I was so inspired by my recent conversation with Stephanie Leavell and I am sure you will be too! Listen to learn about Stephanie’s journey to music therapy, her process of intentional songwriting and how there are TWO music therapists in her family.  Minute 35-literally blew my mind and I now dream of joining Stephanie’s band. Stephanie believes that music is a great communicator and she uses all elements of music to communicate. Her music has something for all children to engage with as she expresses the intention of the song using rhythm, lyrics, melody and instrumentation.

Stephanie is the creator of Music for Kiddos, a website that provides high-quality music and music resources for music therapists, music educators, and parents. She's mom to a spunky young daughter, a seasoned performer, an experienced music educator, and a board certified music therapist. Stephanie is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is passionate about using music to help kids succeed. She specializes in working with babies and kids through age 6.

Stephanie jokes that she has a low tolerance for cheesy music. She writes music to help kids be successful in their daily life: night-time routines, transitions, movement, instrument exploration, academic concepts, and helping kids understand and express their feelings. Music cannot be "prescribed", because the effectiveness of music is highly individualized, but this is a starting point... some tried and true music and resources that you might find helpful, too.

Learn more on her website and find links to all of her socials:

https://www.musicforkiddos.com/

Link to episode transcript.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aA6ssJJiujvh6owM3qlq4dP3wp0K9XaQcK5bKtFJ8eU/edit?usp=sharing

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Amanda Henley. Amanda is a board certified music therapist, researcher and educator in the state of Indiana. She also serves as the Indiana Task Force for Music Therapy Advocacy Chair. Amanda and I sat down to talk about the music therapy and art therapy licensure protection bill that is up this legislative session. This is the closest they have been to passing this bill in years and the task force could us all of our help to reach out to local representatives to tell them about the importance of title protection for both therapists and those they serve. The information below will guide you through the process

A bit more about Amanda

Amanda Henley is a native Hoosier, married to her music loving husband Jason, mom of twins, and in her 21st year as a board certified music therapist. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Florida State University. Amanda worked in educational and community settings to support children and adults with disabilities. She also worked as a Research Associate at Indiana University coordinating and overseeing music therapy research in pediatric cancer. Currently, Amanda is a visiting lecturer at the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Music and Arts Technology Program.

Call to Action

Please help build awareness and support for SB 338 – Music Therapy Licensure! Our bill has passed out of the Senate and is headed to a House committee. We have three steps left! 1) Passing the bill out of committee, 2) Passing the bill out of the House, and 3) Signature by the governor. Please help us contact as many House representatives as possible during the month of March!

Sample letter to a legislator from a music therapist

Sample letter to a legislator from a related professional

MT Resources for legislators

Unsure who your legislators are? Go to Find your Legislator - Indiana General Assembly, 2023 Session

On this months episode, Caitlin sits down with songwriter and therapist, Monica Metzler.  Conversation centers on grief, songwriting and all the magic in between. 

Forest Veil is the solo work of Portland, Oregon multi-instrumentalist/producer Monica Metzler. Following the echoes of her elusive muse, Forest Veil makes mystical psych-folk that maps the emotional terrain of humanity and its place in the cosmos. Melding a voice that sounds like smokey quartz with psychedelic guitar riffs and enigmatic lyricism, Forest Veil’s sound evokes a haunting nostalgia for other worlds. Though she primarily writes on her own, Forest Veil records and performs with others. An avid guitarist for over 20 years, Forest Veil's music showcases virtuosic guitar shredding and dynamic musicality.  Forest Veil's music has been placed in Coach ads, movies, and TV shows such as Blacklist.

My voice Music https://myvoicemusic.org/

Let’s write a song for Ian: https://myvoicemusic.bandcamp.com/album/lets-write-a-song-for-ian

Forest Veil music links https://www.forestveil.com/music

email: [email protected] for more information and to request a copy of a transcript of this episode. 

On today’s episode we are going to explore the role of music listening in the experience of pleasure. Does music increase our ability to feel pleasure? And if so, how does it work? 

You've got that right-we are talking music and sex! 

I am working to make the transcripts of episodes more accessible but unfortunately for now if you email me I can get you that document! Thank you so much for understanding! [email protected]

Resources: 

Belfi, A. M., Loui, P. (2020). Musical anhedonia and rewards of music listening: Current advances and a proposed model. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1464, 99–114.

Gold, B.P., et al. (2019) Predictability and uncertainty in the pleasure of music: a reward for learning?. JNeurosci.

Huron DB. (2006), Sweet anticipation: Music and the psychology of expectation. MIT press.

Salimpoor, V.N., D.H. Zald, R.J. Zatorre,et al. 2015. Predictions and the brain: how musical sounds become rewarding. Trends Cogn. Sci.19:86–91.

