emotions

[PsychToday] The Soothing Balm of Music

November 20, 2016
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I finally cried over Hillary Clinton’s loss last Sunday morning when watching Kate McKinnon (as Clinton) hauntingly sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on SNL. Though there were likely multiple factors involved in this emotional release—fatigue from travel, disbelief over recent political events, a physical and emotional letdown following a week-long professional conference—what ultimately put me over […]

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3 Must-Read Articles of the Week

November 5, 2015
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Every once in awhile I read a blog post or article worth sharing with my readers. This week, there are three. These three articles are very different in topic and style. One describes living as an autistic person, another is about music therapy and iPods, and the third outlines research on music for maladaptive emotion […]

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[PsychToday] 3 Musical Ways to Influence a Child’s Emotions

October 22, 2015
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When people ask me what I do, and I say I’m a music therapist, I generally get one of three responses: The Curious Question: “Music therapy…what’s that?” The Personal Connection: “You’re a music therapist?! Oh my goodness, my (mom/dad/grandmother/friend/child) had a music therapist and it was fantastic!” The Emotional Association: “Oh I love music therapy! […]

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5 Difficult Concepts Made Easier by Disney’s “Inside Out”

June 26, 2015
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Disclaimer: This post gives away some plot lines from the Disney movie Inside Out. Read at your own risk. The other day, the family and I did something that millions of other families do on a typically Sunday afternoon. We went to the movies. The movie of choice? Disney’s recently released cartoon movie Inside Out. […]

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Defining Emotion Regulation

June 7, 2012
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Last week, I wrote about the importance of clear writing and talking when making a concept easy to understand. This week, I will put it into practice. I am struggling with clearly defining, writing, and talking about my research interest: the effect of music on emotion regulation. The first hurdle is to define “emotion regulation” […]

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Book Review: Why We Like Music

December 7, 2011
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I am super-excited to share with you a book recently introduced to me: Why We Like Music: Ear, Emotion, Evolution. The book was originally published in Italy about 5 years. It has been translated into English by Stephen Thomson Moore and released just two months ago by New World Media. Here’s the short version of […]

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Is It Just Me, Or Does This Really Work?

August 12, 2010
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You may recall that, in addition to this blog here, I also blog at Psychology Today–though not nearly as often! 🙂 This morning I published a story about an experience I had a couple years ago where I was able to use music to calm two boys in an active “fight, flight, or freeze” response. […]

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It’s Finally Here…

June 17, 2010
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…today is moving day!!! I’m feeling lots of emotions that can be wrapped up in one word: bittersweet. Although I feel like we’re heading on this great new adventure, it’s hard leaving our wonderful friends and this beautiful house my husband built. Ultimately, though (and as cliche as this is), life is about change. And […]

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Watch and Learn: The Mirror Neuron Song

January 28, 2010

In the 1990s, scientists at the University of Parma were studying motor neurons in monkeys. They attached electrodes to a monkey’s brain cells responsible for movements. These electrodes recorded whenever those cells fired…a.k.a. whenever the monkey moved. Monkeys like peanuts. The researchers set out peanuts for the monkeys to grab. Monkey grabs a peanut, motor […]

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