Not Your Average Music Therapist

This episode starts the conversation about energy and celebrates the podcast's 2 year anniversary!   Let's be friends :) @musictherapistpod

What I wish I knew as a music therapy student or new professional: advice for those starting out. This episode is a compilation of 5 music therapists who are part of the Not Your Average Music Therapist Community. Within this episode, we share our thoughts, advice, and stories around this topic. We hope you feel encouraged, inspired, and supported by this episode!   If you'd like to reach us, contact Kim by email hello@kimbest.com or send her a direct message on instagram @kimberlyjanebest or @musictherapistpod. You are not alone, music therapist!   Join the Music Therapist Community Waitlist! KimBest.com/Community

What do Alzheimer's patients, the InstaRetreat, a Caffeine Wean, Taxes, Writing, Working out, and relationships with other professionals & processing something that hurt you have in common?   Alzheimer's Study: https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-plasticity-music-alzheimers-19617/   Sara Tasker on Instagram: Instagram.com/me_and_orla   Join the InstaRetreat with my affiliate link: https://courses.meandorla.co.uk/product/the-instaretreat-2-0?wpam_id=107   Join the Music Therapist Community Waitlist! KimBest.com/Community  

In this episode, I talk about what it means for "acceptance" to be more than giving up. I create a loose model for professional growth and talk about my Word of the Year.    Listen back to episode 8 for more New Year-style content.    Check out Happier with Gretchen Rubin, referenced in today's episode. 

AKA: tips for protecting your energy

In this episode, Sara and I dive right into conversation about being music therapists. We talk about growth, grief, receiving gifts, and so much more. This is a conversation you won't want to miss!    Listen to What My Body Needs, by Sara Rogers on Spotify! Follow Sara on Instagram: @rarasogers

Is it even important to think about what makes a music therapist a music therapist? Does it help to think about music therapists' qualities? Well, I think so. It only helps our growth to reflect on how far we've come and be aware of where we are still growing. Come along for the episode for a few attributes of a music therapist. What would you add to the list?   Join the community now: KimBest.com/Community

In this episode, Louise shares with us her experience in the field of music therapy and what it was like to pursue something else. She studied and now works in higher education and has so much to offer! Listen to the end for some tech tips.

No one prepared me to file my own taxes and track my income, expenses, and mileage and I made a lot of mistakes when I started out. This episode gets into the nitty gritty of what expenses you can keep track of as deductions from taxes. I share my knowledge, as simply as possible, to make this easy to understand for those of us who have limited-to-no experience in this department. Also, you'll hear the new things that I am offering, so check it out! Text version of this episode is up on the blog: kimbest.com Happy bookkeeping!   From the show:  Light Within Candle Co. by Elise Micklich https://www.etsy.com/shop/lightwithincandleco/ Instagram.com/lightwithincandleco   Canva.com   Planoly.com   Proliability through Mercer

There's more to music therapy than what we know in the country we reside in. There's more to conversation than the text we see on a comment. Samuel and I talk about all these topics and more in this episode.   The following was mentioned in this episode: Creative Therapy Umbrella episode: #82- Creating opportunity and working with refugee children with Samuel Gracida, MA   International Association for Music and Medicine (IAMM):  iammonline.com   Dr. Sebastian Hachmeyer, The Uncontrolled Equivocation of Music Therapy: Health, Illness and Musical Healing Among the Kallawaya in the Northern Bolivian Andes   Dr. Susan Hanser's book, Integrative Health through Music Therapy   Music Therapy Instagram Account I Love: @dwie_muzy   Sam's Fans Facebook Page   Follow Samuel online:  Instagram: @samuel.gracida Facebook: Samuel Gracida

Why do we feel the need to apologize for doing things that are good for us? Let's talk about it! Hoping this conversation helps you build up the strength to take the right steps for your wellness and own the decisions you've made.

Today's guest shares about her experience getting her music therapy degree, stepping into her first job, and following the path where life took her into life-giving work that is not music therapy. The mantra that is repeated throughout this conversation is “nothing's wasted.” May you feel that wherever you are in your journey in or out of the music therapy field, your time and all the experience you gain is not wasted. Enjoy the episode!

You are not alone. And you can do hard things. This episode is a bit of a pep talk for you.

