Facilitation Technique Category: Expressive Arts as Therapeutic Media

Activity Title: Music Therapy: Musical Scattergories

Source: Davis, W. B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). An introduction to music
therapy: Theory and practice. American Music Therapy Association. 8455 Colesville
Road Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Equipment: Subject cards, pencil w/ paper, and timer.
Activity Description: Expressive Arts uses art principles in order to help participants
come into contact with their authentic self. Therapeutic Recreation specialists can also
use expressive arts in the form of therapeutic interventions to advocate self-expression,
and increase physical, social, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Then, under the
Expressive Arts as Therapeutic Media category, falls Music Therapy. Music Therapy
helps advocate communication, emotional health, wellness, stress management, pain
reduction, emotional expression, and memory retention. Now for this weeks activity, I
chose a game called Musical Scattergories. This game can accommodate as many
participants as possible. The procedures for this activity includes: 1) splitting the clients
into groups, 2) give each group a pencil and paper, 3) draw a single card with a category
on it and share it with each of the groups 4) set a timer for a specific amount of time, 5)
teams must then think of as many song titles as they can fit into that specific category that
was drawn on the card, 6) Once the time has expired, each team gets a point for each
song they thought of. In addition, in order to receive credit for the point, someone from
the group must also be able to sing part of the song. 7) Whoever has the most points at
the end, wins.
Leadership Considerations: A CTRS will function as an instructor for this activity, and
he/she will assist if any help is needed. If there are any limitations that a client may have
or that has already been diagnosed as having, it is essential that the CTRS gather this
information as early as possible. This is done so the leader can have time to
prepare/adjust the activities, according to the specific clients needs. This activity has
many different focuses, but the two that are the most predominant are the social and
recall/cognitive aspects. So when the CTRS is conducting this activity, it is essential that
he/she helps to facilitate and encourage, as much social interaction as possible, between
the clients. And in reference to the recall/cognitive aspects, its important for the leader to
have some back up options for some of the clients, if they fail to recall some songs, for
specific topics, to have some lists of songs that fit certain categories just incase a client
forgets and to avoid feelings of being left behind.
Adaptations: Participants with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The
essential feature that differentiates Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from other disorders is
that it involves the development of characteristic symptoms that follow exposure to one
or more traumatic events. The list of traumatic events may include rape, abuse, natural
disaster, being in a war zone, or exposure to a terrorist attack. Symptoms may also
include problems with social and cognitive functioning, as well as problems with their

limbic systems. Specific symptoms include detachment from people, avoidance of

people/places/things, poor concentration and focus, and having difficulty when it comes
to emotional learning. When it comes to adaptations for clients with PTSD, it is very
important for the client to also bring a list of possible triggers for their specific trauma.
Also it is also good fir the CTRS and other staff member to continually provide positive
praise and feedback. Allowing clients to play soothing music is also a good adaptation (or
the leader can provide music). And lastly, the CTRS should have a pair of backup noise
canceling head phones, just in case a certain noise or sound may trigger a clients trauma
(Davis, Gfeller, & Thaut, 2008).
Participants with Parkinsons Disease: Parkinsons disease is a chronic, progressive
disorder of the central nervous system, and affects the motor systems of the body.
Parkinsons is a result of losing cells in the substantia nigra part of the brain. The cells
that are lost are called dopamine. And as a result of losing these dopamine cells, it causes
neurons to fire at an out of control rate, which then causes the patients to not have control
over their movement, in a normal matter. Symptoms of the disease include tremors or
trembling, difficulty maintaining balance and gait, rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and
trunk, and general slowness of movement. Severe cases can even result in little to no
mobility over time. In terms of possible adaptations for clients who have Parkinsons
include, providing speech amplifiers and speech enhancement devices, in order to assist
client with audible difficulties. Parkinsons often hinders the motor speech abilities of the
client, and so these communication devices, will assist them in feeling more included into
the activity. In addition, providing written communication of rules is a good idea because
if the client forgets, all they have to do is look at the paper and are reminded of the
instructions (Pacchetti et al., 2000).
Adaptations References
-Bensimon, M., Amir, D., & Wolf, Y. (2008). Drumming through trauma: Music therapy
with post-traumatic soldiers. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 35(1), 34-48.
- Davis, W. B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). An introduction to music therapy:
Theory and practice. American Music Therapy Association. 8455 Colesville Road Suite
1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
- Pacchetti, C., Mancini, F., Aglieri, R., Fundar, C., Martignoni, E., & Nappi, G. (2000).
Active music therapy in Parkinsons disease: an integrative method for motor and
emotional rehabilitation. Psychosomatic medicine,62(3), 386-393