Thursday, February 17, 2011

February 18, 2011 - Music Therapy and Disorders of Consciousness

This week I am pleased to discuss the Music Therapy and Disorders of Consciousness seminar that I attended last Friday. This was a fantastic seminar and I have the organizers of the seminar as guests this week: Jennifer Townsend, Kristen O'Grady, and James Maxson.

The one-day event featured prominent therapists and professional speakers who accepted Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center’s invitation to participate in the one-day event and to share their views and experience on a variety of topics related to the care of people in low awareness states, including:
  • The importance of relationship
  • Techniques and interventions for working with infants at risk for low awareness states in the NICU
  • The use of multisensory stimulation
  • Neuroaesthetics
  • Past work of Mary Boyle, a leading figure in music therapy and disorders of consciousness
  • The role of clinical intuition in working with people in low awareness states

The Music Therapy team at Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center consists of:

Jennifer Townsend MMT, MT-BC, CCLS, Neurologic Music Therapy Fellow holds a bachelor’s degree in music therapy from Sam Houston State University and a master’s degree in music therapy from Temple University. She is also a fellow of the Robert J. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapists. Jennifer is the coordinator of music therapy services and has been working at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center for 5 years during which time she has secured grant funding and developed innovative programming to promote music therapy services. She is a dually certified as a child life specialist and embraces an interdisciplinary model of holistic practice.


Kristen O’Grady MA, MT-BC has been working as a music therapist at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center since 2004. She received her bachelor’s degree in music therapy from Montclair State University and her master’s degree in music therapy from New York University. Kristen will assume the role as President of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association this year.


James Maxson MMT, MT-BC, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit music therapist has been working as a music therapist at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in New York City since 2009. He also works as a music therapist at The Music Therapy Institute at the Westchester Conservatory of Music. James received his masters in music therapy from the University of Florida and his bachelors in music composition from Ithaca College.


To learn more about the music therapy program at Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center please go to our website at www.musictherapy-setonpediatric.org You can also learn about the pediatric center by going to www.setonpediatric.org.


Listen LIVE at 12 noon EST/11 am CST/10 am MST/9 am PST or find the archived show here. You can also subscribe via iTunes.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

February 11, 2011 - No Show Today

I am taking off this Friday to attend the Music Therapy and Disorders of Consciousness Symposium.

But you can still hear me talk about music therapy (my favorite topic!) on Wellness for the Real World with Dr. Veronica Anderson. This episode is called "Can Music Heal? The Ohio Players Weigh In".

The first segment featured Clarence "Chet" Willis and "HarryO" McCloud from The Ohio Players talking about how playing and listening to music helped them recover from health problems. Their responses weren't very coherent, but it was interesting to hear them speak and to listen to clips from their songs.

In the next segment, Karina Lewis, a psychotherapist who works with animals and music. In the interview, she indicated that she worked with an actual music therapist and knew about the American Music Therapy Association. She talked about The Mirror Effect and how horses reflect the emotions of people. Her bio states that she is "a trainer with her Master's degree in psychology". She somehow tied music and riding horses together as a therapeutic tool and therefore was an "expert" in music therapy.

The third segment featured Sharon Ruben, author of Awakening Ashley: Mozart Knocks Autism On Its Ear. She did know and state that what she was talking about is Listening Programs, not music therapy. Apparently, her daughter was "cured" of autism through a listening program that I suspect was related to the Tomatis Method. She has developed her own listening program called Lollipop Listening Therapy. Her theory is that ADHD and Autism affect people because the muscles that vibrate the bones in the inner ear are too weak.

Finally, I got to speak in the fourth segment. I did my best to clarify some of the prior misconceptions about music therapy. I also defined music therapy and gave real-life examples and explained real research from music therapy. And I got the last word!

I would love to know what you think about what was presented on this show. Leave me a comment and let me know!

I'll be back next week to talk to you live about REAL music therapy!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

February 4, 2011 - Happy Birthday, Music Therapy Tween!

The Music Therapy Show is celebrating the second anniversary of the Music Therapy Tween, and the 31st birthday of Michelle Erfurt, MT-BC. This week, we welcome Michelle as our guest to talk about her blogging and music therapy adventures.

Michelle provides music therapy services at Treasure Coast Hospice through her private practice: Erfurt Music Therapy, Inc. She also writes for the blog MusicTherapyTween.com - a blog that shares tips and thoughts for the traveling professional AND maintains the
ErfurtMusicResource.com - a resource of music related services, products and information.
Michelle has been involved in the development of Wade Richards book: Richards Modified
Tuning for Adapted Guitar and Rachel Rambach’s first Listen & Learn Songbook.

