This month, we're featuring a story from Matt's work in palliative care. We haven't yet talked about palliative care on our podcast, but as you may already know, music therapy plays a very important role in supporting those who are actively dying.

Hear an example of how music therapists adapt popular songs to suit the context that they work in, and how important this subtlety to detail is in our therapeutic work.

This month, we're traveling to Japan to present our podcast at the World Conference of Music Therapy! We're looking forward to rubbing shoulders with some prominent music therapists from all over the world and sharing all that we've learnt from the podcast with our profession. Stay tuned on our Instagram (www.instagram.com/collectivemusictherapy) for pictures and updates!

Music therapy plays an important role in supporting the wellbeing of the ageing population. Not only does engaging in music create opportunities for reminiscing and reflecting on the past, but it creates a unique opportunity for many to feel purposeful, hopeful and even future focused. 

This month, you'll hear from Eta Lauw who is a registered music therapist working in both aged care and special education in Singapore. Eta shares a poignant story about her work with an elderly man who was emotionally isolated and non-compliant with medical procedures and this was affecting his quality of life.

In general, this man was physically alive, but lacked that sense of "aliveness" in his ageing years.

How did Eta work with this man to restore his quality of life? What is it specifically about music, and music therapy that can bring about such change?

Thank you for joining us for episode 16 of the Collective Music Therapy podcast.

This month, we're sharing with you a story from Asami's work with a young person of refugee background, who was new to Australia and experiencing homelessness.

The story begins with this young man who attended Asami's weekly drop-in music program and participated by touching and playing every single instrument in the room throughout the session. Despite his obvious enthusiasm, Asami struggled to integrate him into the group activity as he spoke almost no English. 

Walking away from the session, Asami questioned how her program could best be adapted to meet the needs of this young person, and subsequently all other young people she did not share a language with.

There had to be a way to connect without the logistical nightmare of getting an interpreter in at the same time as the young person's infrequent visits; as they say, music is the universal language, right?!

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On this episode, you'll hear how Asami overcame language barriers by using technology to provide therapeutic support to this young person.

There's nothing new in the intervention, but it is a reminder to us all that technology provides a strong tool to build social connection and considerate use of it can enhance our capacity to work with those who we do not share a language with.

Thank you for joining us as we bring you our very first episode for 2017!

This month, we're discussing the various ways in which song-writing is used in music therapy, and how writing a song can benefit a person's health and wellbeing.

We're talking about neuroplasticity: "How does song-writing assist in creating new neural pathways post accident or injury?"

We're talking about expressing identity: "What is it about song-writing that allows an individual to express and communicate who they are?"

And we're talking about building community: "What are the ways in which music can assist in creating unlikely allies and relationships?"

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On this episode, you'll be hearing from Professor Felicity Baker who shared with us her extensive work in song-writing in both clinical and community settings.

"...I noticed that people were really engaged with song-writing because they could create something that was their own... and it was their own expression of their identity. It gave them an opportunity to explore who they were..."

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For more information on music therapy or how to find a music therapist, please head to www.collectivemusictherapy.com

No doubt, these next few weeks leading towards the end of the year will be busy for you, but we hope you'll be able to find a sneaky 30 minutes to listen to our case studies about the role of music therapy in treating depression. Depression affects approximately one million Australians at any given time, and as always, innovative and holistic approaches of care are needed to support the health and wellbeing of individuals, carers and the wider community.

Asami shares a case study from her work with a young person who has been living with depression for over four years. This young person's sole interest was learning the guitar and his story highlights the way in which music therapy can act as a hook or an engagement tool into other services.

Matt shares a case study from his work in acute psychiatry where music therapy played a role in one woman's assessment and positive experiences of being in an inpatient unit. Matt's story sheds light into the way music therapy functions within a multidisciplinary team.

Happy listening!

This episode, we're talking all about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and how music therapy can support those living with BPD. 

BPD is defined as a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, and marked impulsivity. However, that definition doesn't really shed light on how painful and isolating living with BPD can be. 

What is the experience of living with BPD?

and

What role can music therapy play in supporting people living with BPD?

You'll hear an interview from Jason Kenner, a lecturer and PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, who has been researching and creating programs to aid in the treatment of BPD. Jason discusses the various music therapy methods he employs in his programs and also shares some of the  participants' experiences of the program itself. 

As you may have already figured, BPD is complex and is not something that can be neatly "cured", although many people do find their way out of the disorder eventually. Currently, there are limited forms of treatment for BPD and on this episode, you will be hearing about the latest, cutting-edge research in this field, we're very excited to share this with you!

Happy listening.