Lessons Learned From A Sprained Ankle
Earlier this week, I was picking up some children’s Tylenol from CVS for my feverish first grader. Her little sister (age 3) was unhappy that I wouldn’t let her buy candy, too, which necessitated me carrying her out of the store. A distracted, crying preschooler in arms, I stepped off the curb wrong and ended…
Read More3 Questions You’ll Have After Your Parent With Alzheimer’s Becomes a Widow
When your parent has Alzheimer’s disease, you can’t help but worry about their well-being. However, when a loving spouse is acting as caregiver, you can at least take comfort in the fact that they’re cared for in everyday life. But what happens when that husband or wife dies? Dealing with a parent’s death is never…
Read More5 Lessons From Building A B2B Practice
Did you know there are two main kinds of doing business? This is one of those basic business concepts we didn’t learn in our music therapy programs, but it’s an important one to understand if you are planning to build your career in private practice, as a music therapy business owner. Some of us work…
Read More5 Things I’ve Learned About Running a B2C Business
This is a guest post from my colleague and friend Mary Altom, MT-BC, of Music Therapy Kids. Enjoy! Fellow Biz Owners Raise Your Hand Anybody else out there also a music therapy business owner? It happened to me by serendipitous accident. I have worked in special education in schools since the beginning of my music…
Read MoreMusical Time-Saving Tip for Caregivers of People with Dementia
You’ve experienced this before. You care for someone with dementia, and you need them to get up and move somewhere. They need to get out of bed to go eat breakfast, or they need to go out to the car to get to a doctor’s appointment. But the dementia is taking away that person’s ability…
Read MoreAlert! MT Rant Ahead
This article originally appeared on the blog of Cathy Knoll, MA, MT-BC at MusicWorksPublications.com. ALERT: RANT AHEAD! The time has arrived for me to share some very strong opinions with my music therapy colleagues and other professionals who provide services for the elderly. Because I was born in 1951, I am now officially a “senior…
Read MoreAlice Grandon and a Lifetime of Accordion Music
I met Alice Grandon at North Point Nursing Home. She was playing her accordion for the residents there, as she often has done since the facility first opened in 1995 as the Louisburg Care Center. Her performance that day was dynamic and engaging. You could tell just by watching that Grandon plays for the residents…
Read MoreSong Spotlight: “Some Days Are Diamonds (Some Days Are Stone)”
Theme: Validation, Positive thinking Mood: Thoughtful, processing, slow Style: Country, Folk The John Denver classic song “Some Days Are Diamonds” is one of those songs that is both soothing and upbeat at the same time. This song can be a musical container for processing changes in your life, and in the right context, the lyrics…
Read MoreBenefits of Music on Move-In Day: Intangible, But Very Real
What’s the value of a smile? Of a dance? Of finding one’s place in a new community? Imagine you’ve just moved to a memory care community. It’s disorienting, to say the least. Your daughter is right there by your side, and everyone is really nice, saying, “Bob, how are you doing?” “Bob, would you like…
Read More5 Surprising Ways To Age Out Loud
The news is out – people over the age of 65 are living differently than the senior citizens of decades gone by. No more do you have to plan on finishing up the last year of your life in a quiet retirement home somewhere. Nope, now you can age out loud. Of course, there are…
Read More