Being Authentic to Who You Are
I have been crawling in the virtual music therapy world again, and I stumbled upon a post on Music Therapists Unite about "being stuck." This comment struck a chord with me (as I am sure that you know if you have been reading my blog lately). The author asked if others ever felt stuck in their work. The comments were varied, occasionally on topic, and interesting to read.
Some folks recommended supervision. Now, in these situations, supervision often refers to a one-to-one session with a therapist (sometimes music, sometimes not). Some folks think that supervision or counseling should be a requirement of being a therapist, and they aver that supervision has made them better therapists. Other music therapists feel that such a requirement is not necessary. I fall somewhere in the middle of the argument.
For the past nine months, I have participated in a formal meeting with the art therapist at my facility. While this is not necessarily professional supervision or counseling, I think it has fulfilled a need for both of us. We have a safe space to talk about our challenges in the therapy arena, we can discuss administrative issues, and we can talk to someone who has an idea of the uniqueness of each of our creative arts therapies. While I do not necessarily feel that this meeting has kept me from burn out or "feeling stuck," I do feel that this weekly opportunity has kept me focused on how I do therapy in my facility.
If I had to find someone and pay for this service, I would not be able to do so. My salary does not even cover my basic expenses and professional supervision would not be feasible. In addition, I do not feel that every person is suited to therapy. As an introvert, the idea of having to talk about things going on in my life to another person is threatening to me. I have been in counseling during periods of my life, but I have never felt that I could be authentic in my counselor's office.
Rather than focusing on the supervision topic, I would like to talk a bit about being authentic.
For me, this idea of authenticity means that I am able to be critical of my experience with the world, that I can engage in problem-solving, that I can identify when I need more assistance with issues, and that I can recognize times when I am not able to be the best I can be. I feel that I can achieve those goals outside of professional supervision.
There are several things that I have in place that allow me to be more authentic to myself.
I have a support system in my family. My Dad is the best person at identifying when I am not being true to myself. My sister is my sounding board when I am upset about something. My mother is my righteous advocate - all for me, all the time! My brother tends to diffuse issues with humor. I am fortunate that they are at the other side of a phone line whenever I need them.
I journal. With the acceptance of my current interns, I have started an art journal. The only rules are that I have to journal on the page that I open to and that the date goes on the page. After that, there is no structure. It has been interesting to look at the entries over the past four months. My color choices, words, and pictures have revealed quite a bit about the situations that I have been going through. There is the black page when I was concerned about a situation with a co-worker, the multicolored page when he was fired, and small pictures on various pages.
I blog. Here is where I talk about issues with and about music therapy. By placing them on this blog, I have a chance to present ideas to anyone and everyone. but I have a record of my own process through various thoughts, ideas, and situations.
I think that the old statement, "different strokes for different folks," is apropos here. Professional supervision is one option. Other procedures and processes are other options. I think we each need to find the thing that works for us and then use that thing to process through our lives as therapists. By accepting options, we accept that there are differences in how we work through this thing called therapy.
Some folks recommended supervision. Now, in these situations, supervision often refers to a one-to-one session with a therapist (sometimes music, sometimes not). Some folks think that supervision or counseling should be a requirement of being a therapist, and they aver that supervision has made them better therapists. Other music therapists feel that such a requirement is not necessary. I fall somewhere in the middle of the argument.
For the past nine months, I have participated in a formal meeting with the art therapist at my facility. While this is not necessarily professional supervision or counseling, I think it has fulfilled a need for both of us. We have a safe space to talk about our challenges in the therapy arena, we can discuss administrative issues, and we can talk to someone who has an idea of the uniqueness of each of our creative arts therapies. While I do not necessarily feel that this meeting has kept me from burn out or "feeling stuck," I do feel that this weekly opportunity has kept me focused on how I do therapy in my facility.
If I had to find someone and pay for this service, I would not be able to do so. My salary does not even cover my basic expenses and professional supervision would not be feasible. In addition, I do not feel that every person is suited to therapy. As an introvert, the idea of having to talk about things going on in my life to another person is threatening to me. I have been in counseling during periods of my life, but I have never felt that I could be authentic in my counselor's office.
Rather than focusing on the supervision topic, I would like to talk a bit about being authentic.
For me, this idea of authenticity means that I am able to be critical of my experience with the world, that I can engage in problem-solving, that I can identify when I need more assistance with issues, and that I can recognize times when I am not able to be the best I can be. I feel that I can achieve those goals outside of professional supervision.
There are several things that I have in place that allow me to be more authentic to myself.
I have a support system in my family. My Dad is the best person at identifying when I am not being true to myself. My sister is my sounding board when I am upset about something. My mother is my righteous advocate - all for me, all the time! My brother tends to diffuse issues with humor. I am fortunate that they are at the other side of a phone line whenever I need them.
I journal. With the acceptance of my current interns, I have started an art journal. The only rules are that I have to journal on the page that I open to and that the date goes on the page. After that, there is no structure. It has been interesting to look at the entries over the past four months. My color choices, words, and pictures have revealed quite a bit about the situations that I have been going through. There is the black page when I was concerned about a situation with a co-worker, the multicolored page when he was fired, and small pictures on various pages.
I blog. Here is where I talk about issues with and about music therapy. By placing them on this blog, I have a chance to present ideas to anyone and everyone. but I have a record of my own process through various thoughts, ideas, and situations.
I think that the old statement, "different strokes for different folks," is apropos here. Professional supervision is one option. Other procedures and processes are other options. I think we each need to find the thing that works for us and then use that thing to process through our lives as therapists. By accepting options, we accept that there are differences in how we work through this thing called therapy.
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