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Coping Skills Are Key: An Interview With Maddie Offenberger

As a medical music therapist, Maddie Offenberger addresses children’s mental health needs during their hospital stay. Presently, many do not have the emotional capacity to understand the current events and stress responses of the adults surrounding them. She says, “If I were a young child, I would be very confused,” and emphasizes that adults need to demonstrate what to do. In this podcast, Maddie talks about the deficits in social skills, self-esteem, and frustrations she observed in her pediatric patients. Listening to each child, validating their feelings, finding ways to express themselves through music, and helping them discover and utilize coping skills are key to the therapeutic experience she offers. She believes that feeling safe and loved is the most important support parents can provide to their children and hopes that the pandemials can build positive and long-lasting relationships throughout their lives.

Resources

About the Interviewee

Maddie Offenberger, MT-BC, works within the Norton Healthcare system in Louisville, Kentucky. She sees inpatients in the psychiatric facility for adults and pediatrics and provides mental health consultation at Norton Children’s Hospital and Norton Cancer Institute. She is hopeful that young children today will be able to have the same happy experiences she had during childhood, despite their lives starting amidst difficulty. Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation

Shina, E. (2022, September 1). Coping skills are key: An interview with Maddie Offenberger [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Coping Skills Are Key: An Interview With Maddie Offenberger first appeared on imagine.

Focus on Emotional Growth: An Interview With Jessica Heinz

As a preschool teacher and music therapist, Jessica Heinz has concerns about the snowball effect infant and early childhood mental health could have on children’s life-long development. Many of her preschoolers have lacked early childhood services during the pandemic and experienced in-person classrooms and social situations for the first time this year. In this podcast, she shares her observations of children’s development, stress and anxiety responses, and art-based resources she uses to support their social and emotional growth. To help ensure that children do not feel lost and confused, she suggests that parents implement successful preschool routines such as transition songs at home as well. Being adaptable in many ways, she hopes that these pandemials will recognize their strengths and be excited about bringing change to this world. 

Resources

About the Interviewee

Jessica Heinz, MT-BC, is a preschool teacher and works as contracting music therapist for the Louisville Center for Therapy and Personal Services (LCTPS). Every day, she connects with many populations and age ranges throughout the community, targeting her clients’ mental and wellness needs. In previous years, Jessica has made valuable contributions to the imagine resources, intervention ideas, and book reviews. Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation

Shina, E. (2022, September 1). Focus on emotional growth: An interview with Jessica Heinz [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Focus on Emotional Growth: An Interview With Jessica Heinz first appeared on imagine.

Empowering Parents With Knowledge and Content: An Interview With Katie Ross

With a passion for supporting premature and medically fragile children and their families, the pandemic sparked an idea for Katie Ross to grow a business with a mission to support infant mental health through parent education and empowerment. Her company, Blooming Littles, began as a blog guiding parents through their NICU journey that grew quickly into a thriving social online community. Educating and empowering parents to interact with and respond to their NICU infants in developmentally appropriate and sensitive ways sets the foundation for their mental health and can prevent depression, anxiety, and suicide risk when they are teens. In this podcast, Katie speaks about giving parents the tools to maximize visits with their premature infants by educating them about what to expect, what the infant’s behavior might look like, which medical equipment they might see, and how they could attune, touch, and nurture their infant’s mental health. Ultimately, ”decreasing parental fear with knowledge is the goal,” she says.

Resources

About the Interviewee

Katie Ross, OTD, OTR/L, NTMTC, CNT, is a certified neonatal therapist with clinical experience working in a 100+ bed, level IV NICU. She holds additional certifications in neonatal touch and massage as well as lactation. Katie is also the owner and founder of Blooming Littles, an online resource aimed at equipping NICU families with the education they need to take more confident steps at the NICU bedside. 

Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation

Ruffner, A. (2022, September 1). Empowering parents with knowledge and content: An interview with Katie Ross [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Empowering Parents With Knowledge and Content: An Interview With Katie Ross first appeared on imagine.

Pandemic Amplifications: An Interview With Angela Adams

Giving her perspective as a social worker of infant and early childhood mental health issues arising during COVID-19, Angela Adams says, “Whatever [clients] have been dealing with before, COVID-19 seems to have amplified that.” In this podcast, Angie emphasizes the impact of social isolation, the intensified mental health needs of mothers in a substance use treatment program, the meaning of trauma-informed care for young children, and the advantages of teletherapy. She hopes that the pandemials’ resilience, flexibility, and creativity practiced during the pandemic will benefit them as they grow older.

