My hope in sharing this intervention with you is that you will be inspired to find ways to be trauma-informed in your sessions, especially as you address mental health concerns. I continue to see younger and younger children with emerging mental health challenges, and I think this trend will continue in the months and possibly years to come. This creates even more of a need to consider the client’s experience and perspective as it relates to a sense of safety in the session and in their relationship with their music therapist.

My intention for this episode is to jog our brains a bit to think more deeply about the music we hear each day. After recently reading the book Peak Mind, my mind has been wrapped around the importance of bringing our awareness to the mundane parts of our lives to evoke new brain pathways, strengthen old ones, and overall enhance our ability to experience our world and life.

Maggie sits down with Dr. Hiller to dive into understanding music-centered music therapy and how it is used in addiction and substance use therapy.

"Your heart continues to beat, even when it's breaking... Your heart continues to beat even when you feel joy. Your heart is strong and your heart can hold it all. "

“Home is where the heart is” - Ellisa sits down with music therapist Music Therapist, Brian Schreck, Behavioral Oncology, MA, MT-BC as he discusses his work with heartbeat music therapy and establishing a new music therapy modality, Amplified Cardiopulmonary Recordings (ACPR). His work with pediatric and adult end of life music therapy is not only deeply impactful, it is propelling the field of music therapy forward.

Elizabeth sits down with Stephanie Lopes to discuss her work as a recreational therapist, Social Worker, and her recent work with biofeedback in an acute psychiatric unit. We will speak specifically about the heartmath approach to biofeedback, which measure heart rate variability.

Elizabeth sits down with music therapist and piano aficionado Harry Beckett to help listeners identify practical ways to improve their improvisation and jazz piano skills.

Learn about the science behind essential oils, how to use them for your wellness and considerations for use in your clinical practice.

We're celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month by learning about the history of a famous Jazz Standard as well as sharing some inspiration on how to use it in music therapy.

This is a beautiful story about a wave, crashing against a cliff. Focus on my voice, the movement of the wave and the details within the story. Can you feel the salty air? Take a deep breath..and listen to “The Wave”, by Liam O’Flaherty.

Ellisa and Maggie talk about their top tips and tricks for using guitar in their music therapy sessions. They share ideas on adapting the instrument for both themselves and their clients to create success and music when accomplishing both musical and non-music goals.

My attention is not divided. I’m not multitasking. I’m not half-way listening. I’m REALLY listening so deeply so I can hear you.

In this episode we will dig into how we can use music in the classroom. As it is Music in Schools Month we are rounding out this month looking at specific strategies for using music in the classroom. Not an educator? No problem, the strategies can be used in a therapeutic setting and in the home, too.

Join us butterflies, as we float along with this colorful, calming guided imagery.

"People have intrinsic value" - Ellisa sits down with Zoe Levine, LPMT, MT-BC to talk about her music therapy work in various school settings. Zoe uses foundational principles of Community Music Therapy and Critical Humanist approaches to inform their work and shares how to write goals that support the personhood of the student, first.

“We all need the same things” - Elizabeth sits down with Dr. Andrew Knight, PhD, MT-BC to discuss compliance based goals, goal writing and IEPs through the lens of music therapy. This conversation extends beyond the field of music therapy and gets at the building blocks of goal writing and attending to the root of our clients’ needs.

Ellisa shares a curated playlist with song (and intervention) inspiration for every kind of love!

When I think of Valentine's day there is one thing I think of every time…candy. More specifically, chocolate. I personally love chocolate and I bet many of you do too. If you have Valentine’s chocolate around, break off a piece and join me for this mindfulness experience using all of your senses.

As music therapists, we love a good themed session, don't’ we? The inspiration we find, the visual aids and props we get to use,  the playlists we start building in our head..It can be a lot of fun for us. But is it what our clients need? We’re going to share some clinical inspiration love and share not only ideas for Valentines theme interventions, but also ideas for covertly themed sessions and how to work around holidays.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we probably have seen this play out in our own lives. Certain songs (or patterns of sound) elicit a full body response with sometimes an increased heart rate, feelings of elation, and even body chills. This is when we’ve experienced that “sweet spot” where the music is somehow better than our neurologic expectations.