Sharing a little feature about the Peterson Family Foundation, which supports the music therapy program at UCSF (where I work). -Matt
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I thought I had shared this video on here before, but it must have just been on the MTS Facebook page. What I love about this video from Robert Gupta is his description of the transformation he saw in his “student”, a former Juliard pupil with paranoid schizophrenia. It reminds me of a variety of clinical situations I’ve encountered in almost all of the settings I have served. Music can change an environment, in can change a person’s state, and it can open pathways to positive interaction and expression. Enjoy…
Musician’s Friend is one of the largest, best-known online instrument retailers. I’ve been getting catalogs from them since I was 13, and I can remember how many hours I spent drooling over color pictures of their guitars, amps, drum sets, and so forth and so on. I STILL get their catalogs and buy gear from them. So, as you might imagine, I got a bit excited when one of the writers for their blog, The Hub, emailed me to ask some questions about music therapy. April wrote a beautiful blog…
In case you missed the debut of Imagine, here is the press release for this excellent resource: September 1, 2010: The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is proud to announce the debut of the inaugural issue of imagine, the first annual online magazine dedicated to Early Childhood Music Therapy. Edited by Dr. Petra Kern, imagine strives to enhance the lives of young children and their families through music by sharing knowledge, strategies, ideas, and government related issues with colleagues around the world. The magazine may be accessed at the following link: www.imagine.musictherapy.biz
There are two exciting new resources that everyone needs to check out. The first is the American Music Therapy Association-sponsored Imagine Magazine, an online magazine about Early Childhood Music Therapy. As per the website, “The vision of Imagine is to enhance the lives of young children and their families through music by sharing knowledge, strategies, ideas, and government related issues with colleagues around the world.” This is a FREE publication, and it will be very beneficial for anyone working with newborns through five-year-olds. Imagine is edited by Dr. Petra Kern, …
The Story This story, out of Israel, touches on the uses of music therapy with children using cochlear implants, devices that allow children with sensorineural hearing impairments to hear. While cochlear implants are immensely useful, they do require an adjustment period. Imagine being able to hear nothing one day, and then almost everything the next. It is important to note that hearing with cochlear implants is different than typical hearing. The perception of music is very different, as folks with cochlear implants are generally unable to differentiate small changes in…
This is a good one for those of you interested in neurologic music therapy or neurological rehabilitation. Music therapy is effective in treating many symptoms of stroke. Music therapists might address motor and gait issues, grief and other emotional issues, and communicative disabilities such as aphasia and apraxia. As you will hear in this news bit, music is processed in many areas of the brain, providing alternate neurological pathways through which one may process and express language. Enjoy! -Matt
The Story Two posts in one day?! Must be Christmas! This is an excellent article about providing instrument lessons to students with disabilities. Others may have a different name for these lessons, or perhaps there is no difference in title at all, but many facilities/practices call them “adaptive lessons”. Teaching styles, and often the instruments themselves, are adapted to meet the needs of the clients. Adaptive lessons differ from music therapy, although the skills learned in music therapy training programs are certainly valuable to adaptive lessons teachers. One of the…
The Story This is a great article for advocating for music therapy in the pediatric medical setting. It clearly demonstrates the non-musical benefits of therapy, and has an excellent quote from an MD: “Emotional and spiritual healing contributes to physical healing,” said Dr. Karen Gauvain, pediatric oncologist at Cardinal Glennon. “Music therapy is creative way for our patients to express their thoughts and feelings and allow for healing of the whole person.” Kudos to Tracie Heuring for representing the field so well and educating the public, and kudos to stltoday.com…
The Power of Music Another example of great professional advocacy in the news.