Finding your Strengths

As a requirement before starting my internship at The Music Therapy Center of California, I was required to take the “Clifton Strengths Finder” test. At the time, I didn’t realize how beneficial and insightful this test would be for me. I have always been a fan of any sort of personality test, but this one gave me a new kind of understanding about how I work best and what I am good at. Clifton Strengths Finder is an online test you can take that gives you your top 5 strengths out of a list of 34 options. Your results are personalized, and it gives you lots of information on each strength. My strengths are: Discipline, Empathy, Achiever, Communication, and Woo. 

After starting my internship, I have found that understanding my strengths and how I work has been more useful than ever. First, both discipline, achiever, and communication have been very helpful for my internship, as they all provide me with the drive to get things done in an orderly manner and efficiently in some way. I am driven by accomplishing tasks, getting things done by (and often earlier than) due dates, and checking off my to-do list. In terms of internship, this has been extremely helpful as I am able to stay focused on my tasks and get things done quickly.  

Next, Empathy has been very prevalent as I am working with all sorts of different people. It is so valuable to have empathy as I work with my clients, because it helps me to understand how they may be feeling and what they need. I feel as if I got more than my allotted amount of empathy. I feel deeply for people and want to help them in whatever way I can. Looks like I went into the right career! This has also helped me to see how I can work well in a team, as I want to be supportive and caring towards others I am around.

Lastly, my strength of Woo has been very helpful for me to understand during this time in my life. During internship, you are meeting so many people, that for some it could be overwhelming and exhausting. For me, I LOVE meeting new people and finding ways to connect with and understand them. I am not intimidated by strangers, and I love striking up a conversation with those around me. I have noticed during my internship that I have felt a strong desire to get to know everyone around me very well, and to understand who they truly are. I love knowing more about people than just the surface level, and my tendency is to desire that they would want to know me too! 

After researching my strengths more and understanding what they mean in my personal life, I have also come to realize that almost all strengths can have a negative and a downside, that you must be aware of. For me, I realized that with discipline, communication, and achiever, I can become so addicted to working and getting things done, that I have a hard time slowing down and resting. I even sometimes work during my lunch break, because I love shrinking my to-do list and feeling like I got something worthwhile done with my time. For empathy, I realize that sometimes I can feel for people so much that it can overtake me, or cause me to lose focus on what I am doing. My feelings can get in the way of my ability to work or accomplish a goal. I need to stay centered and not let my empathy become out of balance. Empathy is a two edged sword. Lastly, being a woo, I can sometimes be so focused on winning someone over, that it can become unhealthy. It has been helpful for me to see that as long as I understand my strengths and how they could become negative, I am able to keep things in balance and remain healthy and positive. 

Understanding yourself and your strengths and your weaknesses can be an extremely enlightening thing. I have found that this is especially prevalent during internship. This is an intense and changing time in my life, and this has magnified my strengths in a new way. It has been a really important time of self-discovery for me so far, and has helped me to understand how I work best on my own as well as on a team. 

I would highly suggest looking into your strengths if you haven’t already! 

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

See you next time!

-Audrey Cosgrove, MTI

Juliana’s Top 10 Internship Learnings!

Hello everyone!

It is hard to believe that my time at internship is quickly coming to an end! I know everyone says that internship is the time where you learn and grow as a music therapist more than you ever thought you could, and it is absolutely true! I feel more confident than ever that I have learned the skills and gained the experience needed for me to be sent out into the real world. This blog post is to share some of my top learnings during internship!

1. You ARE capable

Confidence was one of the biggest things missing from my toolbox of strengths when I first entered internship. I felt that I had the academic knowledge enough to set myself up for success, but still felt inadequate and scared to facilitate in front of large groups of clients, singing unfamiliar songs, etc. However, internship really forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things. I am not sure when it happened, but I realized at some point into my internship, I could confidently and comfortably get up in front of a group of 40 clients and not think twice about it. I was entirely focused on my facilitation skills and client responses, which is exactly where I needed to be. Which brings me to my point: You can do it!!! 

