By Meghan Hanley, MT-BC During one of my recent school sessions, I sang the song, “Herman the Worm.” When I came to the punch line of the song’s plot, the children burst out with laughter that continued into the next song. Why? In the song,…
by Annie Sandigo, MT-BC Self care. We hear it all the time. “Make sure you’re taking time for self care!” It’s true, we do need to make sure we’re taking care of our selves, and avoiding burnout, but sometimes finding the right kind of self care approach…
By Jackie Vilca, MT-BC In working with children, a common theme that happens in sessions is that toys are present in the room. This may be because the room houses these toys, or the child brought their toys with them into the session. I have…
by Annie Sandigo, MT-BC It can be pretty intimidating when you encounter clients that speak a different language than yourself, especially if they don’t speak any English..When you can’t communicate with your clients, it might feel like a huge road block. That the therapeutic relationship…
By Ali Sailer, MT-BC, CAP This blogpost is a musical exploration of the Twelve Steps as utilized by people in recovery from various types of addiction and is the expression of two desires: First, my desire to share a potential session idea with other music…
By Abby Landau, MT-BC, NICU-MT We’ve all gone through it. The tickle in the back of the throat, the cough that we can’t kick, and then the dreaded morning when you wake up realizing that you have lost your best tool as a music therapist. …
By Ali Sailer, MT-BC Nostalgia is a recurring theme in my experience with music therapy in addiction recovery. What is nostalgia? Is it healthy or harmful? What role does it play for recovering alcoholics and addicts? I am 12 years old, in seventh grade. I…
Ali Sailer, MT-BC Looking for session ideas? Check out this list of tried and true music therapy activities for clients in addiction recovery. Some ideas are original. Most are adapted from various sources that eventually wound up inside my music therapy toolbox. Enjoy! Let It…
By Bree Gordon, MT-BC I want to start this post by stating that my experience with creating and maintaining relationships will likely not look the same for everyone. I recognize that the way someone interacts with others is unique to that person. While the…
By Ali Sailer, MT-BC As I approach my two-year anniversary of practicing music therapy with PBMTI this week, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on my experiences as a music therapist working in addiction recovery. What an incredible journey! The last two years have stretched…