“Why do you need therapy?” As a student Music Therapist, I was required to attend a minimum of 50 hours of psychotherapy. From my perspective I was in therapy, so I could be a better therapist. When I mentioned that I had been at therapy to others I would often say ‘I’ve been at therapy……
Is this too much? Or not enough? Looking at interference vs. abandonment
Ah, the ocean drum. Rippling tides to crashing waves at your finger tips… Here’s why I love and hate ocean drums and some ocean drum activity ideas! Why I love ocean drums 1. Ocean drums are easy to play and require only very subtle movement, this makes them both accessible and unintimidating. 2. With visual, tactile and auditory aspects…
Having spent several months preparing a Master’s dissertation on Patient-Family Relationships in End of Life Care, this is a topic which is very much in my thoughts. No matter what stage of life we are at, we don’t exist on our own but in an intricate web of relationships that shape our lives. One of…
Allied Health Professionals provide a moving example of music therapy in dementia care.
To compliment my last post about learning disabilities and mental health, I thought I’d post the lyrics of a song I wrote in one of my notebooks during my MT training, while reflecting on Valerie Sinason’s idea of the ‘Handicapped Smile’. Maybe one day I’ll get round to recording it and add it to this post. This…
Today is World Mental Health Day. In recent times there has been a real increase in the awareness of mental health issues. More people are seeking help for mental health issues than every before. That’s a really good sign. Yes, we still have some way to go but it is starting to feel like the…
A recent review from the widely respected Cochrane library compared ‘the effects of music therapy and music medicine interventions for psychological and physical outcomes in people with cancer’. Music medicine is when a medical professional provides pre-recorded music for the patients to listen to. While both have positive results, music therapy is preferred by patients and has…
Music therapists work in a diverse range of settings. Music therapists might be referred cases where they use music to: strengthen bonds between an adopted child and new parent; help patients in End of Life Care leave a legacy; or help someone who is agitated feel grounded and more relaxed. Some therapists have extra training…
