Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Spring 2019 3 2018 NATIONAL CONVENTION IN REVIEW By SAI Members Yvonne Glass, Allison Kerr, Bernadette Skodack, and Hilary Yip Excerpted from their July 28th, 2018 SAI Convention Workshop The field of music therapy is as vast as it is helpful. A simple definition would be "the use of music to assist an individual to develop their full potential or overcome challenges affecting their everyday lives." A more robust explanation would further state that music therapy is an allied health profession and an evidence-based practice that uses proven interventions to address specific treatment goals for an individual. Regardless of the definition, there are over 8,100 Board Certified Music erapists providing services in varied settings across the country. Sigma Alpha Iota counts many skilled therapists amongst it's members, and here you will get a glimpse at what the practice looks like from varied clinical perspectives. Hilary Yip's music therapy career fulfills her passion to serve children with special needs, and her excitement for learning sparks her to create engaging ways to bring out the best in every child. One of her many success stories relates to her work with a seven year old child with autism. e boy had musical talent and potential, but also had difficulty with communication, attention, and social skills. In addition to his ability to improvise on the piano, he quickly learned to strum and play full guitar chords in music therapy sessions. Hilary used GarageBand soware to notate his fleeting improvisations, and aer teaching him how to read and write music, he wrote notes on manuscript paper. Gradually, these became organized compositions expressing his thoughts. One of his compositions was featured in Piano Explorer Magazine! He and his parents were extremely proud of his accomplishments and the idea that other pianists could play his music. Over the next five years his enthusiasm for music grew exponentially, and aer every opportunity to perform his original compositions, he bowed repeatedly with a huge grin on his face. He was able to use music to communicate his thoughts, develop friendships with other children, and increase his ability to attend to task. His successes were because of music, and experiences like this continue to motivate Hilary to use music as a therapeutic tool with children. Bernadette Skodack has been a music therapist for just over eight years, working at a residential rehabilitation facility in Ann Arbor, MI, treating adults who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her day usually starts with documentation and a meeting with therapists, nurses, and other client team members to discuss the events of the past 24 hours for each client. e remainder of the day she is busy seeing clients. Most sessions are with individuals, but she facilitates two groups. One group is a bell choir which uses color coded bells to help clients to pay attention, focus, wait their turn, and learn teamwork. Next, a unit based group she leads focuses on speech (singing), motor skills (instrument playing), and self- expression. She also works with other therapists to help them incorporate music to help their clients meet their goals. Once a week, she also travels to her facility's rural site to see veterans and former professional athletes suffering from post-concussion syndrome. She feels it is a high honor to work with these clients, using music to assist with relaxation, sleep, self-expression, and family bonding. Allison Kerr is motivated by music therapy's authentic interaction with people, music's ability to be an engagement tool, and from the creativity that evolves within the "stepping stone" progression of each session. Each day brings a rewarding moment: to see and hear a child say "I love you" to his mom for the first time, to enjoy the warmth of high schoolers embracing a child with autism who had been ostracized, or just sharing preferred music and music making with a client. As an independent contractor of music therapy services, there is no typical day. Rather, she organizes her schedule by the kind of work she is doing, the location, and time of her appointments. She must generate her own contracts, provide the equipment and instruments used in her work, and is responsible for all business related responsibilities. She

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