Greater Chicago Music Therapy Inc.

06/05/2026

These residents understood the assignment to fill up the board with things that make them SMILE 😁 for National Smile Day!

Songs about smiling that we used:
When You’re Smiling
Smile
Put On A Happy Face
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Happy (Yes, Pharrell Williams!)
Happy Days Are Here Again
Get Happy
Accentuate the Positive
You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile
Don’t Worry Be Happy

What other songs can you think of?

06/03/2026

“Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” Thanks, Arthur 💛

Greater Chicago Music Therapy is a mobile practice that serves the community across the Chicagoland area. What does that mean? We don’t have a clinic space and travel to where our clients call home - their personal residences, senior living and long term care communities, and other community organizations.

Pictured here is some art at a local library that our therapist Ann captured! We love stopping in local public spaces - libraries, the beach (it’s that time again!), parks, coffee shops, etc to finish our session notes, session plan, and catch up on our administrative tasks!

To our other mobile colleagues: Where is your favorite spot to stop in the middle of your day? Let us know in the comments!

06/01/2026

Happy June! Please join us at our community-wide events this month ☀️🎶
Pathlights & Orland Park Public Library on 6/3!
City of Rolling Meadows on 6/11!
National Aging In Place Council on 6/16!

05/29/2026

Please join us at on Tuesday, June 16th at 3:30pm for an informative CEU with the Chicago !

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/naipc-presents-supporting-seniors-to-age-in-place-resources-community-tickets-1987016916085?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/26/2026

As a constituent, our Director, Becky, is looking forward to speaking at City of Rolling Meadows on Thursday, June 11th about music therapy! Please join us!

05/25/2026

Shoutout to Melissa for starting new groups at Clarendale of Mokena!

Our residents started their day on a high note with a rejuvenating Music Therapy session.

05/22/2026

We often talk about HOW and WHY music therapy helps, but what do we actually DO to address the health and wellness goals we are targeting in sessions?

1️⃣ Recreative music making: Singing or playing instruments to a pre-existing song. Maybe we are singing Over the Rainbow to strengthen the vocal mechanism with the octave jumps in the song or playing instruments in a non-traditional way to strengthen upper extremity movement.

2️⃣ Receptive music: Listening, guided relaxation, or lyric analysis/discussion. Maybe we are listening to Elvis sing Can’t Help Falling In Love With You to prompt a discussion about the first wedding dance with the client’s late spouse because their anniversary is coming up or providing training on how to use music to “reset” in the middle of the day.

3️⃣ Improvisation: Spontaneous music making. Maybe we are prompting a musical conversation on a drum, going back and forth with a client who is unable to speak anymore but will communicate via music or giving a patient the opportunity to express themselves on a pentatonic xylophone (there are no wrong notes!)

4️⃣ Composition: Songwriting or creating new music. Maybe we are asking a memory care group about what they like to do in the water during summer time and rewriting My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean at the same time or writing a song with a client who just got diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about their grief and unknown future to help process their emotions.

As you can tell, music therapy is vast in how we can uniquely collaborate with our clients to provide support.

Check out our website for more resources and to get in touch! www.greaterchicagomusictherapy.com

05/18/2026

Apologies for the late notice but please join us TONIGHT if you are in the area!

Explore the health benefits of music with a professional music therapist this Monday evening at 7.

05/14/2026

Did you know our team of 8 music therapists are licensed professional AND board certified music therapists? Like other health professions, our licensure ensures stakeholders and clients are working with a credentialed clinician in addition to title protection - someone cannot use “music therapy” or “music therapist” unless they have the LPMT distinction. This mitigates misinformation for the public and provides quality services for the community!

↪️ Additionally, because of the new licensure, music therapy was added to the Medicaid package in Illinois and will be able to start billing in 2027, opening up access to music therapy to SO many people in need of support. (This is the first reimbursement of its kind in the whole country! 😱)

Want to learn more? Let us know! Message us or visit our website at www.greaterchicagomusictherapy.com !

05/06/2026

Listen to this little guy today! 🎶🎵