With a wealth of experience comes the wealth of mistakes. Our guest this week, Brittany Tachkov, shares with us her thoughts about being a music therapist, learning, and growing. She touches upon aspects of her work in hospice care and her studies in counseling that infor her work and growth. I think we can all learn from Brittany's thoughts! Soak up her insight and inspiration with this conversation.   The Resilient Practitioner by Thomas M. Skovholt and Michelle Trotter-Mathison is mentioned in this episode.  Follow Brittany on instagram: @brittany.mtbc

Just a little update on how things are going, some chat about time and space, and ideas moving forward. I always love your thoughts and input, so after you've listened to the episode, feel free to share them! Grateful for every one of you who share this space together with me. Thank you for being here! Mentioned in the podcast: Oprah's podcast Super Soul and the opener “I believe that one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time, taking time to be fully present. Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now.”

I learn something so much better when I spend time with it. Growth happens when I sit with it. The action I take is more genuine, honest, and real when I've let something work its way into my everyday. This conversation is about all of that. Here is a link of action steps to take along your journey of education, growth, and sitting with all of it: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

We have heard from other music therapists, but what about looking at music therapy from a client's perspective. We don't often have this opportunity because we are so focused on the work at hand, and we also don't follow our clients after music therapy has ended. Get an inside look (and some inspiration for your work) at music therapy from a client's perspective with my brother, Tim.  Follow him on instagram: @tmiller95 Check out his photography at his website: tim-miller-photo.com

Life is heavy AF. Let's talk about it. The end of this episode features the song "Letting Go" by Greg Best as a meditation. You can stream it anywhere you listen to music. Hear more at Greg's Spotify Artist Page. Proceeds from streaming any of Greg's music goes to Haven: a collective of BIPOC womxn rooted towards abolition, liberation and healing through art and storytelling. Visit havenmedia.org to find out more.

We go on this journey through music therapy study being excited and expectant for the road ahead. But what happens when we get there? Tara O'Brien shares her story about transitioning from student to intern to professional and the challenges that she faced along the way. There's so much more to being a music therapist beyond landing the dream job. Follow Tara on instagram: @taraobri Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

You know the ones… those music therapists who get under your skin. They bug you, annoy you, and you never want to be like them. But there's a sneaking suspicion that you are like them, in little ways, maybe. So let's talk about what things we can do to care for our own souls, so we can grow into the healthiest, most authentic and loving people we can be.   Referenced in the show: psychologytoday.com betterhelp.com therapyforblackgirls.com blackfemaletherapists.com Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

I texted my friend, Brandy, to see if she'd record a spontaneous conversation with me, and here it is! I knew this one would be full of wisdom, and it sure is. Enjoy our chat around balance, American culture, peace and contentment, and beautiful chaos.   Follow her on Instagram: @thebrandyjenkins Check out her website: http://brandyjenkins.com Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

17 is my favorite number, so why not, on this 17th episode, share a little bonus in between our weekly episodes. So often we're in a rush and onto the next things. But how often do we spend time reflecting? Take a minute right now and notice the beautiful small moments that happen, in and out of your music therapy sessions. Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

Imposter syndrome, comparisonitis, jealousy. These are big things that we feel and have to work through, but what I think it really comes down to is identity. Let's not lose ourselves in the title and profession of “music therapist.” Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

If you don't already know Hayley, I am so excited for you to get to know her here. She is a delight! Hayley shares with us the steps she took to get into music therapy, her first job, and a few inspiring creative projects. And the best part, she's not done yet. Hayley talks about the feelings around burnout, imposter syndrome, and how she creatively finds her way through. I cannot wait to see what new thing Hayley does in her life and career as a music therapist. Enjoy the conversation!   Follow her on instagram: @mtahayley Listen to her joint podcast: Able Voice Podcast Peruse her website: https://mtahayley.com And while you're at it, check out her Anti-Oppressive Practices Resource.

This episode is full of steps that you can take if there is no music therapy job near you. We are creative professionals, and we can creatively do something about that! Let's walk together through some options and ideas for starting something new in your area. If you need an easy-to-read version of this episode, find one on my blog: kimbest.com One of my favorite resources of all time is the Therapy Business Blueprint by Kimberly Sena Moore. It's only $17 and will serve you for many years. Plus, you get to support two music therapists when buying (the author and Music Therapy E-Books)!

