"Whatever you are doing today, matters." - Today is a special episode because it is a BONUS episode for the month of August. Today is also special because we are joined by special guest Tara McConnell, MT-BC. She is bringing us a message of encouragement, community and hope reflected not only in the music therapy work being done through Sophie's Place but also for music therapists everywhere.

“I’m so passionate about how to take the daily mundane and see the beauty in that, AND acknowledge the hard in that. You know, I think it’s BOTH, AND. You have to have both the rainstorm, and the sun, to get the rainbows!”

With all of the new changes to MT&B, we thought it would be fun to introduce ourselves to all of our new listeners. As a special bonus, you can watch this episode on our new Youtube channel: Music Therapy and Beyond.

Harry Beckett, MT-BC is a music therapist based out of Columbia Missouri and an accomplished musician and performer. Harry completed his music therapy training at Drury University and has a wealth of experience across populations. He is an associate of Giving Song, LLC and a valued member of the community. Ellisa and Harry sit down to discuss what role music therapists can play in the community and the mutual impact of music therapy and professional musicianship.

In this episode we sit down with Elizabeth Shain, MT-BC, NICU-MT to speak about Trauma Stewardship. This is of paramount importance in today’s society. It is an in depth discussion on caring for ourselves as we care for others.

It is becoming increasingly common that music therapists work with clients who are from other countries and cultural backgrounds. Music can play an important role in the culture of every client, so when preparing client-preferred music it’s important to be intentional about honoring different styles, genres, and languages of music that are client preferred in order to connect with your client and be most effective in therapy. This can be daunting at times, since you may not be able to speak the language, you don’t share the same background, or perhaps western instruments are not even capable of producing the same sounds and notes. This is where we have to get creative!