Last year, I published this post about the state of music therapy in South Carolina.
Well, we are at it again!
If you follow me in my various social media outlets (facebook, twitter, etc) you’ll know that I am giving a workshop on February 23rd about making music with your children.
This workshop isn’t really about making music. It’s about making connections, strengthening relationships, and sharing in something universal.
You’ve found a music therapist who will be a good fit, now it’s time to get to the details regarding delivery of services.
Some music therapists are what we lovingly refer to as “travelling music therapists”. They often work out of their home and spend a large portion of each day on the road travelling from client to client.
The door slams shut. The hostile stare. The confusion. The silence. The frustration.
We’ve all experienced the wall that can thrown up between two people that care about one another. Be it parent and child, brother and sister, husband and wife, or any other combination of roles that we play in life, we’ve been there in one form or another. The internet is full of examples on how to tear down this wall. Possible solutions range from waiting it out, to gifts, to detailed responses based on the communication styles of that person.
Not everyone has access to a music therapist. Distance can too far to travel for frequent therapy sessions, or financial issues can prohibit access. So what if the music therapist could come to you?
In the therapy world, both music and otherwise, there has been discussion of video therapy sessions. While I am not sure if that is yet a viable option for the children I work with, I do want to take a moment to explore another option.
Community Choir. Local Orchestra. Garage Band. Church Choir.
These are all possible avenues that music can be made as a part of the community. As musicians, many music therapists find themselves in these types of setting to exercise their non-therapist musician muscles and to make music for themselves.
Imagine a room full of people. They all work together, but other than the few office friendships that stray outside of work, they don’t know each other all that well. Now imagine each of them sitting in a circle, with drums and various percussion instruments in hand, playing a big drum roll together, then breaking into a rhythm that may be reminiscent of a favorite song.
Now change the cast of characters to a group of teenagers, some of which know each other, some of which may hate each other. The rhythm may change, but the drumming goes on.
It’s likely that you or someone you know has benefited from Music Therapy. You may not have been aware that it was music therapy, or that you and your loved ones could benefit from it as well.
And if you do already know about Music Therapy (which, if you are reading my blog, you probably do!), how can you get access to top notch music therapy services? Continue reading
Words cannot begin to describe 2011.
With the opening of each new year, I clear my head and envision my hopes and dreams. Doing that in December of 2010 was difficult. I had no idea what to expect. In the previous months I had just opened a business, quit my job, celebrated a year of marriage, and honestly felt as if I was going crazy.
I will borrow my friend Kat Fulton’s term and say that on New Years Eve 2010, I “set an intention” for a successful and not so stressful year. In doing that, I paved the way for my own sanity, and the openness to let this fall in my lap! I couldn’t express more pleasure at how the year has turned out, so I’m going to indulge myself to relive it briefly!
Hanukkah has begun and it is just a few more days until Christmas. As a result, all of my social media feeds are filled with laments of shopping lines, scrambles to wrap gifts, and travel headaches.
While many of us are taking it easy from our “day jobs”, it is still extremely important to care for yourself! The holidays can be a great source of stress if you don’t remember to give yourself a moment to just be.
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