130: Music Therapy: Reclaim Your Rhythm

In this episode, therapist and pychotherapist Maya Benattar and I talk about her intriguing work in music therapy.  Maya is in private practice in New York City and online in the State of New York. (01:24) She specializes in helping women who are ready to work through trauma, “stuckness,” and long-held anxiety.  In addition to her clinical work, she offers online and in-person “Reclaim Your Rhythm” workshops for helpers and healers and is a frequent presenter and speaker at conferences and trainings.   Maya received her Bachelors in Music Therapy from SUNY New Paltz and her Masters in Music Therapy from New York University.  (01:54) She completed post-graduate training in vocal psychotherapy with Dr. Diane Austin, in creative arts and trauma treatment at the Kint Institute, and Music & Imagery with Dr. Lisa Summer at Institute for Music & Consciousness. (2:12) Maya believes that women deserve to be loud, messy, sensitive, angry, shy, and so much more.  (2:23)   Topics discussed in this episode: How Maya found music therapy as her calling (3:05) What is music therapy? (4:24) A working definition of music therapy (5:09) Maya’s approach to music therapy (6:48) An overview of the theoretical approaches to music therapy (7:15) Maya’s psychodynamic model of generational influence on how people show up in the moment (7:43) The impact of trauma and influence of untold stories (7:43) Hypothetical approach to working with a woman with anxiety (8:14) Approach is individualized Maya’s tagline “Reclaim Your Rhythm” (8:39) Often women with anxiety or trauma have become disconnected from their core rhythms (8:49) Gentle mindfulness and body based sematic work (9:11) Creating music in the moment to reflect or deepen a certain feeling or idea (9:24) Using musical instruments and art supplies to facilitate sessions (10:14) Adjusting to online sessions during the Covid-19 pandemic (11:13) Exploring the relationship between lack of control and anxiety through music (11:29) The differences between talk and music therapy (12:42) The struggle with the unknown for women (14:24) The gifts & challenges of rediscovering play as an adult (15:29) Musical improvisation as the work of therapy (16:34) Music as an access point to different aspects of ourselves (17:39) Benefits of using tactile objects during in-person sessions (19:00) Ways to make the abstract real (19:56) Reclaiming Your Rhythm as a big process as well as gentle tending (21:00) How musical therapy surprises and inspires (22:16) Discovering and returning to the big wins for clients (24:23) Unexpected benefits of telehealth (24:42) Music Listening in Music Therapy (25:05) Most accessible way to explore musical therapy on your own (25:25) What works for one person does not work for another (25:25) Challenges of working with preconceived notions & assumptions (27:19) Anxiety and the need to feel grounded and a release (28:25) What works for a client on a particular day and in a particular moment may change (29:20) Develop playlists rather than leaning on a particular song (29:36) Practice listening to the music and paying attention to what it evokes (30:10) Creating space to explore and recognizing what you need or want (30:10)   Resources:   Maya’s website: https://www.mayabenattar.com/ Dr. Diane Austin’s website: http://dianeaustin.com/music/?page_id=7 The Kint Institute’s website: https://kintinstitute.org/