Out of the Music Box with Kate Shannon
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Have you met Kate Shannon yet? You probably have if you listen to her awesome podcast, you follow her on Instagram or if you attended our Music For Kiddos Symposium last November (she gave a spectacular presentation!).
Kate Shannon, LPC, LCAT, MT-BC of Creative Therapy Umbrella is a fellow music therapist, creative arts therapist and a licensed professional counselor. I love Kate and have a deep admiration for her work — she's very humanistic, child-centered and incredibly creative. I had the privilege of interviewing her on the Music For Kiddos podcast, and am excited to share with you what we talked about here on the blog. She shared with me tangible, child-centered resources that you can immediately implement in your practice. She also talks about her new course on Music For Kiddos called Out of the Music Box. One of the things Kate is so good at is bringing toys and props into her music therapy sessions, and this course is all about ways to bring in ideas that are not necessarily music-based.
KATE’S BACKGROUND AND DRIVE AS A CLINICIAN
In our time together, Kate talked about her childhood. She was very, very shy - crippling so - and very small in stature. She struggled with selective mutism, and talks about it more in one of her podcast episodes. What helped her move out of that was creativity—being creative and having creative challenges. Kate also started karate at a young age, which she found that it “opened [her] up to meditation and the power of somatics and movement. It really allowed me to work through some of my anxieties as a kid.” I asked her if she feels that these things had a direct impact on the way she practices as a clinician today, and she responded with a resounding, “100%.” We both agreed that, being incredibly shy as kids, it informs how we interact with kids today. There is a sense of true empathy, and even a little bit of protectiveness, because we can truly relate to that feeling.
LET THEM LEAD
“I’m a huge believer in not forcing things,” Kate told me. "My personal approach is very non-directive and directive at times, when it’s what best supports a client. But, I think there’s a lot of power in giving opportunities for kids to explore and create, because there is so much that we can do when we let a child lead in their exploration. I think it comes down to supporting their mental wellness through those things.”
When I asked Kate to share about her passions and philosophies, she spoke about her love for supporting both children and adults—infusing her skills as a music therapist, creative therapist, and licensed counselor. “I love working with adults in creative ways that they want to explore - using creativity to support mental health and wellness in so many different ways.” Her approach with clients is humanistic and client-centered.
BEING
Kate received a lot Nordoff-Robbins training during her internship that really spoke to her. “There is just something so powerful and so beautiful when you really work on a relationship,” she stated. She believes that working on a relationship is less about doing and more about just being—truly putting that client at the forefront In her work, she focuses on being and creativity, which brings in a lot of mindfulness.
“Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Ground who you are.” This is how Kate enters into a session so that her antennas are up and she is able to be fully present to how the client may be feeling throughout her time with them. She is always taking mental notes of “data responses” from the clients, even something as seemingly small as finger-picking the guitar for a particular song eliciting more of a response than strumming. “Take the time to notice those things and bring them into the session, because they are important [to the client].”
INFUSING CREATIVITY
“Creativity itself is considered a resiliency factor”—Kate explained that this goes beyond painting and playing the piano. Problem solving is a form of creativity on its own. She says that as the therapist, we need to trust the process, leave space, and be open in order for creativity to grow. “Remember the child’s interests as well as what they say. Pay attention to what they say, and take it very seriously,” she encouraged.
One of her favorite techniques called “Yes, and?” is actually a theater technique. “It’s the idea that when somebody comes up with an idea - and I think this is really powerful for kids because they get even less opportunities than adults to do this - saying “Yes” to it, going with it, and seeing what happens. That process in itself is so empowering for kids and we’re supporting their ability to try something new, to build their confidence in trying something new to problem solve.” So powerful, Kate. She goes on to explain that after saying “Yes” to an idea, follow up with: “and what comes next?”—or something similar. Then say “yes” to that idea, and just keep that rhythm going.
BRINGING IN LAUGHTER
When I asked Kate what other strategies she uses regularly, she explained: “Be okay with the unknown, be okay with the client having control, be okay with things totally bombing, and be playful.” These may seem so simple, but they can have a really big impact on the session’s outcome and the client’s responsiveness.
Kate encourages us to keep these things in mind can to challenge us to change our perspective, “to be a little more childlike, perhaps. Play the piano backwards. Play the guitar while it’s laying on the ground and lie next to it. There’s a newness in those perspectives that can bring about excitement. Even something as simple as doing your ‘Hello Song’ in a new key. Little things like that kids will notice.
This part of the conversation reminded me of my time in my internship when again and again, my supervisor would say, “Do what it takes to build the relationship. Do what it takes, do what it takes.” Sometimes that meant doing cartwheels, dancing with stuffed animals, singing like a meowing cat—literally anything that it took.
It is so often that, through these outrageous and silly things, that we can really connect with kids. Kate agrees that next to the music and the relationship as the most important, “humor comes up as an incredibly close third there, because laughter is such a solid way to connect.” You have permission to laugh—at things that are silly and at things that go in an unexpected way, even our mistakes. Laughter brings about joy, and because of the study of relational neurosciences, we know that relationships become stronger when joy is present in them.
NEW COURSE: OUT OF THE MUSIC BOX
Kate wanted to create this course so that music therapists feel more comfortable “working on the cusp of where music crosses over in so many different arts.” This can include painting and drawing, but also things like nature, yoga, sensory sand, and play therapy.
Her goals for this course are to develop the understanding of why it’s important that we give space for multisensory experiences, and to help you explore your own creativity as a clinician to infuse into your sessions. It also includes actual interventions that you can take away, resources on the role of stories, and what creating stories looks like with different levels of support. There are also Telehealth considerations to suit different client needs.
She includes a lot of different examples—actual implementation of specific resources—of how to make things multisensory, and how you can support kids through that.
“Out of The Music Box” does just that—it breaks open the box in our mind that tells us everything always has to be “only this one way.” I am so thankful to Kate for offering this multi-modal course that is seeped in the expressive therapies, and for sharing this time with me to talk about herself, her experiences, and her ideas.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW:
TODAY’S RESOURCE:
Kate is sharing a resource that is near and dear to her heart: “Roll-a-story” Printables!
This resource will provide children with fun opportunities to create stories with different characters, settings, and challenges during sessions!
🎵 Download the PDF of the resource here ↓
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