As much as I enjoy and appreciate themes, I’ve never been one to work inside them. This being said, the “Monday matters” posts are an attempt to focus myself on a topic throughout my working week.
chal·lenge
[chal-inj] noun, verb, chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing, adjective
noun
1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.
3. a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
4. a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.
Knowing challenge clinically
There are so many ways in which I acknowledge challenge in any working day. Challenge can manifest as resistance from clients. Challenge can come from logistical problems, such as scheduling make-up sessions. It can also show up when I am feeling physically pressed for energy.
I choose to use my theme this week as a verb, in that I am going to challenge myself to find more repertoire. I have never been one to have a huge library of music. I think this is so strange, given that I work as a music therapist. I create a lot of songs and music in my sessions with clients. The reason I say “create” and not “write” is because sometimes those songs will never be sung or played again; they were meant for only that one session and only that one client. Repertoire has always been a struggle for me, and so I’ll take this week to challenge myself in that area.
Knowing challenge professionally
As a small business owner, I have encountered a lot of challenge in organization and execution of tasks. I am still trying to find a suitable routine, which is proving to be difficult because my case load changes. One big challenge I’m putting to myself is to begin insurance reimbursement. I am looking forward to all of the steps that that has already begun to entail. I will be posting on my progress here.
I wonder how you therapists out there work with challenge.