told myself, “if I get into Berklee that is my sign that I should do music.” Well, spoiler alert, I got in! Now what? Well, ultimately my mother would only let me go if I agreed to study music education so “at least you’ll be able to make money.”

So then my journey as a music education major started. Around my 4th semester, I started to feel really burnt out. This was during remote learning (due to a certain virus), so that came with its own challenges as well. I was just not feeling inspired or driven to do any of my work. I remember that it was a specific class about studying for a test to get your teaching license (or something like that) and at the time I really couldn’t care less. I felt so lost and unmotivated, I didn’t know what I was going to do next. Thankfully, things slowly started to move back in person, and I joined an a capella group. This is where I met some friends, and when I told them about my predicament, they told me about their major: music therapy. I had never heard of music therapy, so when those words came out of their mouth, I knew I had to look into it immediately. After curiously taking an intro course, I switched my major to music therapy, and things finally started to feel right. After a few more years, I finished my coursework and walked at the 2024 commencement ceremony.

Something else I included in my presentation was my support system. When I was listening to other team members’ presentations,  many of them included this, and I think that is so important. So here I go! Of course my husband has been my rock through everything. It is such a good feeling to come home to him and our two cutie patootie pets after a long day. Additionally, my close friends are family to me, so I have to give them a shoutout as well. Since I am new to the area, I am still looking for groups I can join to meet more people as well (perhaps a choir or something like that). 

And finally, my ‘why’ statement: “I hope to use my musical talents and passion for the therapeutic power of music to help clients heal, connect, and achieve goals through music therapy.” That is for now at least, I feel like I need more time and experience to really get it right, but for now this is good. 

That is all for this post. I hope this was interesting and let you all know a bit more about little ol’ me. See you in the next one!

Leah K. Padilla, MTI

As part of my internship at The Music Therapy Center of California, I had the exciting opportunity to attend ACES grand opening of their Otay Ranch location which included a resource fair. ACES, which stands for Autism Comprehensive Educational Services, provides a range of services for individuals and families impacted by autism and other special needs, with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). They offer services in homes, centers, and the community, including early intervention, social skills groups, and support for students and educators. ACES also provides parent training and support that supports neurodivergent children and their families.  

This event was a vibrant gathering of professionals from diverse disciplines, all dedicated to sharing knowledge and resources with the community.

I attended alongside Carly, our center’s Operations Coordinator, who was instrumental in organizing our presence and connecting warmly with families. While Carly is not a clinician, her role was vital in making the experience welcoming and efficient.

At our booth, I provided demonstrations of music therapy techniques, offered educational materials, and engaged with parents eager to learn how music could support their children’s communication, emotional regulation, and sensory processing. The event was an excellent opportunity to practice advocacy and community education, sharing the unique benefits of music therapy in an accessible way.

This experience reinforced the importance of outreach and visibility in the field. Beyond direct clinical work, showing up in community spaces to educate and connect helps build bridges and increase access to music therapy services

  • Amelia Elbendary

 

Hello everyone! My name is Leah Kazuko Padilla, and I am a new intern here at The Music Therapy Center of California. I thought for my first blog post I could share a little bit about who I am, and my journey that brought me to sunny San Diego. I was born and raised in the Boston area and went to Berklee College of Music for my studies in music therapy. I moved to San Diego from Pensacola, FL, as my husband is in the Navy and was stationed there. 

When I was finishing up my last year in college, my husband called to tell me we would be living in Pensacola. My first thought was to check if there were any internships in that area, as I was in my internship preparation class at the time. After searching, the closest internship I could find was almost 3 hours away, so the faculty at Berklee worked hard to find an opportunity for me. We ended up putting something together, but in the end that fell through as well. When this happened, I cried. I felt like my dream of becoming a music therapist was slipping through my fingers, fading away. I didn’t know it then, but everything would turn out just the way it was supposed to.

In hindsight I think this was the universe telling me I needed a break, as I was extremely burnt out after finishing college. At the time, I just wanted to get to the finish line and become a music therapist as soon as possible, but I was slowly losing sight of my “why”. When I was forced to take a break, it gave me time to grow. I was able to join a singing group for military spouses, which not only scratched my itch for performing, but gave me so many precious memories. I also was able to make some close friends at the customer service job I had there, whom I adore and still keep in touch with. With each day that passed, I became increasingly excited for the day I would get to be back in the music therapy world. Session planning, filling out data, practicing new repertoire, sweating while you’re running around carrying ALL the instruments, just being able to witness music therapy do what music therapy does… Then, finally, my husband got his new orders: California!

