April 1, 2011 - Conference updates

This week I'll be sharing all the great information I received at the Southwestern Region of the American Music Therapy Association (SWAMTA) conference in Waco, TX. I'll also share what I learned at the Online Conference for Music Therapy a few weeks ago. If you've attended a conference recently and would like to share your experiences, you can call the show at 646-652-2850 on Friday, April 1, 2011 at 11:00 am Central Daylight Time. Once you've dialed in, press 1 to let me know you want to talk, or just listen in through your phone. You can also listen online here or find the archived show here if you can't listen live. You can also subscribe to the show in iTunes.

March 18, 2011 - Music Therapy and Alzheimer's Disease

This week my guest is Marlon Sobol, a music therapist in New York who created a CD for caregivers to interact with people who have Alzheimer's. Listen live at 12 noon Eastern, 11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, and 9 am Pacific or click here for the archives. You can also find the show on iTunes.

Marlon created a CD to connect caregivers and their clients called, Keep On Moving: Music for Therapeutic Rhythmic Activities. The purpose of this CD is to provide music for the mutual enjoyment of both caregiver and patient. The music can also be used as a tool by the caregiver to facilitate therapeutic rhythmic activities and movement that will enhance the patient's overall well-being. You can find the music on iTunes by searching for Keep On Moving by Shem's Disciples or calling 718-519-5880 to order the CD.

You can contact Marlon Sobol, MT-BC, LCAT, for more information at msobol@bethabe.org or call 914-287-7212.

You can get more information about the CD, and his work at Schnurmacher Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing at www.imnf.org.

And you can find information and watch the trailer for the movie we spoke about at The Music Never Stopped.

March 11, 2011 - Essential Musical Intelligence

The very first guest on my show was Louise Montello back in May of 2008. She spoke about Performance Wellness. Today she will be my guest again! We will get updates on the Performance Wellness program and discuss Essential Musical Intelligence.

Please join in the discussion live at 12 noon Eastern, 11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, 9 am Pacific. You can catch the archives here or subscribe via iTunes. Have a question for Dr. Montello? Leave a comment here and I'll ask it on the show!

March 4, 2011 - Advocacy

Since last Friday, I've been working on advocating for music therapy in Texas after learning that the Department of Aging and Disability Services recommended to the House Appropriations Committee that specialized therapies (under which music therapy is provided) be eliminated from a medicaid waiver program.

On the show this week I'll share what I've learned through this process about advocacy.

This weekend I'm also participating in the Online Music Therapy Conference, so I'll share about that, too.

Listen live at 12 noon EST, 11 am CST, 10 am MST, 9 am PST or check out the archived show which is available 15 minutes after the show ends. You can also subscribe via iTunes.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.