Welcome, Charlotte!

Hello! I’m Charlotte Reeder and I am so excited to be interning here at Therabeat, Inc. I have loved music my whole life and knew I wanted to pursue music as a career but I was not sure what I wanted to do with music long term. When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 11, I knew quickly that I wanted to work in the helping profession. I started researching career ideas in music and came across music therapy and have had my heart set on it ever since! I studied music at Covenant College where I focused primarily on percussion and piano. After graduating in 2016 I started teaching piano lessons while trying to decide what my next step was going to be. Two years later I started graduate school for clinical mental health counseling at Richmont Graduate University in Chattanooga, TN, where I was hoping I could somehow morph the music degree with the counseling degree to start doing music therapy work. In my last year at Richmont, I started the new music therapy equivalency program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and realized quickly that music therapy was the perfect fit for my skills and interests.

I have completed all of my class work and now only have my internship left to complete. Though I have only been here at Therabeat for a week and a half, I have already seen the rich blessings that music therapy can provide for clients from the work of many skilled therapists in the field. I am so excited to learn from each of the music therapists and to grow in my knowledge, experience, empathy, and musicianship. I really feel blessed to be in this internship placement and am so incredibly thankful for the time I have here to gain experience as a music therapist. 

Some of my favorite things include spending time with my husband, hanging out with my friends, cooking, hiking, playing board games or card games, doing puzzles, making crafts, watching movies, going to concerts, making music, and traveling.

-Charlotte Reeder, Music Therapy Intern

Welcome, Reed!

My name is Reed Tanner, and I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to be an intern at Therabeat! Ever since I can remember, I have had a passion for two things, helping others and music. I am originally from Carrollton, GA, and went to the University of West Georgia, majoring in music education until I heard about music therapy. As soon as I started learning about this field, I knew I had to be a music therapist someday. I decided to move to Milledgeville, Ga, and begin working on my degree in Music Therapy at Georgia College & State University. My primary instrument is saxophone, but I also love singing, guitar, and playing the piano. I will be graduating from GCSU in the Fall of 2022!

            GCSU allowed me the opportunity to work with a variety of diverse populations. One of my favorite experiences was working in a first-grade class with seven children between the ages of six and eight. I was immediately drawn to kids and loved to see them grow and accomplish their goals. Along with this, I loved sharing my passion for music. I also enjoyed working with the older adult population and seeing how powerful music can be for memory and emotional needs. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I was only able to work with children in person for two semesters before I had to start working with children through telehealth. Although this was a great experience, and I learned a great deal about conducting sessions remotely, I knew that working with kids in person was one of my best experiences. I spent the last couple of years working with assisted living and memory care populations, and although I loved working with the older adult population, I knew children were my passion. 

            I first heard about Therabeat from my friend Amanda Brennen, who was also a music therapy student at GCSU. When she received an internship position at Therabeat, I decided to follow them on Facebook, and immediately was interested. Not only did I see the sweetest kids accomplishing their goals, but also phenomenal music therapists. After seeing a couple of videos, I realized that I wanted to do what they were doing. After talking with Amanda about her internship, I realized that Therabeat not only did music therapy, but co-treated with occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. The various therapies were another reason I knew Therabeat was the internship I wanted and needed. Through learning about different therapies, as well as how music therapy enhances them, I can only get better.  I am very excited to start learning from the incredible team at Therabeat and strive to be as knowledgeable and successful in my discipline as they are.

            During my first week at Therabeat, I was nervous and had no idea what to expect. From the first day, I was immediately accepted by the entire team. Everyone was so nice, and the music therapists are so knowledgeable and helpful. I knew from the first day that I would learn so much from them. I would have to say the best part about the first week has been the kids! This first week has reminded me that I am still learning how to be who I want to be, and it will not come right away. Along with this, the concept of flexibility was solidified. Most of the time, things do not go as planned, and that is okay. I cannot wait to continue learning and growing as a person, and as a music therapy intern for the next six months at Therabeat! 

Until next time!

-Reed Tanner, Music Therapy Intern

Kathryn Trujillo’s Internship Reflection

How it started:

I first became interested in the Music Therapy (MT) field when my maternal grandmother moved to assisted living in 2015. With my small electric keyboard and guitar in hand, I visited her when she was moved to hospice care. Not knowing I was providing relief through music, I did see the impact that familiar songs had on her level of agitation and her short-term memory. My nana sang Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” without missing a single word. She was then able to have a brief, cognizant, and presently-oriented conversation with me afterwards. I walked out of the room, and through happy tears, told my husband “this is what I want to do. I want to continue helping others through music.” 

Applying to Therabeat:

During the pandemic, I completed my 2nd year of graduate school and searched online for MT practices that were beginning to open up again for clinical internships. Therabeat, whose mission statement is “We use music therapy interventions to enhance the lives of individuals of all ages & abilities,” truly caught my attention. This private practice, run and owned by women, was breaking glass ceilings in GA and genuinely caring for their community. As I learned more about each MT-BC on staff, my desire to be an intern with Therabeat grew. I am very blessed that my husband, our dog, and I were able to pack up our life in CA and travel  2,500+ miles across the country to work with and learn from Team Therabeat.  

Lessons Learned:

Though Team Therabeat and the internship experience taught me a multitude of lessons, here are two lessons that truly impacted me and my therapeutic practice: 

1. Session plans and ISO-principle
   Before each session, I prepared detailed session plans which included an order and clinical breakdown of each intervention. Though I was prepared and had thought through each intervention purposefully, if the client needed to be met where they were at that particular moment, I leaned into the ISO-principle and provided interventions that would benefit the client most where they were. I have learned to prepare a plan, but to also hold space for flexibility so that I can see through the plan and into the therapeutic moments.

