Category: Mental Health
-
The Real, Eclectic Music Therapist
When I first started this blog, over three years ago now, I was working part-time for a music therapy private practice. I was still determining who I was as a music therapist, having only been in the field for a brief period of time. I moved into a full-time job a few months after that…
-
The Continuity of Person-Centered Care
I’ve recently had the opportunity of working in both mental health and pediatric medical care. In my transition to adding pediatric medical care to my workload, many people have asked me how I feel about working with a more “difficult” population, meaning children with acute or chronic medical needs or with children who are dying.…
-
Mental Health Session Ideas #4
Last week, I posted some additional therapeutic revolution ideas for the mental health settings. Read below for some more of my original and adapted ideas. THERAPEUTIC REVOLUTION #17 “Mood Playlists“ Goals: Elevate mood; increase positive coping skills; increase emotional awareness; increase mood regulation Therapeutic Revolution: I borrowed this idea from a colleague, and adapted her…
-
Mental Health Session Ideas #3
It’s been a busy year for me, despite having finished my masters degree. I took on some additional non-music therapy related projects at work, which took most of my creative juices, but I’ve still been hit with the occasional “revolution-ary” idea for session plans and therapeutic revolutions. I’ve found that session ideas have proven to…
-
The Realities of Inpatient, Psychiatric Music Therapy
I’ve had the opportunity to work within the same acute inpatient psychiatric facility for two years. It’s not a long time in the grand scheme of a career, but it’s enough to collect some insight on how things work in our world. When I started this particular job, I had a certain assessment of who…
-
Mental Health Session Ideas #2
It’s been a few months since I’ve shared some original intervention ideas for mental health. Within the music therapy world, we don’t often have the opportunity to share ideas and build off of one another. I think it’s important to create a resource for other music therapists to see each other’s work and ideas, which…
-
A Day in the Life of a Psychiatric Music Therapist
Recently, it came to my attention that unless you are a music therapist, or you’ve worked with one, you are likely to have no idea what a typical day looks like in our work. [Thanks for the inspiration, Bob]! Today, I had the pleasure of attempting to photo document what I look like as I go…
-
Iso-Principle in “Inside Out”
Over my Christmas holiday, I re-watched the Pixar movie “Inside Out” with my family. I saw the movie back in June when it first came out in theaters and, of course, loved it. I was in awe of its complexities and the profound discussion about emotions, the brain, and personalities. But there is so much…
-
Mental Health Session Ideas
It’s been awhile since I posted any new session ideas or resources for interventions. Last time I showcased some ideas, I was working primarily with clients with developmental disabilities. Now that I’m working full-time in mental health care, my thought processes have changed a bit. Below are some ideas I have had a lot of…
-
Change the Way You Think about Mental Health
With my new job, I’ve certainly been in the thick of things related to mental health. Working in healthcare related to psychiatric disorders is fascinating, as each day and experiences are fairly different. Although a patient might come into the hospital with the same diagnosis as another patient, their symptoms and traits might be very…
One therapist's opinion about music, the brain, and life. 