The Music Therapy Show

Brittany Trinite from Austin TX sent this in: I have been a musician for most of my life and have always wanted to sing to give back in some way, but wasn’t sure how for many years. Last year, I discovered how to bring the idea of a concert to benefit a great cause to life. When I was in middle school, I discovered music is used to entertain and as a wonderful creative outlet, but can also act as medicine to heal and is being studied and researched to support these ideas, in music therapy. I reached out to the music community of Austin to help me in producing “Healing Sounds”, what would be the first concert benefiting the Research fund of the American Music Therapy Association.

The musicians all chose pieces that they found to be healing, either personally or to others in all kinds of ways from enjoying the sounds to the words and the feelings that surfaced. “Healing Sounds” brought together friends and musicians that knew each other as well as those who had not met yet! The music healed in the experience itself and raised awareness and $207 for AMTA’s research fund. This year’s concert, “Music Smiles” will feature pieces that, you guessed it, make people smile! The musicians are choosing their own individual or collaborative pieces to perform for the show on January 10, 2015 at 7pm at the chapel of First United Methodist Church, 1201 Lavaca, Austin, TX. Tickets are $10 each with a military and student discount of $7, but more donations are welcome! All proceeds benefit the Research fund of the American Music Therapy Association.

Brittany will by my guest on this show to talk about the concert, how you can attend, and how you can donate to music therapy research!

Unitus Therapy Intelligence (UnitusTI) is an electronic therapy recordsmanagement system and curriculum server that allows educators and therapists the ability to: 

Create & Customize assessments and curriculaManage Data Acquisition, Graphs and Reporting Professionalize your practiceAutomate administrative functions, program execution, data analysis and trackingStandardize staff operations and communicationsCommunicate instantly with parents and providersSecure client records and control access to client informationAccess pre-defined, ready to run curriculum solutionsDisaster Recovery backups and recovery program at the readyGlobal Access increases the reach of your practice to anywhere, day or night

The Internet is the new front door to your practice, Unitus therapy Intelligence makes it easy to start collecting, analyzing and sharing data with your staff and clients today. http://www.mundopato.com/unitusti/

Esther Thane, MTA, AVPT, is the Director of Special Education for Mundo Pato, Inc. and is my guest today to talk about Electronic Medical Records for Therapy Practices.

This episode will provide an update on the State Recognition Operational Plan being implemented jointly by CBMT and AMTA. This collaborative effort provides guidance and technical support to state task forces throughout the country as these groups of music therapists work to obtain state recognition of music therapy and the MT-BC credential. We'll discuss the basics of advocacy and how music therapists can use these skills to improve access to music therapy services in Texas. Participants will be encouraged to become involved in this professional initiative by communicating with state legislators and building support for potential music therapy legislation.

This is the 200th Episode of The Music Therapy Show! To celebrate, I'm going to share my secrets for working smarter, not harder, as a music therapist in private practice for over 20 years. I've worked with all kinds of populations, from neurological impairments to developmental disabilities to psychiatric disorders. I've had contracts with home health agencies, hospitals, school districts, and hospice. Through the years, I've devoloped strategies that work for me, and I'll share them with you.

Daniel J. Schneck is my guest today and will be talking about his forth-coming book, Basic Anatomy and Physiology for the Music Therapist. Providing need-to-know information about the human body for music therapists, this book covers the elements of anatomy and physiology that are of particular relevance to clinical practice.

Addressing both the structure and function of the human body, the material is presented with the music therapist in mind. Particular attention is paid to the role of music in affecting responses from the organ systems, including the senses, the endocrine glands, the immune system, the musculo-skeletal system, the nervous systems and the vestibular system. Dr Schneck also uses accessible musical metaphors to explain complex biological information.

Emphasising the symbiotic relationship between music and the body, this book reveals how an understanding of this relationship can help music therapists to practice more effectively, and will be of interest to students and practitioners alike.

The author's previous co-authored book, The Music Effect (ISBN 9781843107712), has sold over 2200 copies since Dec 2005.

Dr Daniel J. Schneck is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He has published widely, including 24 books, and is a National Book Award nominated author. He is an international consultant on basic physiological function and the role of music in human adaptation. He is also an accomplished violinist and continues to perform professionally. He is based in Virginia, USA.

Publication date Sunday, June 21, 2015

USA Price $39.95

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

I'm broadcasting live from the American Music Therapy Association Conference in Louisville, KY on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 12:30 EST. I thought I'd try to broadcast on Saturday this year. I usually broadcast on Friday, but concurrent sessions don't really get going until Friday after lunch, so perhaps this Saturday broadcast will allow participants on the show to talk more about conference sessions they've attended. If you are going to conference, please find me and come talk about your conference experience! I'll ask you who you are and where you work/where you're from, so that you can promote yourself a little, and then I'll ask you to tell me about a session you attended and give a main point that you took from the session that you can use in your practice.

Join Dr. Meganne Masko and I as we talk about the rest of the articles in the newest Music Therapy Perspectives journal.

This show will be broadcast live in the Music Therapy Practicum Class at Southern Methodist University to show students how this radio show works and to talk about broadcasting and podcasting about music therapy. This will partially address the Technology competency

It’s time for Journal Club again! Join Dr. Meganne Masko and me as we discuss the American Music Therapy Association’s Music Therapy Perspectives 2014 Vol 32 No 1.

Last month, Carolyn Dobson, MT-BC, and I were invited to be on a panel following a screening of the documentary, Alive Inside. This documentary is about Dan Cohen, who volunteers in nursing homes and brings iPods to people who have Alzheimers. On today's show, we'll share our experience on the panel and our thoughts about the documentary and the Music and Memory Certification that is based on the iPod project.