Friday Five: songs for addiction/substance abuse

5 songs for addiction and substance abuse:

1. "Addicted" by Kelly Clarkson
2. "We Cry" by The Script
3. "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. "Sunday Morning Call" by Oasis
5. "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns

Cut & Paste Songwriting Activity

It is often difficult to put into words what we are feeling. It is even more difficult to write a song about it. This is a songwriting activity that won't instill fear in your patients once you introduce the session. It is cut & paste project. Anyone who can cut and paste (and even those who can't) can be successful.

In preparation for this activity, you must create a page of song lyrics (one line from different songs-about 30-35 per page). This number of lines (and whether you give them one, two, or three pages) should vary depending on the functioning level of your group.

Here are two pages of song lyrics (the goal is positive thinking) that you are free to use. There's a little bit of Counting Crows, Whitney Houston, Sara Bareilles, John Mayer, Rascal Flatts, Casting Crowns, Michael Jackson, and everything else in it.

The steps to this activity are simple enough:
1. Pass out lyric sheets.
2. Patients read through each line and put a mark by the ones they like (at least 10 lines).
3. Patients cut out the lyrics they put a mark by.
4. Patients rearrange song lyrics in a way that makes sense to them.
5. Patients can glue the lyrics to a piece of construction paper and decorate.

Adaptations:
a) People going through substance withdrawals or who are experiencing any sort of tremors will have difficulty cutting out lyrics. In this case, you may cut the lyrics for them OR allow them to handwrite the lyrics.
b) Use glue sticks rather than bottles of glue. The reasons for this are obvious, I think.
c) Patients can change lyrics/add to lyrics/etc. to make the song exactly how they'd like.
d) For people with visual impairments, make text large and easy to read. Give them fewer lines of lyrics to read so as not to overwhelm them.
e) It is easy for patients to get overwhelmed with the amount of words on a page. Plan accordingly by providing fewer choices: larger text, fewer lines, fewer pages.

I'm taking it step by step, brick by brick

Thank you, Whitney Houston for your song "Step By Step," which is perfect, by the way, for leading groups in a discussion about managing goals.

There are times when life is overwhelming, when we feel like it is more than we can bare. In order to keep our heads above the water, we have to keep moving on [thank you Kelly Clarkson ("Breakaway"), Tom Petty ("Time To Move On"), and Rascal Flatts ("Stand")]. We are always moving towards some goal, searching for a purpose in life. We make goals to survive. But when a goal seems unmanageable, how do we approach it? We must break it into small tasks, ones that ARE manageable and bring us closer what we want.

Today with my group at BHC, we simply discussed and practiced breaking overall goals into specific steps. To do this, I split the group into pairs and passed out a small percussion instrument to each. Their activity was to figure out how to play the instrument, write out the steps, then teach it to the other groups.

The point was to get so specific that it almost seemed silly. Take egg shakers for example:

1. Choose two egg shakers of similar size, weight, and sound.
2. Pick up both egg shakers, placing one in each hand.
3. Grasp the egg shaker in hands.
4. Shake the egg shaker.

Now, this seems too easy, but for anyone with a physical limitation in their upper body, each task is suddenly extremely important. That person may spend days or weeks trying to achieve just one step.

Also, I ask the group to imagine they weren't in the room to show a person how to play their instrument. How can you write each step so that the other groups could exactly duplicate your actions?

This is a difficult task, but an important one to understand that a goal that may seem overwhelming is suddenly much more manageable when you take it "One Step at a Time" (thanks Jordin Sparks!).

A song to fit your group topic

The computers in our office at the BHC are loaded with documents that are so valuable to use in therapy sessions. I would love to start uploading these to Scribd and make them available to fellow music therapists and interns.

This is a link to a song list we keep. It is ALWAYS in progress, but it is a great start to your session. This documentation of songs, artists, and discussion topics make planning quicker and more efficient. I encourage you to add to this list or start your own with songs that YOU regularly use in sessions.

Friday five: songs for supportive relationships

All of these songs can be used to discuss friendships/relationships/and support.

1. I Am A Rock by Simon and Garfunkel. This song is great for setting up the discussion of why supportive relationships are so important. In this song, a person isolates himself because he believes friendships only cause pain. In your discussion, debate this opinion. List the benefits of having good relationships.

2. Help! by The Beatles. Talk about different places/people you can go to for help. I don't mean just friends and family, but hospitals/support groups/church/etc.

3. Gift Of A Friend by Demi Lovato. Discuss the qualities of a friend.

4. Thank You by Dido. This song is a great segue into writing thank you letters for people who have been supportive in our lives. We must communicate to our supports why they are so important in our lives and how we appreciate them!

5. You've Got A Friend by James Taylor.

Group Songwriting

I've done a lot of song writing in the past couple of weeks. The patients absolutely loved creating something of their own and working together to do so.

