Musical Health

A Soundtrack for Life Our lives are punctuated by a diverse array of melodies, each song serving as a sonic bookmark for significant chapters. The first dance at a wedding, the rhythm of a road trip, or the lullaby that cradled us to sleep – these musical imprints become a personalized soundtrack for our journey through time. But how does it work? In this episode we explore how music functions in...

I was so inspired by my recent conversation with Stephanie Leavell and I am sure you will be too! Listen to learn about Stephanie’s journey to music therapy, her process of intentional songwriting and how there are TWO music therapists in her family.  Minute 35-literally blew my mind and I now dream of joining Stephanie’s band. Stephanie believes that music is a great communicator and she uses all...

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Amanda Henley. Amanda is a board certified music therapist, researcher and educator in the state of Indiana. She also serves as the Indiana Task Force for Music Therapy Advocacy Chair. Amanda and I sat down to talk about the music therapy and art therapy licensure protection bill that is up this legislative session. This is the closest they have been t...

On this months episode, Caitlin sits down with songwriter and therapist, Monica Metzler.  Conversation centers on grief, songwriting and all the magic in between.  Forest Veil is the solo work of Portland, Oregon multi-instrumentalist/producer Monica Metzler. Following the echoes of her elusive muse, Forest Veil makes mystical psych-folk that maps the emotional terrain of humanity and it...

On today’s episode we are going to explore the role of music listening in the experience of pleasure. Does music increase our ability to feel pleasure? And if so, how does it work?  You've got that right-we are talking music and sex!  I am working to make the transcripts of episodes more accessible but unfortunately for now if you email me I can get you that document! Thank you so much f...

This week I am bringing you one of my favorite episodes, #3 the musicality of infant relationships. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Helen Shoemark, PhD, MT-BC, one of the leading researchers in music therapy for infants and caregivers experiencing hospitalization. I learn something new each time we speak and I hope you take away some thing as well!

On today's episode we explore what road rage is and discuss the implications of music on our driving behavior. Full transcription of this episode available by emailing: musicalhealththepod@gmail.com Upcoming Conference Presentations https://registration.contio.fi/jyu/Registration/Login?id=2124-KONG_MUTKU-1748 https://www.glr-amta.org/conference-overview/institutes/ Resources  https://eps.edu....

Join Caitlin as she explores how rhythm can help our bodies feel less stressed. Did you know that our brains can sync up with rhythms?! This episode reviews the current evidence on use of rhythm to reduce stress and explores the implications of rhythm in our lives. Full transcript of this episode is available, please e-mail: musicalhealththepod@gmail.com Join our community on facebook and instagra...

In episode 34, Caitlin sits down with clinical research specialist and music therapist, Jessica MacLean to gain insight into the world of music and auditory science. Have you considered the implications of music in auditory processing and speech? The interplay of the two are complex, and Jessica does a great job of explaining using her background in research and working in an auditory neuroscience...

For full transcript of episode 33 please e-mail: musicalhealththepod@gmail.com Today's episode covers some foundational elements of trauma informed care, an introduction to how trauma works in our brains and bodies and some implications for healthcare professionals. 

This will be the only episode I can do this for so I am leaning into it. Have you heard of a golden birthday? Well this is our GOLDEN episode-meaning I am as old as this episode number.  So what does it mean to be golden? Gold is illuminating, sacred, durable; it is precious. It is almost universally associated with the Sun, or the highest stage in spiritual development. Gold also represents...

Join special guest host Stephanie Epstein as she discusses the awesome collaboration between music therapy and physical therapy! This is sure to be a great episode. Special guest: Chelsea Rodriguez, DPT

Join guest host Stephanie Epstein as she discusses the importance of actually talking openly and honestly about pay rates, how to negotiate higher pay and things to consider outside of base pay rate. Stephanie is a board certified music therapist at Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida. She works with pediatric patients age birth-21 years of age on the Transplant/Surgical, Medical/Surgical,...

For today's episode I had the chance to interview Toronto based music therapist and business owner, Miya Adout. Her company: Miya Music Therapy provides music therapy for people of all abilities. In the episode Miya talks about her company and a service that is near to her heart: senior mental health.   Website: www.miyamusictherapy.com  The Sunshine Link Website: www.thesunshinelin...

Ashley Scheufler is a senior music therapist at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City where she has been employed for almost 12 years.  She works with a wide range of pediatric patients and specializes in chronic pain syndromes, cardiac, and pulmonary diagnoses.  Ashley has participated in several research initiatives at her facility and served as a music intervener in studies funded...

This Month I will be covering topics on the use of music in pain. Today’s episode is covers some general information on how humans process and experiences pain and introduces some common uses of music to alleviate pain. Link to session transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dd8JHt6X3wvC0HPy6U_2CX7bL58ypNcUjWpvqpOsK7M/edit?usp=sharing

On today’s episode I speak with Jenny Kaufman, music therapist on the Heart Center and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. We discuss what it is like for patients on the heart center and the music based interventions used in Jenny’s work with these patients. Jenny is an accomplished music therapist with nearly 8 years of pediatric medical music therapy experience and advanced training in NICU music thera...

February is designated as American Heart month and This week is Congenital Heart Defects Awareness week. CHD is the world’s most common birth defect, impacting 1.3 million infants every year world wide. Today's episode highlights a music therapy study which focused on the use of a music intervention called entrainment and the impact of that intervention on the physiologic measures for infants in c...

Join me in this episode as we explore all things spiritual, chaplaincy and of course music! Featuring special guest Maggie La Rocque, M.Div Maggie is a staff chaplain at Riley Hospital for  Children at Indiana University Health. 

This episode covers the topic of music and spirituality. This episode explores the definition of spirit and the multitude of ways and explores how we can cultivate our spirituality through music not only in ourselves but also those we work with. Some resources used for today’s episode: Aldridge, D. Music Therapy and spirituality: A transcendental understanding of suffering. Music Therapy Today, 20...

This week I will be sharing my personal experience with COVID-19. I will also be discussing compassion fatigue and burnout. References for today’s episode: Check out the Tend Academy: https://www.tendacademy.ca/ Thank you for your support. For more information follow us on instagram and Facebook Or e-mail musicalhealththepod@gmail.com for questions or to join our mailing list!

Today's episode I review a recent article on virtual music therapy and practice recommendations. We also revisit episode 6: theory in time of pandemic. Link to the article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7529048/pdf/miaa017.pdf

Today the podcast takes a deep dive into the concept of self-expression. In the world of music you hear “express yourself” and in music therapy “self-expression” is a very common goal area is to support healthy and creative self-expression. But what is self-expression really? What does it mean? This episode explores these topics. A reminder that the ideas presented in this episode are rooted in we...

September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. Today's episode will provide a brief overview of pediatric cancer types and treatments and discuss the role of music therapy to support patients receiving treatment. Two frameworks are discussed: Contextual Support Model of Music Therapy and The Resilience in Illness Model. Links to those can be found here:  RIM:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/a...

In honor of Sickle Cell Awareness month join me in learning more about Sickle Cell Disease.  Here are the links to the two incredible music therapy research studies used in today's episode https://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/2017/10/university_hospitals_beats_pro.html http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:253209/datastream/PDF/view Also check out bethematch.org to find out more abo...