2. The power of the EZ-220 

The EZ-220. Absolutely life changing. For those of you who do not know, the EZ-220 is an electronic keyboard from Yamaha that has many useful features for sessions. We use it for almost every group session that we have, as it is fairly accessible and portable. The feature that I use most are the backbeats, which can help with engagement, attention, and helping to make the music that you facilitate sound more full. There are different styles of backbeats, including 8 and 16 beat, swing, ballad, rock, and much more! There are also different voices on the keyboard, such as wind and string instruments, and the standard drum kit which we often use in sessions, and a great “follow the lights” feature as well. AND, the EZ-220 is also equipped with many pre-recorded songs! The keyboard can also be plugged into an amp to project more sound. I would absolutely recommend investing in one if you facilitate a lot of group sessions, here is a link to where you can find one! 

3. Using themed sessions!

I have previously written a blog post about this which can be found here! But just to reiterate again, using themes can help center your session, provide reality orientation, and can help you gain inspiration and avoid ruts when session planning.

4. Visuals, visuals, visuals!

During practicum in college, I would frequently use visuals for my younger clients and groups, but I never thought to use them for other groups. Now, I don’t go a session without them! Visuals are a really important tool to engage clients, especially to provide an outlet for communication for non-verbal clients. For example, for my older adult sessions, I will put on background music with a specific theme (using Auld Lang Syne during New Years themed sessions), and go around and show photos on my iPad with different new years related objects (the ball in NYC, fireworks), and engage in conversation with the residents. These visuals are especially helpful if there is a language barrier as well. I also use visuals a lot with my groups of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as it helps explain concepts and engage their attention. 

5. Incorporating your primary instrument

If you’re like me, if your primary instrument isn’t voice, it was almost unheard of of using your primary instrument during sessions in college. It was one of my biggest goals to be able to learn how to incorporate it during internship- and it happened! I I use my clarinet all the time in older adult groups and with my adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities! For example, I will use my clarinet during name that tune, to help enunciate melodic patterns for PSE interventions, and if I am co leading with another therapist, I’ll provide harmonies or play the melody. We also frequently have drum circles, so I will facilitate call and response on clarinet and use non verbal musical cueing using it as well. 

6. EZ Play music is your best friend!!!  

If you haven’t heard of EZ play music, it is basically blown up music of just the melody with the notes written in the note heads, and it has the chords written above it. This has been extremely helpful when facilitating songs with older adults, because you are able to play an accompaniment pattern in your left hand while playing the melody in your right hand and singing. This really adds more musical depth, and also helps our residents hear the song more clearly. EZ play books are also really helpful to find more repertoire, as the books are classified by different themes (music from different decades, love ballads, college fight songs, musicals, and much more!) These books are published by Hal Leonard and a link to an example of one on Amazon can be found here! 

7. Take advantage of this time to learn and implement unique instruments

If you had told me 6 months ago that I would be therapeutically using the kazoo during my sessions, I would have never believed you! Along with the kazoo, autoharp is your best friend during PSE interventions as well. I was also recently inspired to purchase a mandolin which I will be implementing in future sessions 🙂 

8. Take the time to address sensory needs for your clients

Before internship, I thought that if you did not facilitate music therapy the entire session or the majority of the session, then it was a failed session. However, now I know that sometimes the most important thing you can do for your clients is to provide them proper sensory stimulation and input so that they can be successful for their next task or the rest of their day. Sensory input techniques can include deep pressure squeezes, using a body roller, spinning in a chair, bubbles and more. 

9. Don’t be afraid of hand over hand assistance!!!

I never really had to touch any of my clients during practicum in undergraduate, and I also thought it was frowned upon. During internship, I learned how to provide effective hand over hand assistance, especially when it comes to older adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hand over hand is especially useful because it provides extra prompting and can help wake up clients if they are sleepy. 

