Enjoy this episode with music therapist, dementia practitioner, and business owner, Tara Jenkins. Hear what it’s like working with older adults, being a seasoned music therapist, and having resilience through challenges. This conversation also gets really specific on music therapy group sessions, Thanksgiving song ideas, and rates for music therapy group and individual sessions. We’d love to hear your thoughts - send a message on Instagram (@hellokimbest or @musictherapistpod) or send an email to hello@kimbest.com.

Connect with Tara online!

@HarmonyInDementia

www.harmonyindementia.com

Lessons learned and Encouragement shared

What do gardening and business have in common? In this episode, Kim shares her experience with both and drops insight into the process of starting something new. Enjoy!

kimbest.com/musiccanhelp

The podcast is back up! Enjoy this episode that provides some space for you to recognize your growth, breathe, and look lovingly into the rest of the year. 

To read my writings: kimbest.substack.com

To become a BFF behind the scenes: patreon.com/kimbest

kimbest.com for resources, products, and added support for music therapists

…and Instagram:

@kimberlyjanebest on Instagram

@musiccanhelp on Instagram

@nymusictherapy on Instagram

@musictherapistpod for this podcast on Instagram

In this episode, Tricia and I chat about subcontracting and our many opinions and experiences with contract-style work. We dive into the model of private practice music therapy businesses, and I offer a new model of business that I am excited to see unfold and develop. This is the first time I am sharing this new model publicly, and I hope you are inspired to try new things in your life and work to make each day more fulfilling. 

Find Tricia online:

@care-chronicles on Instagram

Care-chronicles.com

Email: hello@care-chronicles

And all the links that I had mentioned: 

kimbest.com for resources and support for music therapists

@kimberlyjanebest on Instagram

@musiccanhelp on Instagram

@nymusictherapy on Instagram

@musictherapistpod for this podcast on Instagram

I have had my share of proposing music therapy programs, networking with administrators, and giving presentations to anyone who will listen.

These years have given me insight into the most important parts of the process - what actually matters. I care about your time and our sustainability as a profession, so in this conversation I break down the key pieces that really matter.

Find the powerpoint slides here as a PDF.

Hope you walk away with ideas and next steps!

P.S. I have just started up my Patreon Page, so check it out! It’s a place where you get behind-the-scenes, early and exclusive access, and conversations with like-minded beautiful people, As a patron, you get to choose which tier you want to be - the $10/month tier is probably my favorite because you get a letter of encouragement in the mail and get to call yourself a “pen-pal.” It just makes me smile! There are other options as well which offer you coaching, art in the mail, etc. Can’t wait to build our little community over there!

Let’s change the world together by incorporating this into our lives more. Let’s take this in our jobs in a real and meaningful way. Let’s set a new standard of work and life balance and live fulfilling, rest-filed lives.

What is presence and how can we have more of it in our work and life?

Enjoy my husband's little hello around the 10 min mark. :)

New resource about the re-certification process for music therapists can be found here: kimbest.com/resources

Last month was the one year anniversary of my friend’s death, and I thought it would be a good time to chat about grief. Please excuse the driving noises! It gets better about halfway through. P.S. “Church of Grief” coming soon!

Please honor Sara with me by enjoying all the music she shared with the world in her short life. Here’s a link to her Youtube page with the bulk of her recorded work. You can also listen to What My Body Needs on Spotify.

Let’s dive deeper into this phrase and why it bothers us so much. This is a short and sweet episode on the name that bugs us to no end, and maybe this chat will help us see it differently.

Hi friends, we are back! Please enjoy this episode about the freedom to create your own timeline, answers to your questions, and a nice conversation about imposter syndrome - something we’ve all felt before!

Follow me on instagram: @kimberlyjanebest

Buy a shirt: kimbest.com/shop

Sharing a little update on life and work. It’s wild to think about where I was and where I am now. Hope this episode encourages you to keep chasing your dreams. Let yourself be open to the possibilities of good things coming your way. I also briefly go over the structure of hospice in states of a certificate of need. It’s confusing, but maybe a bit simpler after listening to the episode.

Buy a shirt: kimbest.com/shop

Follow Music Can Help: @musiccanhelp

Happy New Year! This conversation was from an event held at Nazareth College back in February 2022. Here, Kim is speaking with the Women in the Industry club about Networking (Compassion), Branding (Authenticity), Job Opportunities (Love), and Future (Change). The conversation concludes with a Q&A. Enjoy!