I love hearing guests talk about their paths in (and out of) the music therapy field. Kaillie shares with us what it felt like to be a music therapist and the process she went through to explore speech-language pathology. She talks about her relationship with music, how much she loves working as an SLP, and how she still uses music when appropriate for her clients' developmental speech goals.   If you're interested in speech-language pathology, find more info at www.asha.org If you want to connect with Kaillie, email hello@kimbest.com and we'll get you connected! Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

I just moved and have been taking in how different this new place is. The good, the bad, and everything in between… and the little things that I'm falling in love with. Sometimes it takes a change, a transition, to give us that fresh perspective we need to motivate our work and keep on going. We may need another person's eyes to help us see the little things we're missing. Having a new view can give you just the shift you need to enliven your work or life.   Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

This may be a rant, but I think it's a conversation worth having, even just for my own soul. I want to be happy where I am, with what I'm doing, right here and now without feeling the need to be more or do more. I want to stop chasing the idea that I always need to be “better” as a music therapist. It's exhausting and makes me feel devalued where I am. So, I'm trying to tear down the idea that we will magically attain this idea of “better” and maybe what we have right now is all we need to be a great music therapist. Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

I remember feeling so lost as a new professional. I had no idea what to do, where to go, and what my options were in respect to getting a job. Employee, self-employed, hourly employee, contractor, sub-contractor. What's the difference? I break this all down to the best of my ability in this episode! If you have more to add to this conversation, leave a message under the post on this episode on Instagram @musictherapistpod.   Download the exclusive PDF of career options for music therapists: What Happens After College   Flowchart program mentioned in the episode: Lucidchart.com   Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

This episode is rich with stories about what a music therapist may walk through in discovering themselves. In our conversation, we talk about trusting your gut, burnout, sustainable work, and so much more. Sarah is a social worker and music therapist currently working as a child and family therapist for a non-profit with children impacted by trauma and their caregivers. As an advocate for supervision, Sarah offers supervision for music therapists pro-bono on a limited basis, so jump on this if you're looking for support! This was one of my favorite conversations to-date, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Find her on Instagram @skliii Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

How the heck do you create and write goals for your professional and personal life? On this episode I share my thoughts around projects and the perfectionism I have to get through to be able to reach my goals. Let's take a much more intuitive approach to chasing our dreams and aspirations! I've also included some tips on picking the "due dates" for projects, as this has been the only way I have completed anything. Referenced in this episode is another podcast that I co-host called Seasons of Resilience.  Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

I never knew how much I'd change as a music therapist. In this episode I talk about the growth I've walked through and the areas we grow in.   Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

My very first guest is Mabel, who I've had the pleasure of becoming friends with online. She is a hospice music therapist who, at the airing of this episode, is in school for social work. This is her story of discovering music therapy, facing challenges, and pursuing another degree to enhance her work. She is from a little island but has continually chased big dreams.  Find her on Instagram @limitlessharmonies In the episode, Mabel mentions the Creative Therapy Umbrella podcast with Kate Shannon. These are the episodes Mabel refers to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-therapy-umbrella/id1479921758 Find them on Instagram @creativetherapyumbrella On the episode, we mention the very new podcast that Mabel and I just launched Seasons of Resilience. Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seasons-of-resilience/id1541766095 Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.  

When does a music therapist not need a pep talk?! Today I'm sharing a few tidbits about my internship and share some encouragement to you. As music therapists, we are brave. Music, production, and editing by Greg Best.

Today's episode is not so much about music therapy, but more about STUFF. I want to tell you a little bit about an eye-opening book that has forever changed my relationship with stuff and some steps I've taken to be more eco-friendly. I suppose I'm not your average music therapist because I'm talking about stuff over here!

I'm all about honest conversations here, and this is one that lots of us don't want to talk about. Have you ever felt like leaving the field of music therapy? Likely, your answer is yes. Me too, friends. I share a few things I think about around leaving the field, some things I did to give myself space, and a time that felt perfectly balanced in my music therapy work.  One person I mention is Dominique, @thechictherapist on Instagram. You gotta check her out! Production and editing by Greg Best.

“It is better for me to speak up and get kicked out, than for me to do nothing and change nothing.” On this episode, I talk about being a Jersey girl, recognizing differences in Trader Joe's, a Brazilian Butt workout and more. We're talking all about speaking up and standing up for the field of music therapy as a whole. Let's be friends on Instagram: @kimberlyjanebest and the podcast is @musictherapistpod Production and editing by Greg Best.

Welcome to the very first episode of this music therapist pod: Not Your Average Music Therapist. I'm talking all about my feelings being in the field of music therapy and the hope for more honest conversations. I can't contain my excitement and am looking forward to our future together on this pod. Thank you for joining! You can find us on Instagram: @musictherapistpod Production and editing by Greg Best.