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Sounds great!
Tell me more! |
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I am a Board Certified Music Therapist through the Certification Board for Music Therapists. I am a member of Michigan Music Therapists and also a Certified Activity Director through NCCAP. I love working with patients in long term care and hospice, those battling Alzheimer's, aphasia, asthma and other respiratory diagnosis, and alleviating pain and stress. Not sure if Music Therapy is right for you? Email me your questions, schedule a meeting, or ask me to come and give a presentation for your facility!
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Music Therapy Groups I offer include Music for Social Skills, Music for Personal Growth, Confidence, Music and Muscle Relaxation, Music and Grief Management, Music Brain Stretchers, Music and Movement, drum circles, bell choir/vocal choir/singing and sign language, Music for Self-Expression (writing music, drawing to music, etc.), Singing Through the Pain, Singing the Blues Away, Harmonica and Singing for Better Breath or speech, Adaptive Lessons, Hospice Music Therapy (groups for closure, connecting with family, pain/stress, wheelchair dancing, musical biography, expressing your experiences, creating a legacy, etc.), Communicating through Music, and More!
So what does this look like? It depends on you! It can be just you and me, or us in a group. Music Therapy might look a lot like entertainment, lessons, or sing alongs, dancing, meditating, a jam session, choir rehearsal, or even talking, but there is a lot more going on than meets the eye! If you have questions, please ask! |
“To be honest,” said Terry Glusko, director of supportive care services at MJHS Hospice, “it’s probably cheaper to keep the patient on medication all day and not sing to the patient, but what it’s done in terms of giving us a marketing edge – it’s given us more marketshare. We’re the only hospice in New York City that has a vital music therapy program, and it’s helped us tremendously.” Facilities that have Music Therapy programs find that they save cost from fewer falls due to a reduction in agitation and lower turnover rates of employees, who say participating in or being exposed to the Music Therapy program adds to their work satisfaction. Satisfied workers provide better care.
Music Therapy Myths
1. I've seen videos on the news about patients in nursing homes getting IPods and it makes them smile; that's what Music Therapy is,
right? Wrong. I will assess each patient to determine needs, goals, other treatments they have tried, what approach I might take
with their Music Therapy, whether they are appropriate for Music Therapy, what their musical preferences are, and so on. I don't
choose music for them (see below), nor do I throw a song list at them and walk away. It is an ongoing process, and there are many
activities we do in therapy. We don't just listen to pretty music.
2. Music Therapy is entertainment. No, it may involve entertaining music, but the Therapist is not concerned with applause.
I am actually helping you work toward a goal as we sing or listen to music.
3. You need to play an instrument or sing to receive Music Therapy. When we are playing music, I am not concerned with your
technique or skill. If you are the worst singer I have ever heard, I still want you to sing if you are enjoying your singing, and it is helping you in some way.
4. I expect my music to cure you. I'm not that talented. Music Therapy is a behavioral science. It is not curative. I do expect you to
benefit from therapy, and achieve your goals. I do not expect you to stop all other treatment.
5. Music Therapy is new-age nonsense. Music Therapy has been around as a profession for about 100 years. It is evidence-based and there has been a lot of research done to prove its effectiveness when provided by a trained, educated, Board-Certified Music Therapist. It follows behavior modification techniques and its own psychodynamic applications. Some Music Therapists focus on the neurological and rehabilitative aspects of Music Therapy. Some work right in the surgery room with a patient and are included on school IEPs. We require clinical documentation, including an individualized treatment plan. Music Therapy must be prescribed
by a physician, and is covered by some insurance companies.
6. Music Therapists use soft, classical music, or will choose music that will work for you. The kind of music used depends
on each client and their goals. We use music that best matches your taste and avoid music that you do not appreciate or that has
a negative association for you. Sometimes it is soft, classical music that works. Other times, it is loud, even offensive music that helps someone work through something. What works well for one person will have the opposite effect on another. I will work with
you to use music you enjoy to best meet your goals.
7. In Music Therapy, you just listen to music. Sometimes, yes. Other times, we play instruments, sing, write lyrics, discuss
lyrics, draw, talk, dance, and more!
8. My brother plays guitar, listening to him is Music Therapy. Music Therapy uses specific techniques and requires training and education. Music Therapists earn a 4-5 year degree (depending on the university) plus 1000 hours of internship. Yes, we do take a lot of music classes, but some of the other courses studied include anatomy and physiology, abnormal psychology, child
psychology, statistics, therapeutic technique, and acoustics. We must be proficient in guitar, piano and one other instrument (mine is violin/fiddle), and learn the basics of all the others. We must then pass a certification exam and maintain 100 hours of
continuing education every five years.
1. I've seen videos on the news about patients in nursing homes getting IPods and it makes them smile; that's what Music Therapy is,
right? Wrong. I will assess each patient to determine needs, goals, other treatments they have tried, what approach I might take
with their Music Therapy, whether they are appropriate for Music Therapy, what their musical preferences are, and so on. I don't
choose music for them (see below), nor do I throw a song list at them and walk away. It is an ongoing process, and there are many
activities we do in therapy. We don't just listen to pretty music.
2. Music Therapy is entertainment. No, it may involve entertaining music, but the Therapist is not concerned with applause.
I am actually helping you work toward a goal as we sing or listen to music.
3. You need to play an instrument or sing to receive Music Therapy. When we are playing music, I am not concerned with your
technique or skill. If you are the worst singer I have ever heard, I still want you to sing if you are enjoying your singing, and it is helping you in some way.
4. I expect my music to cure you. I'm not that talented. Music Therapy is a behavioral science. It is not curative. I do expect you to
benefit from therapy, and achieve your goals. I do not expect you to stop all other treatment.
5. Music Therapy is new-age nonsense. Music Therapy has been around as a profession for about 100 years. It is evidence-based and there has been a lot of research done to prove its effectiveness when provided by a trained, educated, Board-Certified Music Therapist. It follows behavior modification techniques and its own psychodynamic applications. Some Music Therapists focus on the neurological and rehabilitative aspects of Music Therapy. Some work right in the surgery room with a patient and are included on school IEPs. We require clinical documentation, including an individualized treatment plan. Music Therapy must be prescribed
by a physician, and is covered by some insurance companies.
6. Music Therapists use soft, classical music, or will choose music that will work for you. The kind of music used depends
on each client and their goals. We use music that best matches your taste and avoid music that you do not appreciate or that has
a negative association for you. Sometimes it is soft, classical music that works. Other times, it is loud, even offensive music that helps someone work through something. What works well for one person will have the opposite effect on another. I will work with
you to use music you enjoy to best meet your goals.
7. In Music Therapy, you just listen to music. Sometimes, yes. Other times, we play instruments, sing, write lyrics, discuss
lyrics, draw, talk, dance, and more!
8. My brother plays guitar, listening to him is Music Therapy. Music Therapy uses specific techniques and requires training and education. Music Therapists earn a 4-5 year degree (depending on the university) plus 1000 hours of internship. Yes, we do take a lot of music classes, but some of the other courses studied include anatomy and physiology, abnormal psychology, child
psychology, statistics, therapeutic technique, and acoustics. We must be proficient in guitar, piano and one other instrument (mine is violin/fiddle), and learn the basics of all the others. We must then pass a certification exam and maintain 100 hours of
continuing education every five years.
