|
|
Music Therapy |
|
|
Home Performance |
Brenda Freed has always been aware of the healing power of music since suffering from a muscle degenerative disease at the age of 9 when singing and playing piano were the few activities she could physically do. Not only did she miraculously recover completely from the disease (for example, in 1991 she completed a 9,000 mile bicycle ride that led her from Iowa to Texas by way of Canada!) but, the experience inspired her to become a music therapist and a private music instructor - careers which enable her to help others through music. Brenda's Definition, Goals and Techniques Brenda's Music Therapy Experience (Including Master's Thesis) Brenda's Current Music Therapy Practice Brenda's Presentation Experience Brenda's Definition, Goals and Techniques For Brenda Freed, Music Therapy is about using music as well as other
creative arts therapies to achieve non-musical goals. Depending
on the treatment population, some goals of music therapy are to increase
self-esteem, increase socialization, encourage specific motor movement,
reinforce treatment concepts and encourage appropriate self-expression
and behaviors. In her music therapy work, Brenda has focused
on songwriting, improvisation and lyric analysis with her clients. She
has also incorporated puppetry and video feedback into her work as
well as other creative art therapies such as poetry, drama, art, and
movement therapy. "Music does amazing things for people. I've
witnessed a child say his first words following a head injury by singing
a familiar song with me during a session. Carefully chosen songs
clients relate to in music therapy sessions serve as a starting point
for them to talk honestly about their own lives and problems. Songs
written by terminally ill clients serve as a validation of their lives
and some have later been read at their memorial services and are a
gift to family and friends. I've also sung to people as they
have passed from this life into another realm. Families have
commented that the music made it easier for them as well as for their
loved one." Brenda's Music Therapy Experience (Including Master's Thesis) Brenda graduated from the University of Iowa in 1980 with a BA in
Music Education and Music Therapy. In 1982, she started working
as a music therapist in the recreational therapy department at University
of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). Over the next 8 years,
she worked at a frenzied pace testing her own mental health in the
process. Brenda's Master's Thesis - Song Versus Poetry as a Focal Point in Group Therapy Session on Group Cohesion: In 1992, after coming to Texas, Brenda Freed teamed up with an art
teacher, two massage therapists and a writer and together offered "Right
Brain Retreats". Her workshops provided fun and liberating
experiences while exploring self-expression through breathing techniques,
vocal exercises and singing. Brenda's Current Music Therapy Practice Brenda currently serves on the Board and is Program Director for the non-profit, Youth Taking Charge ( www.youthtakingcharge.org). She leads the music groups at the 5-day summer camp and weekend retreats using music and music therapy activities to reinforce the goals of the camp. She also uses music therapy techniques in her ongoing private music instruction; a business she started in 1991. For more information on music therapy in Brenda's teaching go to: Music Therapy in Teaching. Brenda is currently available as a speaker for groups seeking someone
with broad and practical music therapy skills and experience. Her
presentations are fun and experiential for participants. For
more information, please Contact
Brenda. Brenda's Presentation Experience Brenda has taught several Continuing Education Units (CEU's) for music therapists and for nurses in the areas of chemical dependency and general hospital including: Music Therapy in the Health Care setting, Music Therapy with the Chemically Dependent, Music Therapy with the Chronically Ill, and Music Therapy as an Expressive and Therapeutic Tool. While Brenda was the music therapist at the University of Iowa, she was invited to present her innovative music therapy techniques at conferences across the United States and internationally:
Brenda's music therapy publications are still used today in music therapy curriculum at the University level:
|