Contact Information -
Michelle Erfurt, MT-BC
Email: michelleerfurt@yahoo.com
Phone: 614-832-8664
Twitter: @michelleerfurt
Facebook: michelleerfurt
Blog: www.MusicTherapyTween.com
Resource List: www.ErfurtMusicResource.com

Listen live at 12 noon Eastern, 11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, 9 am Pacific. Or check out the archives here or subscribe through iTunes. Leave a comment here and let me know what you think of the show!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Songwriting, Ethics, and other topics

Today I'm going to talk about some successes I've had with a few clients this week, some motivation issues and solutions, and the new Ethics requirement for continuing education for music therapists.

I had a client who wanted to write a song about one of his hobbies this week, so I'll describe the process I used and how I challenged myself to use the piano more in therapy. Piano is not my major instrument and I experienced "piano trauma" in college. So this was a big challenge.

I saw another client this week who was stumbling through spelling a word, so I wrote another song on the spot to help with that task. I'll sing a little for you and let you know how that turned out.

In the third segment, I took a distance-learning Ethics course that fulfills the CBMT requirement for Ethics credits. I'll give a review of the course.

As always, you can listen LIVE at 12 Noon Eastern, 11 AM Central, 10 AM Mountain, 9 AM Pacific. Or you can find the show archives here, or subscribe on iTunes.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

January 7, 2011 - Music Therapy Advocacy

Happy New Year! I hope your New Year's Resolutions are off to a good start. I also hope that one of them is to advocate for music therapy! On today's show, my guests are Judy Simpson and Kimberly Sena Moore who, along with Dena Register, work on the State Recognition Operational Plan. Through this Plan, a national initiative being implemented jointly by CBMT and AMTA, Judy, Dena, and Kimberly provide guidance and technical support to State task forces as they work to obtain State recognition of music therapy and the MT-BC credential.

Learn how YOU can help music therapy gain State recognition and create greater access to music therapy for members of your community. Listen live at 12 noon EST, 11 am CST, 10 am MST, 9 am PST or listen to the archives or subscribe via iTunes.

Judy Simpson is the Director of Government Relations for the American Music Therapy Association. She can be reached at simpson@musictherapy.org


Dr. Dena Register is the Regulatory Affairs Advisor for the Certification Board for Music Therapists and an Associate Professor of Music Therapy at the University of Kansas. She can be reached at dregister@cbmt.org


Kimberly Sena Moore is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and Neurologic Music Therapist. She serves as Regulatory Affairs Associate for the Certification Board for Music Therapists, practices music therapy through Neurosong Music Therapy Services, and runs the blog Music Therapy Maven.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

December 10, 2010 - Music Therapy Students

Music Therapy Students and Prospective Music Therapy Students may become members of the American Music Therapy Association Students (AMTAS).

AMTAS are undergraduate and graduate student members of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). The goal of the student organization is to increase awareness, involvement, and knowledge of music therapy students by fostering communication and growth in preparation for a professional career.

The Student Affairs Advisory Board (SAAB) is one of the boards of the American Music Therapy Association. Its purpose is to establish and strengthen a positive and productive relationship between students and professionals of the organization, consult and advise students regarding any concerns brought to attention by students or concerning students, and to encourage and support students’ professional involvement and growth within AMTAS and eventually AMTA.

This week, I'm please to invite Dr. Petra Kern back to the show, along with past and current members of the SAAB, to talk about music therapy students and how they are helping the field of music therapy develop. Listen live at 12 noon EST, 11 am CST, 10 am MST, 9 am PST, or listen to the archived show here, available about 15 minutes following the end of the show. You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes and never miss an episode!

Friday, December 3, 2010

December 3, 2010 - Surviving the Holidays

I was going to skip the show this week, because I have way too much going on. But I wanted to share a brief message and my mantra for this month: You are worth taking care of!

Listen here. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

November 19, 2010 - LIVE from Cleveland!

This week, I'll be broadcasting live from the Erfurt Music Therapy Resource booth in the exhibit hall at the American Music Therapy Association conference in Cleveland, OH. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take callers, but if you'd like to listen live, call 646-652-2850 or click here, on Friday, November 19, at 1:30 EST, 12:30 CST, 11:30 MST, or 10:30 PST.

If you miss the live show, all shows are archived as a podcast about 15 minutes after the show ends. You can find the archived show here, or subscribe to The Music Therapy Show on iTunes.

I've not tried to record a show "on location" before, so I'm not sure how it will sound, but I hope you'll find it informative. Let me know what you think by commenting on this post!

Friday, November 12, 2010

November 12, 2010 - Honoring Communication

I work with a lot of clients who would be considered "low functioning" in clinical terms. However, they all are capable of communication, and it's up to me and others around them to honor their communication. This week I'll talk about what that means and how to do it.

Listen live at Noon EST, 11 CST, 10 MST, 9 PST. Or check out the archives at any time. You can also make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing through iTunes.