SPRING 2022
INTRODUCING FACULTY: CHRISTOPHER IGIDBASHIAN Written by Sam Loeser Adjunct faculty member Christopher Igidbashian is a master's level
board-certified
Music
Professional Counselor (LPC).
Therapist
(MT)
and
Licensed
He recently spoke at the Mid-
Atlantic Region Music Therapy Conference in Harrisburg. Q: How long have you been a music therapist? A: Almost 7 years
Q: How long have you been working with clients with TBIs? A: 6 years
Please join us in welcoming our new faculty members, Christopher Igidbashian & Morgan Hess!
Q: What was your presentation at the Mid Atlantic Music Therapy conference about??
A: My presentation is on a songwriting/recording intervention done with
an adult female with a TBI. The song is a commemoration of the five-year anniversary since her injury occurred, and the lyrics describe her journey to arrive at this milestone.
Q: What is the most important thing you have learned from your clients with TBIs?
How resilient they are given the severity of their injuries and all they’ve overcome. And the crucial role that music plays in their lives. Q: What is your favorite song?
A: Changes all the time. Personally, I have been listening to an album
called Pedal Steel Guitar by Will Van Horn. In my clinical work, songs with characters seem to be most popular with my clients for singalongs, such as Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Desperado, Sweet Baby James, Pianoman, etc.
Some of my favorite work to do with clients is to take a familiar song with random jibberish-like lyrics (such as “Come Together”) by the Beatles and have the clients replace a word, phrase, or line of lyrics with their own
original ideas. By far my favorite work with clients is original songwriting
and recording. It’s here many clients explore their greatest challenges and triumphs and work through and process their experiences through writing,
10
composing, and recording “their story.”
