You are different from the others that come in and play music

     I was doing a music therapy group for an assisted living facility in Eagle, Idaho.  I always work to make sure I am having meaningful interactions with the residents.  After the group one of the residents came up to me and said, "You are different from the others that come in and play music.  I feel like you are with us rather than above us." 
     I loved this.  I think in her own way she encapsulated exactly what I am trying to do with music therapy at an assisted living.  They have a lot of people who come in and play music for them.  I do music with them.  I'm not trying to perform.  I'm trying to interact with them.  I'm listening to their past with music, and I am learning what is meaningful to them.  I am sharing a part of myself through music and having them share a part of themselves.  In other words I use music to make connections.

Music therapy with a young man with autism

It has been really fun working with this 7 year old boy with autism that I see.  The music therapy has been really great at helping him make social connections.  It has been fun to watch him begin answering questions in the context of the songs, singing with me, and asking me for his favorite music.

At the last session, during one of his favorite songs, he made a point of looking at me to make eye contact and make sure that we were in sync musically.  That was so huge because eye contact in general is a difficutl thing for people with autism.  But not only was he making eye contact, he was making eye contact for a specific social purpose!

Music Therapy helps a young adult increase motor skills

Music therapy is tricky.  Not in a bad way, but it is tricky.  People who have difficulty moving their arms often have physical therapy where they make them do a series of exercises to increase their range of motion and their stamina.  Here is where the music therapy is tricky.  I work with people and make them do "exercises" while playing instruments.

It has been fun working with a young adult man who has significant difficulties in moving his arms.  But he loves to play the rhythm instruments.  He has been able to really improve how much movement he has, and has increased how long he do play the instruments.  He even has a huge smile while he is doing it!

Music therapy with an adult with Autism

It is exciting showing people music therapy for the first time.  A lot of times people do not know what to expect.  I went and did an initial music therapy session recently with an adult with autism who lives with his mother.  The adult is nonverbal and has very little interaction with people.  When I got there the mother said she did not think that he would sit down.

When the music therapy started, not only did he sit down the entire time, but he played on instruments, followed directions in the music, frequently made eye contact with me, and even smiled when I did some "musical jokes."  It was fun to see and to work with him.  The mother commented how she thought he would have some interaction, but she was amazed at how much he did respond and interact.

Music therapy as a way to create a therapeutic relationship

A therapeutic relationship is key in any form of therapy.  If you don't have a trusting open therapeutic relationship, you can't make changes.  I am amazed at quickly a therapeutic relationship can be built through music therapy.

I am reminded of a person that I am working with who has had a lot of trauma in the past.  When she came in she was timid and had a difficulty expressing herself and what she wanted.  Then we played music together.  There was no words shared, just improvisational music.  The change after the music was significant.  Her thoughts were more organized, she had more confidence, and she opened up freely.  The music was able to quickly create a therapeutic relationship without any words.

An Experience with a Music Therapy Group in Boise

Doing music therapy in groups has a different dimension than individual music therapy.  Sometimes it is the peers that they are interacting with that bring things out of them.  Recently while doing a music therapy group I saw an amazing interaction.

One of the participants is very withdrawn and one of the participants is very outgoing.  It is really fun to see the outgoing person really draw something special out of the withdrawn person.  This was really evident when we started to do some dancing to the music.  I have not seen the withdrawn person dance, but when her peer came over and asked her to dance she stood up, had the biggest smile on her face and danced with him for the whole song.

Smiles through music therapy

Great things in life happen in small moments.  One of my favorite things while doing music therapy is seeing the smiles.  Smiles for most people is a regular occurrence, but for some people smiles rarely happen.  They are stuck in confusion through dementia or frustration because of a stroke.  Sometimes it just difficulty connecting with people.  It is amazing when I see these people smile.  I just love being able to see a change from frustration, confusion, pain, or disconnection to eye contact and a big smile.  Smiles are a thing that most people take for granted, but I have seen smiles that were miraculous.

Music therapy and dementia patients in Nampa

While working with clients who have dementia, I have seen many connections made.  While doing music with them connections are the rule not the exception.  I remember seeing a patient in Nampa for the first time.  She lived with her husband of 60 years who was looking for some way to reconnect with her.  Almost immediately as I started doing music, the client began to sing.  A shock look came on the husbands face and he began to cry.  During the session he kept looking at his wife and saying, "See you do remember.  You do remember."  I love being able to give people those chances to reconnect and break through the barriers that come with dementia.