2. Co-treating is such a pleasure!
   My bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s College of California, is in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Health and Human Performance. During internship, I expressed interest in wanting to co-treat with Physical Therapy. I had always wanted to see how both of my career interests could work together, and only In Harmony Pediatric Therapy provided me with the opportunity to see both Physical Therapy and MT in action. During one particular session, I worked with a client on independent living skills while the PT walked the client through an obstacle course. Our obstacle course was specifically set up to cue and prompt recognition of each safety sign I was prompting the client to sing and think about. Together we taught the client what signs to look for and what they mean, while also providing tangible and tactile feedback related to each safety sign with a musical and physical prompt. The purpose of the combined intervention was to improve the client’s self-esteem and provide them with a sense of increased independence when outside of the clinic. I hope to continue co-treating and creating unique interventions in the future. 

Thank You Team Therabeat 

Thank you Team Therabeat for investing in me, for trusting the care of clients to me, for providing a safe space to learn and grow in therapeutic practice, and for truly providing a wholesome internship experience. I feel more confident in myself, in my ability to turn feedback into practice, and in the prayerful choice to pursue MT as God has called me to.

Why Music Therapy Works

Humans are inherently musical beings. For centuries different cultures have used music to connect, communicate, celebrate, mourn, express creativity, connect with each other or a higher power, rituals, traditions, and more. Individuals respond to music with their whole bodies, i.e emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially. A study put forth by Bernardi and colleagues, showed that as a group, those who are singing together entrained to the same breathing patterns and had lowered heart rates (Bernardi, et. al, 2017, para 2). Their study is one example of the many health benefits music has. Other literature provides evidence of reduced stress, lower heart rate, improved blood oxygen saturation levels, distraction from stress, and increased bodily movement, among others. Music activates both hemispheres of the brain and therefore can also provide a means of communication when verbal speech is limited. Music therapy (MT) works when traditional treatments have failed or are no longer appropriate for individual clients. 

MT works because of the relationships between the MT-BC and the client, the client and the music, and the music and the MT-BC. In the MT field, this is called the Iso-principle. The iso-principle sets MT apart from other professions. The iso-principle simply means “meeting the client where they are at”. MT-BCs who are attentive and practice intentionally, can use the iso-principle to gain trust and therapeutic rapport effectively. Studies have shown that individually tailored music-based interventions reduce stress, lower heart rate, improve communication, improve social skills, increase self-esteem, cue and promote physical movement, excite to maintain attention, and more. MT works because humans are inherently musical, the entire human body experiences music, and the therapeutic relationship between the MT-BC, client, and music facilitates desired change. 

-Kathryn Trujillo, Music Therapy Intern

Reference

Bernardi, N. F.m Snow, S., Peretz, I., Orozo Perez, H.D., Sabet-Kassouf, N., & Lehmann, A. (2017). Cardiorespiratory optimization during improvised singing and toning. Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-07171-2.pdf DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07171-2

Family-Centered Music Therapy in the Home

December 1, 2021

Kathryn Trujillo 

Family-Centered Music Therapy in the Home 

Thompson, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, elaborates on the widespread approach of family-centered therapy practice through reflection of case examples and personal experience. Thompson reflects on the family-centered practice model and applies it to Music Therapy (MT) so that early intervention services can support families with children with special needs. From this article, music therapists (MT-BCs) can find support and rationale for a solid family-centered practice method for MT specific sessions. MT, as a field, offers practitioners and families flexibility, in that they are able to travel to family’s homes. Thompson focuses on “promoting interpersonal engagement between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their parents” (Thompson, p.109) in natural settings, such as their home or preschools with their peers and carers there. 

According to literature found by Thompson, ASD is “a group of neurological disorders with lifelong implications. It is diagnosed based on impairments in social interaction, communicative behavior, and repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior or interests” (p.109). There are many approaches to interacting with individuals with ASD, to treating particularly undesired behaviors, and improving communication between both child and parent, or between the child and their peers. Family-centered practicing therapists encourage family participation and collaboration during one-on-one sessions. The central tenet of family-centered practice is that “practitioners and families strive to work together in partnership with an emphasis on building the capacity of the family” (p.109). Family-centered practitioners truly focus on relationships and supporting the parent and child bond. 

MT-BCs provide fun and enjoyable music-based sessions to encourage participation from all or any member of the family in the safety of their own homes. While working with preschool aged children with ASD, Thompson says that “the active participation of the family in MT sessions is considered an essential part of working with them” (p.110). In a home setting, MT-BCs are able to gather more information about the child with ASD through observation of interactions with other family members, the family dynamic, and in the natural family environment. Together, the family and MT set goals and objectives based on goals identified by the family. 

While providing services in the child’s home, MT-BCs are able to share their professional skills with the family. Through reflection, Thompson outlines components of family-centered MT sessions. They are as follows: family-centered practice theory, attune to the child’s mood and behavior, following the child’s lead, enticing the child with motivating activities, presenting with positive affect, acceptance, and affection, MT presenting as a play partner, keeping the child’s anxiety low and assess the need for structure, choice, or control, matching the child’s abilities, and understanding social communication development theories, and finally allowing the child to initiate engagement. By providing therapeutic approaches and interventions within the child’s daily routine, Thompson found that it promotes interpersonal engagement and early social and communication skills which are goals often identified by both the family and treating MT-BC. Family-centered MT sessions allow for growth in interpersonal communication, rapport, and inclusion of all members of the family while providing fun and engaging interventions for the child with ASD. 

Reference: 

Thompson, G. (2012). Family-centered music therapy in the home environment: Promoting interpersonal engagement between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their parents. Music Therapy Perspectives, 30, p.109-116.