Resources

About the Interviewee

Angela Adams, LCSW, MSSW, has been working in the mental health field for over 20 years. She has experience in a variety of settings including residential treatment, school-based services, therapeutic foster care, and community mental health. Currently, Angela is employed at Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital with the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists group. In this setting, she primarily works with mothers in recovery from substance use disorders. Contact: [email protected]

 Suggested Citation

Ruffner, A. (2022, September 1). Pandemic amplifications: An interview with Angela Adams [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Pandemic Amplifications: An Interview With Angela Adams first appeared on imagine.

Basic is Best: An Interview With Lyndsay Overton

As a Certified Child Life Specialist, Lyndsay Overton is preparing, supporting, and distracting children of all ages during their hospital stay while also assisting their families in any way she can. Over the past two years, she has witnessed a rise in children’s mental health needs. With the lack of staffing, attending their needs has been challenging. In this podcast, she addresses simple strategies such as coloring, journaling, writing letters to family members, and adding comfort to the hospital stay through blankets and stuffed animals. Lyndsay says, “Coping skills are lacking immensely,” and she suggests  to offering emotional outlets for young children to express themselves as well as validating their feelings. While encouraging the pandemials to be anything they want to be in their lives, she reminds parents to take good care of themselves and and assures them they are not alone.

Resources

About the Interviewee

Lyndsay Overton, CCLS, has worked at Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky for the past five years. Addressing children’s developmental and mental health needs through simple strategies accessible to everyone is her passion. Her work also includes supporting parents, who are essential to children’s healthy development. Contact: [email protected]

 Suggested Citation

Ruffner, A. (2022, September 1). Basic is best: An interview with Lyndsay Overton [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Basic is Best: An Interview With Lyndsay Overton first appeared on imagine.

The Power of Playing to Combat Fear: An Interview With Joanna Cemore Brigden

With expertise in play and child development, Joanna has a wealth of knowledge in supporting children and parents. When asked how parents can nurture their child’s mental health, she suggests to simply play with them. In this podcast, she discusses the importance of play for children’s development, especially in the post COVID-19 era. She addresses how the collective stress, anxiety, and fear of parents, educators, and society at-large affects children’s interactions with family members and peers. Joanna argues that children can work through their anxiety in play, as play is connected to emotions and eventually their well-being. Her message to parents is that “they [children] do not need extra things” other than play. Her hope for the pandemials is that educational institutes will address their need for more time to play. 

Resources

About the Interviewee

Joanna J. Cemore Brigden, PhD, is an associate professor in the Childhood Education and Family Studies department at Missouri State University. She passionately defends the rights of every child to play through her teaching, research, and service. She is also the editor of The Association for the Study of Play’s newsletter and co-editor of Play, Policy, and Practice Connections e-journal. Contact: [email protected]

 Suggested Citation

Ruffner, A. (2022, September 1). The power of play to combat fear: An interview with Joanna Cemore Brigden [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post The Power of Playing to Combat Fear: An Interview With Joanna Cemore Brigden first appeared on imagine.

Frame It in a Way Children Can Understand: An Interview With LeeAnn Finnegan

Having been involved with early intervention as a service coordinator, developmental therapist, and a parent, LeeAnn Finnegan knows first-hand the struggles that parents of young children with disabilities have faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She says, ”I feel like we are at a point now where all our kids from birth to three don’t remember a time before COVID-19. So, they are really struggling with those social skills and interactions with other people as this is not just something we know inherently. It is a developmental skill we have to learn.” She emphasizes the importance of keeping open communication surrounding mental health and framing both mental health and the realities of pandemic life in a way that children can understand it. Speaking from both her personal and professional experience, LeeAnn stresses the necessity of parents prioritizing their own mental health: “Parents can nurture their children’s mental health by nurturing their own.” She also shares resources that can help caregivers address developmental concerns in their children as well as supporting their own mental health needs. Her hope is that children have developed resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic that will help them tackle anything that comes their way throughout their lives. 

