22 reasons why I like to be a Music Therapy Business Owner

22 reasons why I like to be a Music Therapy Business Owner

When as music therapist we take the risk to do things independently we receive all types of feedback. Unfortunately, the feedback tend to be more to the pessimistic side than the positive side. It is a challenge for some in our families or community to think that we could benefit from something that is not 8-5pm, with benefits and retirement. But truth is that I found many reasons to thank God for the privilege of owning my own music therapy business. Here I share those with you...

1. I can make my own schedule (sometimes I even get to sleep in!).
2. I am my own immediate supervisor(no nagging! yey!).
3. I can listen to music aloud and sing even louder while I drive.
4. I get to learn more routes, roads, and detours than other people. If there is an evacuation guess who will be out first!
5. I can go to the matinee movie if a client cancels. Save $$ and have a me-time too!
6. I can window shop while I drive around.
7. I get to know where there are the cleaner bathrooms in town.
8. I get free coffee from some of clients if I home visit.
9. I can actually get super deals when buying in between clients.
10. I get in contact with my friends and family as I call them while I drive to save time.(no text and drive please!)
11. I get to eat in different places thus surprising my husband with new eating ideas.
12. It's fun to choose my own working tools.
13. I get a little more sun than indoor people.
14. I've learn to have patience when driving.
15. I have time to think.
16. I do not have co workers who turn a pain in the butt.
17. I can be myself with my clients.
18. I can enjoy Sun and rain. I have even seen rainbows.
19. I can take days off if I want to do something wild.
20. If I am sick, I do not have to feel guilty about staying at home. Actually by staying I am being responsible.
21. I have time ta talk to God.
22. My immune system is stronger.(from all the places and children I work with, hehe).

I actually could have the list go on. Sometimes we just need to remember that ultimately we always should do what makes you happy while providing for your family.

Blessings~

Cindy~

Music can change a whole community

Hello everyone,

I hope that as you are reading this you are having a blessed day. I am glad to say that I am! Many wonderful things have been happening lately and specially regarding to my work as a music therapist. Today I want to share how in the micro-cosmos of life music can help change a whole community.

I was called to work doing some behavioral management work with a child who defies authority and gets reaaaalllyy bad tantrums in school (throwing chairs to the air, turning tables, hitting other children.) He is 5 y/o and has a severely impaired speech. I started working one on one to help him increase his awareness of emotions and feelings.
Then I started working with him on helping him learn how to calm himself. When discussing with the school personnel what I was working on and what we wanted to achieve came the idea of instead meeting only with my client, I could meet with the entire group to teach them through music therapy some techniques to calm themselves when angry. I decided that I wanted to use the ideas on relaxation techniques portrayed in the book "Conscious Discipline" by Dr. Becky Bailey. Along with this I created several songs that highlighted the behaviors I wanted them to learn but specially directed to the needs of my client.

The children were thrilled. They learned the breathing, the songs, they played, they sung but even more amazing NONE of the children have been in "time out" or have had a tantrum in the classroom including my client!! The teacher has been so thrilled that she asked me to keep meeting the group once a week until the end of the year. Week after week I go there and they report the success of the therapy not only in my client but on the entire "community".

Many times we focus our attention in an individual and not the individual within the people that surrounds him/her. In this case I believe that my client was able to learn a new positive behavior, self-awareness, and self-control through a community learning process. There was now agreement on what was going to be done between all the members of the community (children and teachers). In addition, time out was turned into the "S.T.A.R. Spot" a place for them to calm themselves. However, it hasn't been needed!!

This is why I feel music can change the communities around the world starting with our own homes and neighborhoods. It is my hope that this school can see the benefits of music therapy in this sort of improvised "pilot program." I am wishing that the knowledge this children acquire within their school family will be extrapolated to their own families and so on. Seems to me that music is a good way to start! :-)

Stay blessed!

Cindy~

Stroke camp? What the heck is that?

Hello my friends,

It's been some time since my last post as I have been quite busy ( a good thing!) But I must share with you about my experience as the resident Music Therapy for the Tampa Rest and Refresh Stroke Camp.

