Ossia Music Therapy, LLC

11/04/2025

Such a great Academy of Aphasia conference in San Diego this past week! I was excited to present my poster on music therapy as an effective and engaging means of therapy for those with ! Feel free to connect if you have questions about my poster. New version of my Sing for Speech e-Program coming soon!!

04/29/2025

What a great conversation today! Will soon be archived on YouTube: https://youtube.com/?si=SGNRLwsaGSzhi_97

04/07/2025

What a great conference! Being the only Music Therapist there made me a semi celebrity 🤣 and I enjoyed sharing the news of how music therapy can help those with aphasia. I was honored to present with this amazing team on Aphasia choirs and singing. 🎵

04/04/2025

Our roundtable today at the Aphasia Access Summit was well received! Here is our handout with QR code for an extensive database of resources for outcome measures and music group development. I’m excited to hear about the creation of new music and choir groups for individuals with all over the US. The neural connections made during singing and playing music can enhance language, cognition, mood and social domains. I’m also so encouraged by the willingness of speech therapists to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration! My team for this roundtable was also inspiring 😍.

10/14/2024

Attention and Care Professionals! Join the next Creative Care Circle with guest Natasha Goldstein-Levitas, certified Dance/Movement Therapist. After a short presentation, we will engage in movement together to learn new ways to connect and enhance caregiving. Schedule in 30 minutes for yourselves on Oct. 28 at 12noon Eastern. Link in comments!

Natasha Goldstein-Levitas, MA, BC-DMT
(she/her/hers) is a Philadelphia, PA based Board-
Certified Dance/Movement Therapist with over
two decades of clinical experience working
primarily with older adults, individuals living
with dementia, and their care partners, in
multiple healthcare and community-based
settings and organizations. She is also an
Educator and Program Leader with several years
of experience in both healthcare and higher
education roles. Natasha is well connected in the
aging, wellness, and creative arts communities-
at-large.

10/12/2024

Check out our YouTube channel for recordings on webinars and zoom tours of e-programs! The most recent video is the Creative Care Circle with an art therapist giving great ideas for interactive art in caregiving.

https://youtu.be/uV1GyWktDLU?si=YUt1O0AjrlD_07-G

09/17/2024

Here’s the link to register for this FREE online circle for and providers/administrators on Oct. 10 at 11:00am Eastern!

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuc-mgpjkrHNYIYapVqfq7ZmhKX1FeRj8Y

Come learn about art therapy! Bring your questions for how to enhance YOUR caregiving with art experiences.

Our first guest will feature my amazing local colleague Bridget!
Bridget Pemberton-Smith, ATR-BC (she/her) is a board certified art therapist and a trained expressive arts therapist. Bridget received her Master’s in Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University in 1998. Some of the populations she has worked with include children living with cancer, seniors both with and without dementia, adults with IDD and refugees and immigrants. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of the Art Therapy Institute from 2020-2023. Currently, through her private practice, , Bridget serves diverse populations both in her Carrboro, NC based office and in the community at large. She frequently collaborates with area nonprofits to provide therapeutic art services to marginalized people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to receive art therapy services. Her greatest joy is helping people discover the healing potential of the arts and seeing them embrace that discovery in their lives.

If you’d like to be a guest therapist for our circle ⭕️ please contact me!

Visit Ossia Music Therapy here:
www.ossiamusictherapy.com

09/10/2024

This E-program is only $15/month for a subscription, includes a monthly virtual group for support, and is accessible anywhere at any time. It’s a self-serve way to practice at home, engage with a caregiver, reduce stress, and improve speech. Check it out in link in bio.

Based on well researched techniques to help:

08/29/2024

Become a member of our website (link in bio) for these free pdf posters to enhance care in your loved one’s facility or room. Just post around the room to remind yourself or other caregivers to use MUSIC 🎶 throughout the day! Feel free to print from here too and share the knowledge. 😍

07/12/2024

https://lf.westernsydney.edu.au/files/altcreds/courses/mwac/scormcontent/assets/Po4HP5hX0xlUJsGm_Chnbi_uXNIAfiZ3v-MARC4378-Guide-for-Music-Use-in-People-with-Dementia_MAR2022-3-2-1.pdf

Sharing this amazing and FREE pdf guide for using playlists in dementia care. Includes assessments for negative responses. There’s also an online training module using this guide. Please share. Music has a huge impact on those with dementia.

07/05/2024

A Vignette from Daily Life of a Music Therapist:

I start the session with my client with dementia and resulting aphasia with a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out To the Ballgame.” The effect on mood is strikingly apparent almost immediately (even on my own mood), as he smiles and sings almost every word! The flow of his language is almost perfect during singing and after several songs, he is saying one-liners in his usual jovial manner and conversing with me with much less difficulty. His brain is essentially “warmed up” and finding new ways to connect to speech, with neurons firing away in both hemispheres. This is what first drew me to the field of music therapy when I worked in child care with an Autistic child: the amazing ability of singing to circumvent difficulties in expressive language. It’s not magic (even though it appears to be in the moment) but it’s one of those neurological wonders that is now becoming clearer in MRI studies on speech and singing.
Once my client had more lucidity and communicative ability, I was able to ask him: “how is your body feeling today? Any pain?” He answered “no, feeling good!”




Check out the link in bio for my Sing For Speech E-Program to try some techniques at home!

06/21/2024

Thank you, Triangle Aphasia Project Unlimited, for the spotlight! Here's a short video about my practice and Sing For Speech E-Program.

TAP Unlimited, or the Triangle Aphasia Project, Unlimited, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide life participation programs to individuals w...