Resources

About the Interviewee

LeeAnn Finnegan, BA,  has worked in EI since 2008. She is currently assistant director of the outreach program at First Steps, Inc. in Nashville, TN, providing developmental therapy and coaching caregivers using the FGRBI model through Tennessee’s Early Intervention System. She has prior experience in the child and adolescent mental health field. LeeAnn also parents a hilarious, smart, and beautiful 8-year-old who is on the autism spectrum. 

Contact: [email protected]

 Suggested Citation

Bolton, D. (2022, September 1). Frame it in a way children can understand: An interview with LeeAnn Finnegan [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Frame It in a Way Children Can Understand: An Interview With LeeAnn Finnegan first appeared on imagine.

Children’s Emotional Development and Needs: An Interview With Mary Anna Walsh

As a children’s mental health therapist during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary Anna Walsh noticed a rise in the emotional needs of children due to the loss of social outlets and disruption of settings and routines. In this podcast, she speaks of how children respond to their parents’ stress. “I noticed that the kids often fed off of that which…unintentionally caused a lot of worry and fear.” Mary Anna talks about signs of anxiety in young children and discusses coping skills and play therapy techniques such as deep breathing and sand tray play to help children control their emotions. She reminds parents to look at the root cause of challenging behaviors because children “haven’t had as much time in their lives as we have and don’t know how to handle those big emotions.” She stresses the need to intervene early to address mental health needs of children and their families and hopes that families find balance between keeping their children safe while living a normal life.

Resources

About the Interviewee

Mary Anna Walsh, LMSW, MSSW, earned her master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Tennessee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked at Branches Counseling Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as the Child and Adolescent Counselor, helping children work through emotional and mental health challenges using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy, Sand Play, psychoeducation, trauma processing, grief recovery, and more. She recently moved to Colorado and is now a therapist at the Eating Recovery Center residential facility, helping adolescents recover from eating disorders. 

Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation

Bolton, D. (2022, September 1). Children’s emotional development and needs: An interview with Mary Anna Walsh [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Children’s Emotional Development and Needs: An Interview With Mary Anna Walsh first appeared on imagine.

Chris Millett, MM, MT-BC

Operating a University Music Therapy Clinic During COVID-19

As the clinical coordinator of the University of Louisville’s Music Therapy Clinic, Chris Millett serves young children in individual and group sessions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many clients paused services, but continued once telehealth services were offered. In this podcast, Chris talks about the practicalities of serving young children and their families remotely and a grant to fund a new infant and caregiver developmental group. He also addresses how clients surprised him through their use of technology and the limitations he sees in using this means of service provision for developmentally appropriate practice for young children without caregiver involvement.

Resources:

About the Interviewee:

Chris Millett, MM, MT-BC, is the faculty coordinator of the Music Therapy Clinic at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Besides offering individual and group sessions and training students and interns, he hosts the Make More Music podcast. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic shifted to telehealth sessions using Zoom and some live sessions in the clinic, facilities, and homes following strict COVID-19 restrictions and regulations.

Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation: 

Shine, E. (2021, June 25). Operating a university music therapy clinic during COVID-19: An interview with Chris Millett [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Operating a University Music Therapy Clinic During COVID-19 first appeared on imagine.

Callie Cowart, MT-BC

Thriving Out of Necessity: Medical Music Therapy on the Pediatric Unit During COVID19

Providing music therapy sessions in pediatrics and pediatric ICU units over the past year, Callie Cowart’s services shifted from a patient-centered to a more family-centered practice model during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the importance of music therapy services, the hospital allowed in-person sessions with COVID-19 safety protocols in place. In this podcast, she talks about the increase of chronic stress and the sense of resignation, but also the resilience and hope she observed in her young patients and families. Overcoming challenges such visitation restrictions, Callie looked for creative solutions such as offering hybrid sessions allowing siblings to participate in the family service. She says, “One of the biggest benefits I’ve seen are stronger family units.”

Resources:

About the Interviewee:

Callie Cowart is a board-certified music therapist based in San Francisco, California. Currently, Callie works as a full-time music therapist for Sutter Health where she serves patients at an Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Unit, an adult hospice facility, and Pediatrics and Pediatric ICU Units. Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols, she continued offering services to children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact: [email protected]

Suggested Citation: 

Shine, E. (2021, June 18). Thriving out of necessity–Medical music therapy on the pediatric unit during COVID19: An interview with Callie Cowart [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz

The post Thriving Out of Necessity: Medical Music Therapy on the Pediatric Unit During COVID19 first appeared on imagine.