Introducing: Coffee, Tea, and Music Therapy Podcast!
I’m excited to officially share the news - Transformational Health Music Therapy Services (THMTS) and Ictus Strategic Marketing (ISM) are creating a music therapy podcast! This is in the works as we speak, and I’m stoked!
On our podcast, Mark and I (Jill) talk about the world of music therapy through stories, interviews, and our experience launching and running our music therapy practice, Transformational Health Music Therapy Services. This show is for music therapists, caregivers, and anyone who wants to learn more about music and its influence on our mental, physical, and emotional health. We will provide a variety of avenues for you to learn about music therapy, with our ultimate goal being to offer a platform of education and support as a community learning together as we go through life. It will include academic and educational information, with a mix of raw emotion and authenticity. Starting a business is challenging, and I share some of my struggles with you, the listener.
Our first guest on the Coffee, Tea, and Music Therapy podcast is Karen Skipper. Karen is my mentor on so many levels - as a music therapist of 30+ years, as an owner of a private practice, and as an advocate for older adults, particularly those who have neurological challenges. I met Karen in 2017 in my first music therapy practicum. She not only taught me about Parkinson’s Disease and Neurologic Music Therapy, but she showed me what it takes to run a successful private practice. At that point in my life I had no idea that I would start my own private practice, but looking back, I realize how much I learned about being a small business owner from her.
Karen was required to provide supervision once a week for 3-4 hours. Instead, she let me hang out with her for the entire day every Monday, picking me up at the train station at 8 am and dropping me off at 5 pm. She went above and beyond in every way - trusting me to co-lead and eventually lead music therapy sessions with her groups, driving me everywhere, spending her lunch letting me pick her brain, and much more.
Karen has a passion and love for older adults, and she gives back to the music therapy profession with that same passion. She is the first person I call when I need insight regarding my music therapy practice. Karen says what she thinks, and I love that about her. We had so many candid conversations during my time as a practicum student about the field of music therapy and how to clearly advocate for the profession.
I can’t wait for you to hear directly from Karen on Coffee, Tea, and Music Therapy as she and I talk about music therapy and how to advocate for this growing profession. So stay tuned, and we will let you know when Episode 1 is published and ready for listening!