So how does music therapy help with depression? Do you just listen to sad/happy songs until you feel better? Music therapy involves a lot more than just listening to music! For those times when we’re having a rough day, or things aren’t going well, or we’re just feeling a little down in the dumps– listening […]
Another question I get asked fairly often is how music (and music therapy) can help in coping with anxiety and stress. Many of us experience everyday stress on a regular basis, and using music can be an easy way to cope. Listening to relaxing music: ~lowers blood pressure ~returns heart rate to normal range ~slows […]
“Can music therapy help people deal with anxiety?” This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive about music therapy. And the answer is a resounding “yes!” Here are the details (and a video!)– Research studies have shown that music therapy is effective at reducing muscle tension, decreasing anxiety, and feelings of agitation. […]
A few years ago as part of my GIM training program, our class participated in a sweat lodge. Since another woman and I would not be going into the actual lodge during the sweat, we had a bench placed several yards away. It was on the edge of a pond where we could pray and […]
A couple of weeks ago I asked the followers of my Facebook page for suggestions on what they’d like to read about in future blog posts. One of the first suggestions was medication compliance, so here it is! Medication Compliance Let me start off by saying that this issue is bigger than it initially sounds, […]
The past couple of weeks I’ve been teaching a Lifetime Learning course on music and wellness at the local university. Near the end of last week’s class, one of the participants asked if I could talk to them about how to use music for healing. We had a terrific discussion about it, and I thought […]
After 4 years of post-master’s training and education, I’m now the only person in all of Alabama (and Mississippi for that matter!) who is qualified to practice Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). GIM is a specialty area of music therapy. You can read more about it in some of my other blog posts. So here’s […]
Ever end up somewhere (a meeting, a volunteer opportunity, stuck in line) and wonder “what’s the point of me being here?” That happened to me last week at a volunteer project. I signed up with the intent of helping and accomplishing a project for a group in need. As is sometimes the case with volunteer […]
Not long ago I was in session with a client who was expressing her weariness/frustration at not making as much forward progress in her life as she’d like, as quickly as she’d like. (Show of hands– haven’t we all been there??) We spent some time recalling all the positive changes she’s made and discussing how […]
In previous posts I’ve explained a little bit about what music therapy is, how it works, and who can benefit from services. In this post, I’ll address another question I get almost as often as those— why music therapy and not another kind of therapy? 1.) It does a body good. It’s true. Music has […]