This is a short conversation about holding on until things get better, because they just might.

Items mentioned in the episode:

Subscription to receive letters of encouragement in the mail: pattern.com/kimbest

Student to professional flow chart, Taking time off reference, and more resources: kimbest.com/resources

End of the day review pad and Music can help T-shirts: kimbest.com/shop

How can we respect ourselves, our time, and our energy so that others also respect these? Here’s a conversation around burnout and the unrealistic expectations we may have. What would a sustainable job look like?

Greg Best, musician, producer, and husband to Kim, joins us on the podcast for our second conversation about energy. He shares his thoughts, processes, and experience with us around this topic. Greg and Kim talk about their differences and how energy brings together dark and light. Please enjoy this conversation!

Greg on Instagram: @gregbestever 

Listen to Greg’s music: This Is Greg Best Spotify Playlist

Follow along here: besteverproductions.live

Join me in gathering the wisdom of the ages with Deforia Lane, as we talk about music therapy at different stages of life, the challenges of creating balance, and knowing what your purpose is. What an honor it was to record this one!

Nazareth College chapter of AMTAS Mini Conference with Dr. Deforia Lane as the keynote speaker: https://fb.me/e/5S0ePT9yM

What goes into all of this stuff that we do?

AKA: the wrong way for me to market this podcast. And thoughts on creating equilibrium.

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

New seasons are a good opportunity to reset, check in with yourself, and look expectantly ahead. In this episode I talk about Personal, Work, and Fun things to do at the start of a new year, new month, or new season. If you’d rather read this episode, check out the blog here: kimbest.com/blog

Some links from the episode: 

Free “Take Time Off” Reference and CMTE-entering guide, kimbest.com/resources 

Basic Business Spreadsheets, kimbest.com/shop/p/spreadsheets-for-taxes 

Vision Board Making, kimbest.com/blog/visionboard

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. 📲

From the episode: 

Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

Connect with Louise on Instagram @louise.zhuly

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.”

BEES! Listen to some top-tips, to steer clear of bee stings, from a music therapist/beekeeper.

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with my husband on a church roof with Nick Lord and the bees. Nick taught us all about bees and the process of beekeeping and harvesting honey. It was fascinating, and we found the queen on the first frame we looked at! This was definitely an experience to remember, and thankfully we can savor it a little longer with the hyper-local honey Nick gifted us.

Nick is a music therapist who has ventured into his other hobbies and passions in a big way, such as starting beekeeping on roofs around Rochester.  

WHERE TO FIND THE HONEY:

Find Flower City Bee Works honey locally in Rochester, NY at Stacy K Floral or one of Nick’s pop-ups around town (or you can enter our giveaway! Ends Nov 4). 

Strangebird Brewing in Rochester has honey brown on tap/in cans, called Do Up, using honey from their rooftop hives that Nick manages.

WHERE TO FIND NICK’S MUSIC:

Cover group: Spring Drive, www.springdriveband.com

Folk group: Chaz & the Dazzlers, Intelligence Is Rising on Spotify

CONNECT WITH NICK:

Instagram: @flowercitybeeworks

#rochesterny #beekeeping #hyperlocalhoney #musictherapist #musictherapylife #musictherapists

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)!

Welcome to this joint podcast episode! This is part 1 (of 2) of my conversation with Dannielle Caldwell, content creator extraordinaire, co-host of MTPT (Music Till Proven Therapy) podcast, and the creator of the all-new NEW PROFESSIONAL RETREAT! The retreat is happening THIS Saturday, September 28th, and you can still register up until Friday. There are limited spaces, so make sure you register now!

In part 2, Dannielle shares all about the retreat and I share a special discount for all of you! Check out the second half of this episode here: www.musictherapynow.net/podcast and register for the retreat here: www.musictherapynow.net/newprofessionals

These episodes are great for all music therapists, not just new professionals, as we share our stories and glean wisdom from the steps we’ve taken. Hope you enjoy!

Connect with Dannielle here!

@mtptpod

@danniellemtbc

@musictherapynow_

@musictherapyednow

www.musictherapynow.net

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.