Greetings!

Hello everyone! I'm Justin and I've been a Board-Certified Music Therapist for a year now. Sherrye has asked me to partner with her in blogging about different topics related to music therapy and recreation. I am excited for this being my first time blogging about anything. Currently, I'm the Director of Recreation at a long-term care and rehabilitation center in Bridgewater, NJ. I interned at a Veteran Affairs Hospital in Montrose, NY where I worked in long-term/sub-acute psych and dementia care. I've presented at several local, regional, and national conferences on the topic of music therapy with current veterans with mTBI/PTSD. Additionally, I've lectured at the West Point Military Academy on stress and music relaxation techniques.

I'm currently pursuing my PhD in clinical neuroscience or in neuropsychology. I haven't decided on which path yet. I enjoy reading and conducing research in neuroscience. I wish to explore how music therapy interacts in the restructuring of atrophied axons following primary blast injury from atmospheric pressure changes caused by repeated exposure to blast wave during war. I believe that by studying how the brain restructures itself from TBI, TIA, or by stroke, we can better understand how the brains adapts to other neurological/physiological disorders.

Thank you, Sherrye for the opportunity to blog with you. This will be a great sharing experience with other clinician out there. Next, I would like to blog about my most recent presentation on mTBI with veterans and on the topic of brief therapy.

- Justin