Book: Snuggle Puppy

by Amy Thomas | Feb 14, 2021

Blog post and recording by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love. Boxes of chocolates, flowers, and cards are a few examples of gifts that come to mind. For myself, I never would have thought to give the gift of a book for Valentine’s Day. However, Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton is the PERFECT gift if you are a parent to a young child. This book does not distinguish whether the parent dog is a mother or father which makes it readable for all parents.

The simplicity of this book is one of the characteristics I admire most about it. While reading Snuggle Puppy with your young child, take advantage of the wonderful illustrations. The pages of this storybook are filled with images of a parent dog and its puppy. Explain to your child that the parent dog is taking care and loving the puppy, just like people do. You can also expand the discussion with your young child: What is the puppy making at the beginning of the story? What are some of the activities pictured throughout the book? How can you tell the parent dog loves its puppy?

I adore that this storybook is intended to be sung as a lullaby! Because of the way the words are written, it can easily be sung or rhythmically spoken. Feel free to add your own creativity or create your own melody while using this book with your child. If you prefer to use a pre-recorded version, below is a recording of the song, sung by Eric Stoltz, originally composed by Sandra Boynton:

Snuggle Puppy

by Eric Stoltz

To add to this storybook, you’ll find below an activity to make a puppy out of hearts. Your child can practice many fine motor skills in this activity, such as coloring, cutting, and pasting. This activity will also allow for creative self-expression for your child. Encourage your child to color the puppy however they would like!

Heart Puppy Activity

We hope you enjoy using this storybook in your child’s schooling adventures, whether they be attending in-person, remotely, or both!

If you wish to purchase this book on Amazon, click here.

Happy reading!

The post Book: Snuggle Puppy was written by Kayla Davitt and first published on Upstate Music Therapy Center.

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What Does a Music Therapy Session Look Like?

by Amy Thomas | Feb 7, 2021

Blog post written by Katie Pistilli.

Music therapy is a creative arts therapy. As creative arts therapists, music therapists work to harness the power of music and creativity to address their client’s non-musical goals. These goals could be related to speaking, movement, or emotional expression, among many others. Upstate Music Therapy Center therapists most often work in school-based settings, and our students often have goals related to achieving success in the classroom. Success happens when the therapist can structure a motivating creative environment where the child can thrive.

Music therapy sessions are individualized. No one session will look alike. Music therapists always try to structure the session to meet the one-of-a-kind needs of a particular student.

While all sessions are unique, in a school-based setting, there are a few things sessions have in common:

1. There is organic music.

Organic music is naturally produced using instruments played by the therapist, live in the moment. The opposite of organic music is inorganic, meaning it is recorded and the therapist is not actively creating it. Music therapists make their own music during the session to best accommodate the needs of the student. By playing instruments such as guitar, piano, percussion, and singing in the moment, the therapist can create a flexible and individualized creative environment. Keep in mind, this does not mean there is no recorded music used at all. There are certainly scenarios where a therapist may utilize inorganic music as well.

2. There is often a greeting song and a “goodbye” song.

While this is certainly not a universal rule, many music therapists choose to start their session with a greeting or check-in song. For many students, routine and repetition is comforting. New music can sometimes be confusing, and by starting the session with a familiar activity or song may elicit a sense of peace amidst an otherwise hectic day. The greeting song also offers an opportunity to address and talk about emotions or events of the day.

Similarly, as a child completes their music therapy session and prepares to transition back to the classroom, the therapist uses another familiar song. For children, this song prompts a “goodbye” conversation. Leaving a peaceful and fun setting can be difficult and using a familiar ending song or activity can ease that transition.

3. Interventions are implemented.

Music therapy interventions are activities that aim to address a child’s goals. Think of interventions as the “meat” of the session—they are where the child will grow in their skills and learn. From session-to-session, these activities may vary. Below are some examples of music therapy interventions:

To help a child calm down and stay in their seat the therapist may use grounding techniques such as rhythm and movement. When kids feel a steady beat in their body, their heart rate and breathing may sync up to that beat and create a sense of calm.

To practice learning new information a therapist may present the child with a song to help them remember material. We can all relate to being able to remember song lyrics, but possibly struggling with numbers or new information. That same concept applies in music therapy. Songs can be used for children to practice the alphabet, numbers, spelling, or social skills such as conversations.

To express and process complicated emotions a therapist may implement a songwriting intervention. This could include writing words and making a completely original song, or, changing the words to a familiar one. Either way, the student is encouraged to create music that reflects their thoughts and mood.

A music therapist uses music to assist their client in infinite ways. The possibilities for growth in music therapy are endless. If you have a child or know someone who may benefit from music therapy, you can find more information on referrals and assessments by clicking below.