First let me describe what is a stroke camp. Basically this initiative give the people who have survived a stroke and their caregivers to experience fun again in a freely, welcoming, and nurturing environment. They are provided with games, crafts, music therapy, karaoke, swimming and more!

People who had suffered strokes have to learn once again all the basic daily things such as walking, talking, eating, and they must learn how to perform other chores in modified ways since in most cases there is a weakness of one of the sides or the body if not paralysis.

Personally, this was my first stroke camp and first time working with a group of stroke survivors. I was excited and  nervous at the same time! I had in my duty list to sing songs I was not very familiar with, drumming circles, and much more! But I was there and what I saw... there is no words to describe but I will try!

At the beginning of the camp most "campers" were a little shy and after so many people telling them what they can not do they were amidst the world of what they could do. So we had a drumming welcoming circle time. And I had a blast. Little by little people started to bang those drums and smiled as able. I think by this time they thought: who is this crazy girl that gives cues jumping and running around the circle??!! hehe, well, that was ME!.

There was a particular man that I will call Mr. Lucas (fake name!) Mr. Lucas barely could talk (only yes from time to time). But he, OMG he took ahold of a tubano drum which he banged with a mallet and played like there was no end. Smiling, even doing tubano solos! Mr. Lucas also sung a whole song in a group karaoke! There was another man who have learned how to talk and walk THREE times after three different strokes and there he was dancing "Twist." For a whole weekend these survivors and their caregivers were listened to, treated with dignity, and respect. My heart grew for ALL of them. I also felt so blessed that in my immediate family I do not have a stroke survivor. Even more blessed because during that same weekend my grandmother said that the doctor told her she had osteoarthritis but nothing else!

A stroke can happen to ANYONE, ANYWHERE no matter the age, the color of your skin, race, or social status. Our youngest survivor had a stroke at age 6. I hope that if you are reading this you get a little more information on strokes (there are so many types) and how to live a healthy life to decrease the risk. Also, I hope that as me, you learn to see people with canes who can't talk fast (because aphasia or apraxia) with compassion and comprehension. To remember that there is someone inside that body that has lots and lots to share.

For more information go to the following websites:

For Stroke Camp:  www.strokecamp.org
For the National Stroke Association:  www.stroke.org
For the American Stroke Association: www.strokeassociation.org

Stay Blessed~

Cindy~

Please feel free to comment on your thoughts regarding this article! thank you!

Dr. Gupta on Music Therapy

Hello everyone and welcome back,

Lately, the music therapists have been discussing often about the attention music therapy is having in the media. This is always something important for all the people in the healing arts. Believe me when I say that many people confuse MUSIC THERAPY with THERAPEUTIC MUSIC (which I am going to discuss later on). Often people have said to me: "Music therapy! oh yes, you put relaxation music to people." Music therapist do much more than that! We evaluate each case and develop an individual plan of treatment made specifically for the person to be treated.

As there is a need to inform the public of what music therapy really is and how is unlikely that you will find it in a "SPA", it is very helpful to have someone like Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who does medical news and reports for a well known television network, expressing himself in favor of music therapy and how it is helping, in this case someone with a brain injury such as Rep. Giffords.

Please take a look to his article:

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/18/19059/

This is a nice article. Dr Gupta immersed himself in the therapy process that a person with brain injury would to recover.

Enjoy the article and tell me what you think! What is music therapy for you??

Much love,

Cindy~

Dancing the Music of Life

The other night I went dancing with a couple friends. We were excited about going to a place where they had Latin music such as salsa, merengue, bachata, etc. I must say that I felt like the tin man from Wizard of Oz. My joints needed oil urgently! Hahaha. I was dancing and happy to be there. But as always...I made a pause to look at my surroundings. I saw the different people dancing, their behavior, the lights, the music played in the background. Everything started to move slowly in my mind until something captured my attention.

