Category: Reflections

I have several music therapy colleagues who all enjoy performing. I am not in their company. Every Friday at my care center, we have what is called “Happy Hour,” and I am enlisted to provide the “entertainment.” Sometimes I bring my violin and will play (recently, I’ve been using it for PSE in co-facilitation with physical therapy), but a lot of the time I play guitar and sing. Almost every week I am on the first floor where the residents are in memory care and palliative care. Today, however, I played on the two higher functioning levels. The auditorium was filled on one floor and the dining room on the other. I was organized enough (I’ve done this before– the woman who usually performs is sometimes unable), but I just don’t care for the experience. I don’t really like entertaining. (This being said, today’s Happy Hours were the most fun for me.)

Do you like performing/entertaining? Do you ever have to fill this role at your workplace?

I had a thought today: There is no way I could ever leave my job at the care center because I couldn’t stand severing my relationship with those residents on a voluntary basis.

I am happy I had that thought; I am happy I love them all so much. I am happy I am able to see them engage in music, something most other staff members are not able to do.

I also feel much better about the way my private client sessions are going. We are two weeks into the fall session, and I am feeling better prepared and more acquainted with my clients. This being said, I have one client who is a master mystery. I have never felt that I have given him what he needs in order to be successful, even though I try, almost every session, to approach my goals differently.

Apparently there is much controversy over recent comments made by Pat Robertson regarding divorcing spouses with Alzheimer’s. I think there are a multitude of considerations. Life changes for everyone involved, at that point. What do you think? (I wasn’t able to embed the video, but you can get in from the link.)

Alzheimer\’s and divorce

 

 

 

Ah, welcome. Welcome to the new, prettier home of my music therapy reflections and accounts.

Thank you to Thomas for helping me with the set-up. (And the whole idea, to be honest.)

I read through the minutes of the last Music Therapy Association of Minnesota meeting, and its Fall newsletter, and reading made me look forward to a time when I don’t isolate myself from my fellow colleagues. There is a conference coming up soon for which I am not available, but I look forward to hearing about it from the colleagues with whom I do keep in close contact.

How active were you in your state organization during your first year as a professional?

On weekends in the care center where I work, I typically do not provide music therapy sessions. Usually, I assist with other events or sessions or… well, I’ll just admit that sometimes, on weekends, I call BINGO. 
(Actually, I don’t hate it. I use my performance-enhanced enunciation and public-speaking-volume, and much of the time I get compliments from the residents. So there, it’s a morale-booster.)
Every so often, I get the chance to spend time catching up with the residents while we wait for the game to start. Today I had that chance, and I am so grateful to be reminded how much I love these people. One of the residents’ roommates just died, and I was able to listen to her relate how sad she was. I can’t imagine how bizarre it must be to become friends with people, live with people, whom you realize may not survive the month. 
Some people are really impressive. I am sorry for their loss.

I have been really ill this week, and didn’t go to work for one and a half days while also canceling my private clients this week as I tried to figure out what was going on. I have a better idea, but even though I worked through a whole day today, I still felt/feel somewhat miserable. And this distraction I feel leads me to feel something else: guilty for not providing my residents my full attention. (What’s funny is that my guilt may be aggravating my “sickness.”) I am sure no one likes being sick, but being sick while working as I do turns out to be really difficult for me. I can just hope that soon enough I will be able to give all that I want.

Finally, I am finding some inspiration again.
Tonight was the first night of my private clients’ Fall session, and I saw two of them. I realize that the less time I spend doing something, the more I absolutely panic surrounding planning for it– because I am still rather new to my private practice and the clients, and because we’d had a break at the end of summer, I had a lot of anxiety going into this evening. But, as has been the case with my care center work, I imagine I will find comfort somewhere down the line.
I actually used technology in the studio tonight. 🙂 My fiancé has given me a set of iPhone/iPod/iThings speakers (probably not the most correct name for it), and– guess what– I used it. Now, I need to find some metal to add to my library as well as some Justin Bieber. Two very different clients…

There is a resident at the care center where I work whom I respect and admire a great deal. I am reasonably sure this resident has no idea of this, and so isn’t doing anything intentionally (I’ve never thought that about any of my clients). I am quite intimidated by this resident, though. I don’t know her well, but I am distracted by her presence in the groups I facilitate on her unit. So much so that I notice sometimes I am tempted to change the flow of the session to include or highlight experiences I know she likes. Which is not wise of me, and pretty negligent. But, at least I notice it before I actually do it. I am happy that today I was successful in fulfilling a session plan that provided experiences most of the other residents could find useful in some way, even though many of the experiences I know that particular resident didn’t enjoy. I am aware of this hang-up of mine, but I’m sure it’s not too uncommon. I just need to learn to re-frame my perspective, I think. 

Well hello.
This summer has been nuts. Clearly, I’ve not been writing much. At all, anywhere. 
Honestly, I’ve had trouble finding inspiration. As one of my very favorite music therapy instructors seemed to like to say, I’ve been incubating. Meaning, I’ve been internalizing most of my ideas lately, waiting for a reason or something to let them out.
My private clients are on break between sessions. I lost one client, but have kept the rest. I am still acclimating to private practice. 
I am loving my work at the care center. I love having opportunity to see the residents in most factions of their daily life. People are fascinating. One very dear resident died late last week, and that brought me down some. I am happy to have known her. 
Happy Labor Day to you. 

I am a private contractor who is starting from scratch. Do you know what I’d like? I’d like to have a list of must-have instruments and materials for those music therapists working with children. (And I’d also like to have the budget to acquire those things right now.) I am trying to accumulate a cache of tools as I am able, and I also find many, many ideas from other bloggers, but I still feel under-armed, if you will. I am trying to realize that this kind of business-building process will take its time.