Zatorre, R.J. (2018). Why do we love music? Cerebrum 2018: pii: cer-16-18.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72772-3.pdf

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/listening-to-music-during-sex-has-these-3-effects-on-your-body-brain-8563332

On today's episode we explore what road rage is and discuss the implications of music on our driving behavior. Full transcription of this episode available by emailing: [email protected]

Upcoming Conference Presentations

https://registration.contio.fi/jyu/Registration/Login?id=2124-KONG_MUTKU-1748

https://www.glr-amta.org/conference-overview/institutes/

Resources 

https://eps.edu.miami.edu/_assets/pdf/publications/ahn-scaled.pdf

Millet, B., Ahn, S. & Chattah, J.(2019) The Impact of music on vehicular performance: A meta-analysis. Transportation Research Part F (60), 743-760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.10.007

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018720818760901?casa_token=r8F1PSozkpIAAAAA:t7xvVw8H9dZLsPGKasmoXe1zp7vfiVqnj1fnp7AG1mWbgIAUfFnC4FEUdl7I5hKzGcBTQS_Gqw

Navarro, J., Osiurak, F. & Reynaud, E. (2018) Does the Tempo of Music Impact Human Behavior Behind the Wheel? Human Factors and Ergonomics. 60 (4), 556-574.  DOI: 10.1177/00187208187609901

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22664690/

Ünal AB, Steg L, Epstude K. The influence of music on mental effort and driving performance. Accid Anal Prev. 2012 Sep;48:271-8. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2012.01.022. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PMID: 22664690.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0305735617734627#:~:text=Research%20has%20generally%20found%20associations,%2Dregulation%2C%20and%20increasing%20arousal.

Cook, T., Roy, A. R. K., & Welker, K. M. (2019). Music as an emotion regulation strategy: An examination of genres of music and their roles in emotion regulation. Psychology of Music, 47(1), 144–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735617734627

Join Caitlin as she explores how rhythm can help our bodies feel less stressed. Did you know that our brains can sync up with rhythms?! This episode reviews the current evidence on use of rhythm to reduce stress and explores the implications of rhythm in our lives.

Full transcript of this episode is available, please e-mail: [email protected]

Join our community on facebook and instagram to get the latest updates about the podcast. Please like, review and subscribe if this is a podcast you love!

Resources for today’s episode are below.

Resources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734071/pdf/pone.0070156.pdf

https://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/may31/brainwave-053106.html

https://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power-of-music#:~:text=Music%20can%20have%20a%20profound,more%20alert%20and%20concentrate%20better.&text=A%20slower%20tempo%20can%20quiet,for%20relaxation%20and%20stress%20management.

https://psychcentral.com/stress/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress#summary

4. Nyklicek I, Thayer JF, Van Doornen LJP (1997) Cardiorespiratory differentiation of musically induced emotions. J Psychophysiol 11: 304-321.

5. Khalfa S, Bella SD, Roy M, Peretz I, Lupien SJ (2003) Effects of relaxing music on salivary cortisol level after psychological stress. Ann N Y Acad Sci 999: 374-376. doi:10.1196/annals.1284.045. PubMed: 14681158.

6. Nater UM, Abbruzzese E, Krebs M, Ehlert U (2006) Sex differences in emotional and psychophysiological responses to musical stimuli. Int J Psychophysiol 62: 300-308. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2006.05.011. PubMed: 16828911.

7. Burns JL, Labbé E, Williams K, McCall J (1999) Perceived and physiological indicators of relaxation: as different as Mozart and Alice in chains. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 24: 197-202. doi:10.1023/A: 1023488614364. PubMed: 10652638.

8. Blood AJ, Zatorre RJ (2001) Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98: 11818-11823. doi:10.1073/pnas. 191355898. PubMed: 11573015.

9. Juslin PN, Sloboda J (2010) Handbook of music and emotion. USA: Oxford University Press.

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003497.html

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J184v08n04_03

Fitmind.co

In episode 34, Caitlin sits down with clinical research specialist and music therapist, Jessica MacLean to gain insight into the world of music and auditory science. Have you considered the implications of music in auditory processing and speech? The interplay of the two are complex, and Jessica does a great job of explaining using her background in research and working in an auditory neuroscience lab. She describes cochlear implants and the use of music to distinguish sounds, dives into the unique role that rhythm plays in hearing and speech and shares her personal experience with tinnitus (which you will hear me struggle to pronounce). She describes what to look for in patients who are at risk for sound sensitivity- and a startling rich discussion about the triangle-you are going to want to tune in for that discussion!

We hope you enjoy this episode of musical health!

Jessica MacLean, MM, MT-BC is a clinical research specialist at the Indiana University School of Nursing. She acts as core project manager for the BIO-MUSE Study (@sherirobbteamresearch) investigating biological effects of an active music engagement intervention for children with cancer and their caregivers (R01NR019190). She received her Master’s in Music Therapy from the University of Miami, where she completed thesis research with children with hearing loss. Prior to her Master’s, Jessica worked as a research assistant for the Auditory Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Violin and Neuroscience from Indiana University.”

Resources discussed in this episode:

https://medicine.uiowa.edu/iowaprotocols/music-and-hearing-loss-hearing-devices-and-music-testing-music-perception-improving-music-enjoyment

Follow:

Sheri Robb research team Instagram: @sherirobbteamresearch

Twitter: @Robb_Research

Jessica Maclean, MM, MT-BC: @urbanfiddle on instagram and twitter

To request full transcript of this episode, please e-mail: [email protected]

For full transcript of episode 33 please e-mail: [email protected]

Today's episode covers some foundational elements of trauma informed care, an introduction to how trauma works in our brains and bodies and some implications for healthcare professionals.