Sound Matters Music Therapy, LLC
Serving adults with developmental disability in Minneapolis, MN
An Article Monthly is on its way. I will be reading “Bereaved Parents’ Experiences of Music Therapy with their Terminally Ill Child,” Journal of Music Therapy, Fall 2008. (I am fully aware this is not in APA format.)
I have just come across the book, The Power of Music: Pioneering Discoveries in the New Science of Song, by Elena Mannes. Has anyone read it?
The Minneapolis Area Music Therapists group met again tonight. I am very happy that we are truly meeting regularly.
Tonight, I threw out the idea to the others who met that we could each read an article of interest, in the Music Therapy Perspectives, or in the Journal, or even elsewhere, and come together to report on it on a monthly basis.
We each are taking this week to find one article and let each other know what it is, so that each person reads a different piece.
I don’t read nearly enough. So, here we have opportunity to get back into that habit.
I’ve decided there is no reason this has to happen in person. Is there anyone out there who is interested in participating?
Do it. The more the merrier. Right?
Comment here and let me know if you’ll join us. Really, this is a pretty easy thing to do.
Tomorrow night, Minneapolis area music therapists will meet up for our monthly meeting. I have some ideas for monthly topics.
I am hoping to gather as many music therapists in this area as I possibly can. Maybe this won’t happen tonight. Maybe I should exercise patience. Perhaps.
I love getting to see the music therapists I know face-to-face. Tonight some of us met for a Minneapolis music therapists meeting, and I adore how rejuvenated I feel when in the midst of other professionals. One of us shared a template she uses to track her CEUs. We discussed different tactics in working with certain clients. We planned for future months. I was happy to see them all, and am excited to be trying to grow a community, hard though it may be at times.
For you Minneapolis/St. Paul area music therapists:
Upcoming events at Sound Matters Music Therapy
Meeting of Minneapolis Music Therapists
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
7:30 PM
I am excited that a meeting I had organized tonight went really well. I invited all of the music therapists I know personally who live in Minneapolis and its surrounding areas to get together and catch up, share knowledge, and plan for future meetings. I found a space to hold the get-together, which, unfortunately, didn’t prove to be ideal. I am so happy we got together, though.
Beyond re-connecting and sharing where we’re working and what we’re doing, we talked about CEUs, supporting each other in performance endeavors, and what we want out of this group in the future. None of us happened to be very versed in how, when, or where to obtain our CEUs, so we’ve decided that our next meeting’s big topic will be learning just that.
Ideally, we’ll have time to make music together in some fashion. Tonight, we didn’t.
I am really excited to have begun the process of coordinating with the head of our pastoral care department in co-leading bereavement services for staff. 
One of the residents I served passed away unexpectedly on Friday, and I have been consumed with the thought of facilitating monthly music therapy sessions for staff who provide direct cares. I had opportunity to discuss this idea with pastoral care, and was relieved to find out that such bereavement services are provided once every six weeks or so. But, the head of the department seemed very interested in my involvement.
Since my internship, I have been interested in grief counseling and in hospice care. I am happy I am in a position where I can be a part of both communities.
When I was in coursework, I had such a neat opportunity to be a part of a music therapy support group, aimed at students. We met monthly, discussed questions and issues that came up for us in our reading and practicums, and also shared music therapy experiences. Our groups were facilitated by an MT-BC who shared with us how she created a support group for her fellow professionals.
I am trying to develop one for my fellow newly-credentialed music therapists. When I was an intern, I organized a few get-togethers of the like, but even though I made all these promises to my colleagues and myself, I just didn’t have the mental energy this summer to go forward. I have found a community space that could be perfect for us– I think they may even encourage our music-making. I just have to get all the logistics down.
Is there anyone out there who is a member of a professional support group? My goal is to share resources, experiences, and to build a much bigger network. If you are a member of a professional support group, please share with me your experience in it.