You're Nominated!

That's the email I got about a month ago from Hamilton Choices, Cincinnati's Choices program. Ohio Choices is a "nonprofit organization, [that] coordinates support for youth involved in multiple systems and their families." I have a number of clients that I work with who are currently a Hamilton Choices client, which means music therapy is funded by Hamilton Choices. These clients are by far my toughest clients because they have a number of mental health and emotional issues. Although they are my toughest clients, I have learned the most by working with them. Not only do I see them in my music therapy sessions, but I get to go to their team meetings and be a part of their care team. Attending these meetings has been key in my growth as a therapist. Working with school teachers, therapists, doctors, psychologists, parents, and care managers in these meetings, I am able to better understand what the client is going through, start to understand their everyday life, and get feedback from very important people.

On Thursday, Hamilton Choices held their annual award ceremony. Three of my clients from Music Therapy Services performed, and one client was a Hamilton Choices client. One of his goals is self-expression...and boy did he express! It was tons of fun to see him perform in front of 80-100 people. I'm a proud music therapist :)

I won the "Innovative" award. The award states:

Brianna Shaffer build[s] "Innovative relationships and support[s] networks for youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities and their families."




I am very honored.

10 Days of Easter - Visuals

I made a video with my visuals for the "10 Days of Easter".

Here is the link!

Ten Days of Easter

Major holidays always make lesson planning easier. It gives my sessions a theme and allows me to teach my clients about what's happening around them. Easter allows us to talk about springtime, flowers, baby animals, Easter (of course), and all the fun things to do during Easter time. Piggy-backing off of Rachel's post "Ten Days of Thanksgiving," I came up with the "Ten Days of Easter."


Working backwards, here are the lyrics:

On the 10th day of Easter my true love gave to me:
10 BABY LAMBS
9 SUNS A SHINING
8 CHIRPING BLUE BIRDS
7 CHERRY BLOSSOMS
6 GEESE A LAYING
5 GOLDEN EGGS!
4 FLYING BUTTERFLIES
3 ORANGE TULIPS
2 MARSHMALLOW PEEPS
AND A BUNNY IN AN EASTER BASKET!

My clients favorites so far are the peeps, eggs, and baby lambs.

This is a wonderful intervention to work on counting forwards and backwards, sequencing, and speech production. I like to have my higher functioning client(s) be my Vanna White :) They love to help flip over my pages.

Pictures to come.

Music Sparks

Music Sparks is a great blog that I follow. You should check it out. Joann Jordan, MT-BC is a blogger who has recently blogged about springtime interventions. My latest post discussed my excitement about Spring!

Here is the link to Joann's April Shower Songs. Hope you may find it as helpful as I have.

Find me on...

...The Music Therapy Tween! Michelle Erfurt has this great website which is contains "Tips and thoughts from a traveling music therapist, business owner and hobby addict."



Thanks, Michelle, for including my blog :)

You can find a post about Play Your Part here.

Spring has Sprung!

So...finally, after what has seemed like the longest winter ever, spring has sprung in Cincinnati!

Here's even a picture to prove it!


(at one of my contracts in Batavia, Ohio)

This was my first 'real' winter. Last winter, while my hubby was here in Cincinnati, I was completing my internship at MusicWorx, Inc. in beautiful and sunny California! Although I was so busy, at least I got to enjoy the sun instead of the snow.

Flowers have started to bloom and the sun is shining again. My upcoming sessions will include flowers, songs about spring, and Easter. Do you recommend any great songs for the spring?