HOW TO MAKE A REFERRAL

The post What Does a Music Therapy Session Look Like was written by Katie Pistilli and first published on Upstate Music Therapy Center.

Science and Music: A Partnership that Changes Lives

by Amy Thomas | Jan 25, 2021

Written by Katie Pistilli

Would you ever go to a doctor or physician of any kind, whose practice doesn’t value and implement current research and scientific evidence? My guess is, you probably wouldn’t. Our health and wellbeing is important and we want to be confident that our doctors, therapists, psychologists, etc are well-informed and guiding us with the most up-to-date medical advice.

This is called evidence based-practice. It’s a universal value among professionals. By using evidence-based practice, the clinician is ensuring they are implementing interventions that are proven by research to be effective towards targeted goals of the patient. Without it, professionals would be simply following their intuition based on their own experience. While there is value in personal experience, it is essential to implement practice that is backed by research.

How does this apply to Music Therapy?

Evidence-Based Practice is one of many factors that make music therapists professional clinicians and is an essential pillar of the music therapy profession. In fact, it’s front-and-center in its definition:

“Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.” – The American Music Therapy Association

Like other professions, the work done by music therapists is based on scientific research and proven results. As music therapists, we stay up to date with trusted publications for new information and research. One is called The Journal of Music Therapy, another is Music Therapist Perspectives.

How do we use evidence-based practice?

As it applies to music therapy, we use evidence-based practice to create a treatment plan for our clients. This comes after an initial assessment is completed and recommendations are made for treatment.

As part of the plan, specific goals will be identified. Once they are, the therapist should then seek out research and interventions that are proven to be effective in accomplishing that specific goal.

The therapist may consider these questions:

What are my client’s goals?
What are their areas of need that may hinder them from achieving those goals (diagnosis, abilities)?
What are my resources (instruments, space)?
How can I adapt this research for my client’s interests and age?

Here’s an example. Say a music therapist is working with a child to maintain grasp in their hands. In music therapy, we utilize instrument playing to the beat of the music in order to address these kinds of goals. The anticipatory nature of rhythm and song can truly assist an individual learning functional movement such as grasp, or even walking. The technical term for this evidence-based technique is rhythmic entrainment.

A similar concept applies for individuals working on fluency in their speech. Perhaps they have a hard time speaking a full sentence and have to pause or repeat words often. Through evidence-based music therapy techniques such as Rhythmic Speech Cuing or Therapeutic Singing, the therapist uses natural musical element such as melody and rhythm to address their client’s goal area.

Why is it Important?

Utilizing Evidence-Based Practice is an ethical matter. If a therapist begins to implement treatment without it, there is always the potential for harm. As a field that continues to strive for licensure and recognition at the state level, it is essential that music therapists maintain this professional competency. Not only does evidence-based practice ensure the most ethical and effective treatment for our clients, but it supports the validity of our profession as it becomes more respected and recognized.

For more information regarding the use of research in the music therapy profession CLICK HERE.

The post What is Evidence-Based Practice was first published on Upstate Music Therapy Center.

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Music Therapy Internship During a Pandemic: An Interview with Hannah Baker

by Amy Thomas | Jan 19, 2021

After four years of undergraduate courses, all aspiring music therapists must complete an internship. This internship is the culmination of years of work. It is the time when students become professionals, and truly learn how to put their schoolwork into practice.

This year, we are excited to have Hannah Baker on our team. Internship is such a key time in a music therapist’s education. We want to give Hannah a moment of recognition as she continues to complete her internship during the pandemic. In Hannah’s interview, she discusses how the pandemic impacted her internship, what she has learned, advice for future interns, and how it is strengthening her practice as a music therapist.

1. What inspired you to pursue music therapy as a career?

I always wanted to pursue a music-based career, and I also wanted to help people for a living. Music therapy seemed like the perfect way to do both!

2. When did you begin your internship?

I began in September, and will be here for the whole school year.

3. What drew you to apply to Upstate Music Therapy Center’s internship?

Last spring, I had one of my clinical practicums through UMTC. I really enjoyed the experience, but since COVID hit mid-semester I was not able to finish it. I was hoping for a second chance of sorts with this internship. I also have a friend who had a great experience interning with this agency, which encouraged me to apply.

4. What population of students and clients are you working with in your internship?

I have mainly been working with teenagers with autism, although I have seen some elementary and middle school classes.

5. How has COVID-19 impacted the way you learn and experience your music therapy internship?

I feel that while it has certainly been challenging, in some ways it has actually been less pressure for me to intern during a pandemic. Under normal circumstances, I imagine I would have been quite hesitant to begin assisting and leading music therapy sessions.

But during COVID times? It is something of a confidence booster to know that no one else really knows what they are doing right now either. Everyone is trying to figure out how to work around these new circumstances, so it feels like less pressure even if I do make a mistake. As a result, I feel much more confident trying new things and stepping in where before I would have been more hesitant.