I don’t miss the weather in Florida, that’s for sure. But I do miss my lovely Belles, my sweet friends I made while chatting at the service desk, all the good eats, the comforting and familiar path I would take to walk my dog every night, and the list can go on (to the surprise of Leah in 2024). Everything that has happened has brought me right here, to the end of week two of my internship. Yes, there were some detours (and the military movers did in fact drop off an alarming amount of our household goods moldy and broken), but my family and I made it through a cross country road trip safe and sound (and had some fun too!). Now I finally get to pursue my dream, refreshed and focused. I am so very grateful to be here, and am looking forward to the journey of internship.

Leah K. Padilla, MTI

Me at graduation.

Some of my friends from work.

The Blue Anchor Belles

Me and my pets on the roadtrip to CA.

The first thing my husband and I ate when we arrived to CA was In-N-Out

My locker and my bag!

  • Leah Kazuko Padilla, MTI

 

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

Hello! Before diving into this blog post, I want to introduce myself. My name is Katherine and I am the newest intern at MTCCA! It’s hard to believe that I am finishing up my third week of internship, but in these three weeks I’ve already learned so much. Along with reviewing orientation materials, observing client sessions, learning about MTCCA and private practice, and getting used to the new music therapy intern lifestyle, I’ve learned about the significance of working as a member of a strong, united team. This was one of the main focuses of the vision planning retreat which I attended with the team members of MTCCA (it was also “Back to the Future” themed which was so fun!).

During a portion of the retreat, we each shared our strengths based off of the Clifton Strength’s Finder test and described how we saw these strengths played out in our lives. As the retreat was centered around looking towards the future for MTCCA, we dove even further to share the significance of our strengths in achieving MTCCA’s core values and mission. I love any and all personality tests so getting to learn more about myself and the team through the Strength’s Finder has been super intriguing aspect of internship. The categories of strengths are divided into four domains: executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking. As to be expected, everyone on the team has their own set of unique strengths that they utilize in the workplace. Personally, my top five strengths are: includer, harmony, communication, individualization and empathy. My strengths are primarily relationship building strengths and I can see how these influence my decisions and approach both in music therapy and other aspects of my life, especially with how I value connections I make with others.

I share a few of my strengths with other members of the team, but it was interesting to hear how they experience these strengths individually and how they use their strengths to their advantage. Conversely, there are members of the team who have completely different strengths than I do and are strong in domains I am not, such as executing and strategic thinking. The versatility of the strengths among the team is incredibly important in the success of the company’s mission, as every member brings something unique and beneficial to the table. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about everyone’s strengths and remember leaving the retreat feeling reassured that everyone plays a crucial role on the team because of these strengths. I mean let’s be honest, while I value having harmony as one of my strengths, I know a team full of only harmonious people would probably never get much done. A similar sentiment can be said of a team made up of only executors, as it would be filled with people who have no feelings and who would struggle working as a united front. I certainly appreciated the experience of getting to learn more about the MTCCA team and how we can all work together to lead the company to success.

Moral of the story, this retreat solidified the importance of having multiple strengths on a team to accomplish various goals. A good summarization of the importance of each member actually came in the form of a Delorean (remember, “Back to the Future” themed). We each labelled our strengths on different parts of the vehicle which we thought best symbolized our strengths. In this exercise, the Delorean symbolized the company and the team was all the crucial parts of the vehicle.

The team’s labelled Delorean

I collaborated with another team member to label communication as the left and right blinkers, because a blinker signals clearly and distinctly which way the car is moving. I also labelled the passenger seat as includer because I see the passenger seat as the best representation of making someone feel included in the car. We all play a vital role in the MTCCA team, and if one strength is missing, the whole operation can fall apart. It is important to highlight these strengths to ensure everyone works efficiently and to the best of their abilities so that the team can achieve greatness! I have always enjoyed being a collaborative member of a team, so having the opportunity to dive right in and participate in the vision planning retreat as a contributor was quite exciting.