There I saw two men. Let's call them John and Josh (Not their real names!). If they were in "Dancing with the stars" they would have been sent home during the first round ;-). They did not seem to have a dancing technique or deep knowledge on the dance types. But thank God we were not in Dancing with the Stars and it was a place where everyone could participate. ;-) The difference between these two men was that John was dancing to the FEEL of the music and Josh was too concern about dancing TO the music.  John came to me to dance with a smile in his face said he wanted to learn and forgot about counting 1-2-3 etc. Josh was in a corner too concern that he could not make the steps right.

Does it ever happen to you that the more you concentrate in dancing "salsa" you just see it too complicated? You feel afraid of being embarrassed by not being able to do a mega-spectacular turn? Have you ever felt afraid to make a move in your life for fear of not doing something right? Just as with dancing salsa, if you don't try to jump in the dance floor and FEEL the music, instead you stay standing or sitting looking at other people dance, you are missing the fun of it. Just like that in our lives sometimes we want to dance the rhythm of life's concerns instead of living to the feel of life's music, life's beauty. Appreciating the little things, the smile of ourselves in the mirror.

 I want to share with you that me too I did not always knew how to dance Salsa. I had to learn! (contrary to the popular believe not all Latinos are born knowing the steps, lol) I also was dancing to the rhythm of what I thought was important and not to the feel of life's music. To help me identify what type of dance I am performing I ask myself: Am I in the dance floor of life or am I in the corner afraid to make a bad step?

To end, I want to share an excerpt from the song "I Hope You Dance". Read carefully:

 And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)


God Bless You! And May He be the guide of your steps 1-2-3 while you dance the SALSA OF LIFE!

~Cindy

Angelman's Syndrome

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in 1 in 15,000 live births. AS is often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism. Characteristics of AS include; developmental delay, lack of speech, seizures, and walking and balance disorders. Individuals with Angelman Syndrome will require life-long care. (Angelman's Syndrome Foundation, 2011).

I happen to be working with a 5 year old with Angelman's with a general development level of a much younger child. No speech. No walking. This is sort of a rare condition so even within the "clinical work" field I had people ask me if that is a real condition. Well, it is. When I started with my client he was not able to drink, eat solids, and had many episodes where he couldn't breath. Something like "dry" drowning. I was sent to help him with his lack of self expression.

I started working with drumming on Tom Tom Drum and singing while playing with a ball (to help him with his grasping issues). As you can guess, the time passed before I could see any improvement. Finally, one day I went to see him and immediately after I sent the drum in the floor, he came and started drumming! He was actually able to remember what we did. I was surprise. I must say that the mother was even more excited: "He is playing more with his toys since you've been here!" she said smiling. For her, that was victory.

As you can imagine, the progress, if any, was slow. Not even steady. But there i remained for some time. I decided to start working on the client's inability to clap. As you know, clapping requires some work from our brain. He wasn't able to clap. I recommended the family to keep helping him to put his hands together to stimulate that side of the brain when I wasn't there. After a week I was going to see him, thinking that maybe he needed to be discharged because there was nothing else I could do. Well, I was wrong. The welcoming at his home was ridiculous! (in the good sense!) They couldn't wait to tell me that my little sweet boy was clapping! Even clapping TO THE MUSIC!
I felt weird. I was just thinking in dropping the ball. And there he was with his big smile...clapping.

I am still working with this child. He is actually able to move his arms in parallel movement and today he was able to shake a shaker with little help! He is playing with his toys and let me hold him for a longer time.

CONCLUSION:
We must NEVER underestimate the value of our efforts. Sometimes we think we can't do it when we are actually making it happen. We need to believe in ourselves and believe in what we do. It does not matter how little is our kindness, it is big in someone's eyes. Now, I look forward to see this little guy who always smile, trusting that whatever I give...doesn't come back empty!

Much love!

http://www.angelman.org/

My first Post!

Hello everyone!
This is the first time in my life doing a blog of anytime, so please abide with me! I am excited for the opportunity to be able to share the wonderful things in my journey. On this blog I want to share one of my biggest passions: music. But it is not just music, it is the power of such to change our world. Here I will speak about music therapy, therapeutic music, and give you many ideas to perform at home, in your car, home, etc. The purpose? Create a space for healing and purposeful living. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment, join and follow. Have a blessed day!