6. What are the challenges of interning during a pandemic?

One of the biggest challenges of interning during a pandemic (for me, at least) has been to adjust to bouncing between in-person and virtual sessions if I or my students have to quarantine, or if a school goes entirely online for a time. I will often plan a session that requires me to bring instruments or other materials, and then find out with short notice that I either have to find a way to adapt my plan to a virtual setting, or come up with something entirely new. There are also some students that do not regularly attend sessions when we switch to virtual, and I may go a few weeks at a time without working with them. Of course, when they do attend, there are often technical difficulties of some sort to deal with on top of figuring out how to conduct sessions virtually. When we are in person, it has also been challenging to get some students to wear masks correctly. With some students I have to pick my battles and decide whether it is worth it to spend the majority of a session telling them to put the mask over their nose. Although to be fair, I have seen that problem with many adults, too!

7. Do you have any advice for future interns adjusting to the challenges of our “new normal”?

While I hope future interns will not have to go through a situation quite like this, I would advise them to embrace the knowledge that these are crazy times and to be ready for anything. I would also advise having a strong support system to help with some of the more difficult/stressful aspects of internship in the “new normal”; the better your own mental health, the easier it will be to be there for the students. My supervisors and coworkers at UMTC have been a huge part of my own support system, and I could not be more grateful for that!

8. How has the pandemic strengthened you as a music therapist?

Before all of this started, I decided that my main goal for my internship experience was to learn how to be more flexible. It seems this was an extremely dangerous thing to ask for, as I have now received what feels like far too many lessons in flexibility. Between alternating between in-person and virtual sessions, adjusting intervention plans to accommodate CDC guidelines, and trying to help students as they adjust to all of these new circumstances on top of adjusting to it myself, I am learning a great deal about adapting to change in the moment and being prepared for anything.

9. What musical experience are you MOST excited for when the pandemic is over?

While I am extremely excited to attend and play in concerts again, I think I am most excited to be able to sing without fogging up my glasses!

We are so glad to have Hannah as part of the UMTC team this year! Her flexibility and positive outlook during a time when we are all learning is inspiring. Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your experience with us!

To learn more about UMTC’s internship program, click here.

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

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Book: My Many Colored Days

by Amy Thomas | Jan 10, 2021

Blog post and original recording by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC

Do you ever feel like your emotions can be all over the place? You might feel excited after receiving a compliment, but sad the next due to a loss or disappointment; anxious at what this year may bring, or confused with the state of the world. For children, it may be hard to process all of the emotions they are feeling at a time like this. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss is a wonderful storybook to discuss emotions with your child and help them understand the different feelings they may have.

My Many Colored Days

by Dr. Seuss; Recording by Kayla Davitt

To take it one step further, this storybook pairs perfectly with many different classical songs! For each color mentioned in the storybook, you can pair a song that sounds like that specific emotion. If you feel so inclined, be creative and share with your child the songs that you think of when you discuss the feelings and emotions in this storybook.

Here is an example of a playlist (created by Kayla Davitt, MT-BC) that can be used in conjunction with or addition to the storybook:

Red – “Rodeo: Hoedown” by Aaron Copland
Blue – “Sleeping Beauty: Prologue, No. 3” by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Brown – “Beau Soir” by Claude Debussy
Yellow – “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Gray – Theme from “The Snowman” by Sang Froid
Orange – “Tarantella” (composer unknown)
Green – “Carnival of the Animals: VII. Aquarium” by Camille Saint-Saens
Purple – “Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig van Beethoven
Pink – “Chinese Dance” from “The Nutcracker” by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Black – “The Comedians Suite: V. Pantomime” by Dmitri Kabalevsky
Mixed-up – “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck
Back to me – “La Valse d’Amelie” by Yann Tierson

If you wish to use this playlist while reading this book with your child, click here to visit our SoundCloud page.

VISIT SOUNDCLOUD PLAYLIST

You can also use this storybook to practice facial expressions with your child. Demonstrate how your face looks when you feel angry, sad, excited, or down. Encourage your child to practice matching your facial expression in a mirror, then have them identify the emotion and its corresponding color in the book. This book provides for self-expression through movement as well! Colored scarves are a great addition to this activity (and you can work on color identification as well). Introduce a color, have your child identify that color, then play the corresponding song, identify the emotion, and encourage your child to move to the music. Pairing a movement with a specific emotion will help your child remember how their body feels while expressing that emotion.

We hope you enjoy using this storybook in your child’s schooling adventures, whether they be attending in-person, remotely, or both!

If you would like to purchase a set of colored scarves, click here.

If you would like to purchase “My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Seuss, click here.

Happy reading!

Explore More Books from Kayla!

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