I am excited to see what the rest of internship has in store and look forward to sharing my learnings with you!

Here’s a link to learn more about the Clifton Strength’s Finder test: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com/what-is-the-clifton-strengthsfinder/

Here’s a link to a blog post about strengths written by previous intern, Audrey: https://themusictherapycenter.wordpress.com/2020/01/31/finding-your-strengths/

Katherine

Hello everyone!

It is hard to believe that my time at internship is quickly coming to an end! I know everyone says that internship is the time where you learn and grow as a music therapist more than you ever thought you could, and it is absolutely true! I feel more confident than ever that I have learned the skills and gained the experience needed for me to be sent out into the real world. This blog post is to share some of my top learnings during internship!

1. You ARE capable

Confidence was one of the biggest things missing from my toolbox of strengths when I first entered internship. I felt that I had the academic knowledge enough to set myself up for success, but still felt inadequate and scared to facilitate in front of large groups of clients, singing unfamiliar songs, etc. However, internship really forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things. I am not sure when it happened, but I realized at some point into my internship, I could confidently and comfortably get up in front of a group of 40 clients and not think twice about it. I was entirely focused on my facilitation skills and client responses, which is exactly where I needed to be. Which brings me to my point: You can do it!!! 

2. The power of the EZ-220 

The EZ-220. Absolutely life changing. For those of you who do not know, the EZ-220 is an electronic keyboard from Yamaha that has many useful features for sessions. We use it for almost every group session that we have, as it is fairly accessible and portable. The feature that I use most are the backbeats, which can help with engagement, attention, and helping to make the music that you facilitate sound more full. There are different styles of backbeats, including 8 and 16 beat, swing, ballad, rock, and much more! There are also different voices on the keyboard, such as wind and string instruments, and the standard drum kit which we often use in sessions, and a great “follow the lights” feature as well. AND, the EZ-220 is also equipped with many pre-recorded songs! The keyboard can also be plugged into an amp to project more sound. I would absolutely recommend investing in one if you facilitate a lot of group sessions, here is a link to where you can find one! 

3. Using themed sessions!

I have previously written a blog post about this which can be found here! But just to reiterate again, using themes can help center your session, provide reality orientation, and can help you gain inspiration and avoid ruts when session planning.

4. Visuals, visuals, visuals!

During practicum in college, I would frequently use visuals for my younger clients and groups, but I never thought to use them for other groups. Now, I don’t go a session without them! Visuals are a really important tool to engage clients, especially to provide an outlet for communication for non-verbal clients. For example, for my older adult sessions, I will put on background music with a specific theme (using Auld Lang Syne during New Years themed sessions), and go around and show photos on my iPad with different new years related objects (the ball in NYC, fireworks), and engage in conversation with the residents. These visuals are especially helpful if there is a language barrier as well. I also use visuals a lot with my groups of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as it helps explain concepts and engage their attention. 

5. Incorporating your primary instrument

If you’re like me, if your primary instrument isn’t voice, it was almost unheard of of using your primary instrument during sessions in college. It was one of my biggest goals to be able to learn how to incorporate it during internship- and it happened! I I use my clarinet all the time in older adult groups and with my adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities! For example, I will use my clarinet during name that tune, to help enunciate melodic patterns for PSE interventions, and if I am co leading with another therapist, I’ll provide harmonies or play the melody. We also frequently have drum circles, so I will facilitate call and response on clarinet and use non verbal musical cueing using it as well. 

6. EZ Play music is your best friend!!!  

If you haven’t heard of EZ play music, it is basically blown up music of just the melody with the notes written in the note heads, and it has the chords written above it. This has been extremely helpful when facilitating songs with older adults, because you are able to play an accompaniment pattern in your left hand while playing the melody in your right hand and singing. This really adds more musical depth, and also helps our residents hear the song more clearly. EZ play books are also really helpful to find more repertoire, as the books are classified by different themes (music from different decades, love ballads, college fight songs, musicals, and much more!) These books are published by Hal Leonard and a link to an example of one on Amazon can be found here! 