10. Use your internship team as a resource!

Your internship directors, supervisors and music therapists are all there to support you! They are rooting for you and want the best for you. If you ever need help coming up with an intervention or are looking for a specific visual, chances are, someone on your team can help you! Don’t be afraid to ask questions- these people are your best resource and your colleagues for life 🙂 

There you have it- my top 10 learnings from internship! I would love to hear yours if you have completed yours or are getting close to, feel free to comment below! Thank you for reading my posts in the past 6 months! 

 

• Juliana Hsu, MTI

Guitars in the Classroom AMASE Conference: Meeting Clients’ Sensory Needs:

Near the beginning of my (Audrey) internship I had the opportunity to go to the Guitars in the Classroom AMASE conference, with Julie Guy, who presented on using Music Strategies for Sensory Integration in the Classroom. This was such a great experience for me, as I got to get out into the community during my first week of internship, connect with others, network, and help present on music therapy, all while learning more skills to use in my own music therapy sessions! 

The challenge of presenting at this event, was that there was such a wide range of skills, settings, and challenges for the attendees with their students. When asked what challenges these teachers experienced in their classroom or facility they worked at, there was a huge list of behaviors such as biting, distracting noises, hiding under tables and desks, running or jumping, rocking, or scratching. Despite the wide variety of people attending this session at the conference, there was an overwhelming amount of difficulties related to sensory seeking behaviors. Almost all of the behaviors that these individuals noted were related to this. I got to hear all sorts of suggestions and ideas for how to handle these behaviors, and I thought it would be helpful to compile them all in one place!

The first thing to understand is that many of these behaviors that come across as aggressive, mean, defiant, or chaotic may directly relate to a sensory processing disorder. These individuals may not be intentionally disruptive, they may just be trying to get the input they need. Clients may be over or under stimulated, and need something to help calm them down or alert them. Below I have listed many different ways to help clients to receive the sensory input that they need.

First, clients who bite or frequently put objects into their mouths, may benefit from using a chew tubes (often called “chews” or “chewies”) which are usually small rubber items. Chewies can be chewed or sucked on when need sensory input to the jaw. Some styles can be put on a necklace so they are always accessible for a client to help calm them down and provide tactile sensory stimulation.

Next, vibrating pillows. I have seen these used in a session before when a client was exhibiting aggressive behaviors, such as throwing things and hitting the floor and wall. The therapist brought the pillow to him and pushed it against his feet as he was laying on the floor, and this immediately helped the client to calm down. These pillows vibrate when pressure is put on them, so a client can squeeze them, sit on them, put in their lap, lean on them, or any other positioning to create the vibration effect. 

Lastly, any variety of rollers for sensory input can be very effective! You can use foam rollers, ones used for muscle relaxation, or anything that can provide sensory input for clients who are sensory-seekers. 

 

Using instruments that may be calming to a client, or provide sensory stimulation that they may be seeking is a great tool. Examples of sensory instruments include tactile egg shakers, which have bumps on them which provides tactile stimulation and the sound of the shakers can provide auditory input. 

Cabasas are also great source of tactile and auditory input. The cabasa can be rolled along a client’s hands, arms, legs, back, as it may provide a calming sensation for them. 

An ocean drum provides auditory stimulation, as the balls roll around inside the drum, providing a louder sound for clients who may be seeking that. Clients also may enjoy the way that the balls look (visual input) when they roll around in the drum. 

Other items or ideas that may help clients to receive sensory input and stimulation:

• Ice cubes or ice packs 
• A bag filled with sand or rice (can be put on clients lap, or clients can push/pull/lift it)
• Squeezes along client’s hands, arms, or legs
• Squeeze balls
• Bear hugs
• Yoga balls

There are so many more ideas out there for sensory stimulation for clients who may be seeking this! Do you have any other techniques or tips? Let me know in the comments!!

Click here to access presentation handouts for more information.

See you next time!

Audrey 

PS The Out-of-Sync Child is a great resource to learn more about sensory regulation!