In the songwriting example I am sharing with you, each patient had the opportunity to write one line on the topic of accepting change and moving on. For the patients who gave up easily and were self-defeating, I encouraged them to say anything. I assured them that the rest of the group would help the person decide on what the lyrics should say. For those who still insisted they could not do it, I asked them to name one thing they've learned during their stay about life changes. The rest of the group molded this into a single line of song lyric that fit with what already existed.

This is the beautiful song they came up with, sung to the tune of "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

After performing it once on guitar for the group, I let them build their own "musical interpretation" of the song using percussion instruments. They then switched instruments and played their song again.

To carry it one step further, our art therapist split them in pairs and had them draw their own interpretation of the lyrics. The patients in my group came up with great things to put down on paper.

This activity is awesome for working on self-concept, appropriate social skills, and group cohesion.

Around the states

Around the states.

This is an activity we are using currently at the BHC. Beginning in Florida, where we are located, we teach (or review) well-known (and maybe some little known) facts: where it is on a map, capital, nickname, famous cities, monuments, etc. Then we talk about different musicians from Florida. You may choose to only listen to part of a song or you might pass out lyric sheets and sing along with the iPod or guitar. Songs can be from famous artists or bands born/originated in that state, songs about that state, songs about characteristics of that state, music videos, etc.

For example, today we started in Florida. Aerosmith sings a song called "Last Child" about Tallahassee (part of the song played on iPod). Creed formed in Tallahassee (sang "With Arms Wide Open" using lyric sheets). Lynyrd Skynyrd originated in Jacksonville (but "Sweet Alabama" was saved for AL). And because FL is the sunshine state, we played a piece of the song "I'm Walking On Sunshine" (playing percussion instruments with iPod). With some songs, even if you're only listening to them by iPod, you can get people to join in the recording by playing percussion instruments.

Create similar activities using the Florida model.

This activity is great for reality orientation and cognitive stimulation, especially in mid- or low-functioning groups. It is best completed over time, as it would be difficult to cram all this information in with just one session. Follow some general direction; you may zig-zag all the way up the Eastern United States, or continue west and then loop back towards the East, etc.

Tearing down and rebuilding

I do a little bit of babysitting on Saturdays, and there is a child I sit for that has autism, cerebal palsy, and epilepsy. Part of the agreement for babysitting was that I would sit with him and do a 20 to 30 minute music session (without being paid for it since I'm not yet graduated/certified). For a while the sessions were awesome! He and his brother would attend and we'd work on goals of social, motor, speech/language, and academic skills. The sessions were really successful until one day, the boy was no longer interested in music sessions.

I tried unsuccessfully for a couple weeks to engage him in any activity I could think of, but he would tell me "no" and leave his chair. Without the parents there to reinforce I was at a loss for a solution. A couple more weeks passed, and for various reasons I was not babysitting, thus no music.

So we started the regular routine again the other week, and I decided to approach music in a new way. I brought my keyboard with strips of colored paper taped to an 8-note C scale. The first week I tried this, I let the boy play as he wished on the keyboard. It was my goal simply to get him engaged in music again and hold his attention for a period of time. It worked! He took a special joy in hearing all the pre-recorded songs. To continue where I left off, this past week I began the session by reviewing colors. He played up and down the C scale with my cue to play "red," "orange," etc. Then, I let him again play with the songs, throwing in little tasks occasionally. We worked on colors, numbers (pressing certain numbers to get songs), and sequencing (color, number, number). Then we played a game to address impulse control. When the music played, we danced. When the music stopped, we stopped. Then it was his turn to lead.

This was a really good way for me to build up music again. The point of the story is to be creative, and if you really need to build from scratch, don't be afraid to do so. I hope to do a little more with him this coming Saturday. If all goes well, I will post about it here. Even if all does not go well, I'll still post. There is always a lesson to learn out of everything in life.

Friday Five: Music videos of this decade

I think music videos have an important place in music therapy. Not only are they a great tool for relaxation and mood elevation, but they can be great for song discussions. For example, I posted recently on the video Who I Am by the Jonas Brothers and its goal of improving self concept in adolescents. These videos from the 2000s below are similarly great for addressing positive thinking, coping skills, changes, and self-respect.

1. Shine by Laura Izibor

Positive thinking, active change, coping skills, mood elevation When you're feeling stuck in life, think positively and make an active change.

2. Something Beautiful by NeedToBreathe

Positive thinking, coping skills, mood elevation In a life that can often be overwhelming, look to things that are good.

3. King Of Anything by Sarah Bareilles

Positive thinking, self-concept/respect No one can control you. You are your own great, awesome person.

4. Breathe by Ryan Star

Positive thinking, coping skills, mood elevation When life is difficult, take a step back and breathe. This video shows some of the many that lost their jobs in the recession. And they're still smiling.

5. Smile by Uncle Kracker

Positive thinking, mood elevation, coping skills Enjoy the things you love.

Excuses for my lack of blog posts

I have not been blogging lately because I have been concentrating on writing a paper. Also, I have been very tired lately.

Tomorrow I will start over again and try to be good about blogging several times weekly. Forgive me!