7. Take advantage of this time to learn and implement unique instruments

If you had told me 6 months ago that I would be therapeutically using the kazoo during my sessions, I would have never believed you! Along with the kazoo, autoharp is your best friend during PSE interventions as well. I was also recently inspired to purchase a mandolin which I will be implementing in future sessions 🙂 

8. Take the time to address sensory needs for your clients

Before internship, I thought that if you did not facilitate music therapy the entire session or the majority of the session, then it was a failed session. However, now I know that sometimes the most important thing you can do for your clients is to provide them proper sensory stimulation and input so that they can be successful for their next task or the rest of their day. Sensory input techniques can include deep pressure squeezes, using a body roller, spinning in a chair, bubbles and more. 

9. Don’t be afraid of hand over hand assistance!!!

I never really had to touch any of my clients during practicum in undergraduate, and I also thought it was frowned upon. During internship, I learned how to provide effective hand over hand assistance, especially when it comes to older adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hand over hand is especially useful because it provides extra prompting and can help wake up clients if they are sleepy. 

10. Use your internship team as a resource!

Your internship directors, supervisors and music therapists are all there to support you! They are rooting for you and want the best for you. If you ever need help coming up with an intervention or are looking for a specific visual, chances are, someone on your team can help you! Don’t be afraid to ask questions- these people are your best resource and your colleagues for life 🙂 

There you have it- my top 10 learnings from internship! I would love to hear yours if you have completed yours or are getting close to, feel free to comment below! Thank you for reading my posts in the past 6 months! 

 

  • Juliana Hsu, MTI

2017-06-11 19.41.38.jpgAt a recent party, we realized that MTCCA interns numbers 11 through 18 were all in attendance (pictured left to right: Tara Harwell, Becca Paoni, Kristin Hurley, Marissa Phillips, Chiara Francolino, Brandon Wright and Shannon Flaherty).How great it was to have 7 of our current and former interns together at once. Click here to view their spontaneous musical performance.

These past 6 months have been a blur of learning experiences! It is so hard to narrow down what my top “learnings” have been because I have learned so incredibly much. I am not remotely close to the therapist I was 6 months ago, and thank goodness for that! I’ll try to synthesize the top 2 areas in which I have noticed the most growth in myself.

  1. Confidence! If you had told me 6 months ago that I would reach the point where I would feel confident in my ability to facilitate therapeutic change for a client within a session, I would have laughed in your face. Now, confidence does not mean I have the impression that I’m done learning and improving. I still have so much to learn! But this confidence means that I am no longer feeling floods of self-doubt when I enter my sessions. I no longer feel like I need to script and plan out every second of my sessions. Confidence means I’m finally to the point where I can trust my instincts. When I’m trusting my instincts, I can be myself. And when I’m myself, the client benefits from a more authentic therapeutic relationship, which leads to faster learning and goal achievement!
  1. As it turns out, I can teach! I had never thought of myself as a very good teacher. These past 6 months, I have been put in many many MANY teaching situations, from adapted piano and guitar lessons with children and teens to teaching the Clavinova (read: electric piano) to older adults. Initially, I was TERRIFIED by the idea of having to teach. And many times I felt I was just stumbling through each lesson. So, of course, I was amazed when my older adult students told me that I explained things very well and that they were able to easily understand my instructions. Now, I am no longer terrified of teaching. What’s more, I may even ENJOY it sometimes! I think this speaks volumes to the amount of practice I’ve had over the last 6 months, trying to relate to each one of my students in their unique learning styles, and breaking information down into small pieces. I’m grateful that I can walk away from this internship knowing that I developed a skill a never thought I had or would have

It’s been a wild learning ride, and the above to learning areas are just the tip of the iceberg. I am SO grateful for this experience and for the tools it has given me to become a more successful therapist.

  • Chiara

20160911_195501Brandon is currently completing his Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from California State University Northridge (CSUN). His primary instrument is alto saxophone and he also enjoys playing flute, guitar, and hand drums. Prior to studying at CSUN, Brandon worked as a Rehabilitation Instructor at United Cerebral Palsy, and then as a 1:1 Instructor at The Learning Academy, a non-public school at T.E.R.I. Inc. in Oceanside. During this time, Brandon worked with individuals aged 6-22 who have behavioral and learning challenges. At CSUN, Brandon’s practicum experiences included working with medically fragile children, individuals with autism and cerebral palsy, adults with developmental delays, and adults with chemical dependency.