Music has a unique ability to reach parts of the brain that regular speech or traditional therapies sometimes cannot. For those who have experienced a brain injury, the rhythmic and multi-sensory nature of music can bridge neurological gaps and provide a distinct pathway toward healing. In this episode, host Cristabelle Braden sits down with neurologic music therapist Serenna Wagner and her client, Alice Collier, who has experienced a brain injury to talk about the profound impact of music therapy on recovery.
We also feature a spotlight with Dr. Ryan Harvey from The Functional Neurology Center. Dr. Harvey explains the mechanics of auditory stimulation and music, breaking down how it triggers multi-sensory integration to stimulate neural pathways without overloading a recovering patient's sensory system.
🧠 In this episode:
- Understanding Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) - how specific, standardized techniques use music to manipulate brain activity, join the brain's hemispheres, and circumvent damaged networks.
- A story of resilience and finding new dreams after Alice survived a traumatic brain injury from a bike accident
- How matching auditory cues to visual and physical actions drives the brain's timing and sequencing networks.
- How music therapy can be dynamically paired with physical therapy to make repetitive, challenging, or tedious physical movements highly motivating.
- Host Cristabelle shares how music and songwriting helped her reclaim her emotions, speech and motor skills following her own brain injury.
Connect with Serenna: https://thisinnervoice.com/
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Hosted by Cristabelle Braden: @cristabellebraden | cristabellebraden.com
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Sponsor
Thank you to The Functional Neurology Center for sponsoring this podcast - The FNC offers personalized neuro-recovery programs for anyone going through brain injury and a wide range of neurological conditions. Learn more: https://www.thefnc.com
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0:00 Intro
1:53 Music on Cristabelle’s Journey
6:10 Music and Multi-Sensory Integration in Brain Injury Rehabilitation with Dr. Harvey - Spotlight
9:43 Introducing Alice and Serenna
15:05 Finding New Life after Brain Injury
18:15 Understanding Music Therapy
23:05 How Music Brings Growth after Brain Injury
27:27 Creativity in Brain Injury Recovery
32:45 Playing “The Drunken Sailor”
35:28 Words of Hope
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Disclaimer
This podcast is for education and informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your physician for individualized care. More: hopesurvives.org/podcast
