Life Interferes
Last night, I had the plan of going to bed early and trying to catch up on some of the sleep I've lost this week. Then, life happened. My sister called in hysterics after a break-in at her house. The alarm worked the way it needed to, but the thief got away with her computer and some rings - one from my grandmother who recently passed away and another that I bought her about 21 years ago when I went to visit our brother in England. She was fine when the police officer was there, but went to pieces as soon as he left. So, she called me.
We fill that function for each other. When I called her on Sunday, full of hurt feelings and very upset, she listened and calmed me down. So, when she called me last night, I listened and calmed her down. That's what we do. My sister is that person in my life.
I've been listening to a newish podcast called Invisibilia. It's from NPR, in its second season, and utterly fascinating. It seems to be primarily focused on social psychology and human behavior, and it is right up my alley when it comes to things that engage my attention. Many of the topics in the podcasts I've heard have been very relevant to my current life and the others have deepened my thinking about other things - mental health treatment, humanistic philosophy, behaviorism, and lots of other things.
Yesterday, I had to yell at a bunch of paraeducators who have spent the last two sessions yelling at kids. I hit my tolerance level and yelled back. I was sitting there, trying to use music for mood vectoring purposes, getting kids engaged for a few moments, and then! Wham! Yelling from staff members. They yelled about EVERYTHING! Looks across the room, holding instruments the "WRONG WAY," being "LOUD SO MS. MARY JANE CAN'T DO MUSIC!" It didn't stop. One would say something to a kid, and then all the others HAD to chime in.
I made them stop.
I told them that there would be no more talking to kids and that I would be in charge of correcting behaviors that were inappropriate for my area. They all pouted and then refused to engage. That was fine with me. Amazingly enough (but not really to us as music therapists), the music worked. The kids who had "attitude" started to engage and change their moods. The kids who tend to become very violent when redirected to sit in their places accepted one verbal prompt and returned to their places WITHOUT aggression. I was able to calm the group down and get them into a more relaxed state of being.
I try to be that person for my clients.
I think that it is the job of a therapist to assist clients in working through their emotions - whether it is understanding why they feel the way they feel or helping them resolve an emotion in a moment.
On Tuesday, I was interviewed for a class on Developmental Music Therapy. One of the questions that Janice (the professor for the class) asked me made me think more deeply about why it is necessary for me to intervene when paraeducators try to take over my sessions through yelling at students.
The question was this: "What is the treatment philosophy at your facility?"
My facility tends towards loose behavioral principles. We do not focus in on any one type of behavioral method, but we also bring in things like trauma-focused social work, EMDR (look it up - it's the current trend), and anything and everything that someone suggests.
Janice asked a follow-up question: "How does your treatment philosophy differ from that of your facility?"
This question came from something I said during the interview and led me into a discussion about my own philosophy. I tend to be less of a behaviorist than most of the education folks at my facility. I tend to identify more with the humanists these days.
In my role as a humanistic therapist, I feel very strongly that I have to be "that person" for each client that walks into my room. The role of "that person" changes with the arrival of each client and may change from session to session for the same client. It is part of my job to offer my clients what they need from a therapist and from the music - whatever that may be.
Last night, my role was as sister, listener, and calmer. Today, at work, my role will be therapist, listener, facilitator, and structure. I will strive to be what I can be for the people around me. Whatever life brings.
Blogging may be spotty for the next several days - don't worry, I'm doing fun stuff...
Happy Thursday!
We fill that function for each other. When I called her on Sunday, full of hurt feelings and very upset, she listened and calmed me down. So, when she called me last night, I listened and calmed her down. That's what we do. My sister is that person in my life.
I've been listening to a newish podcast called Invisibilia. It's from NPR, in its second season, and utterly fascinating. It seems to be primarily focused on social psychology and human behavior, and it is right up my alley when it comes to things that engage my attention. Many of the topics in the podcasts I've heard have been very relevant to my current life and the others have deepened my thinking about other things - mental health treatment, humanistic philosophy, behaviorism, and lots of other things.
Yesterday, I had to yell at a bunch of paraeducators who have spent the last two sessions yelling at kids. I hit my tolerance level and yelled back. I was sitting there, trying to use music for mood vectoring purposes, getting kids engaged for a few moments, and then! Wham! Yelling from staff members. They yelled about EVERYTHING! Looks across the room, holding instruments the "WRONG WAY," being "LOUD SO MS. MARY JANE CAN'T DO MUSIC!" It didn't stop. One would say something to a kid, and then all the others HAD to chime in.
I made them stop.
I told them that there would be no more talking to kids and that I would be in charge of correcting behaviors that were inappropriate for my area. They all pouted and then refused to engage. That was fine with me. Amazingly enough (but not really to us as music therapists), the music worked. The kids who had "attitude" started to engage and change their moods. The kids who tend to become very violent when redirected to sit in their places accepted one verbal prompt and returned to their places WITHOUT aggression. I was able to calm the group down and get them into a more relaxed state of being.
I try to be that person for my clients.
I think that it is the job of a therapist to assist clients in working through their emotions - whether it is understanding why they feel the way they feel or helping them resolve an emotion in a moment.
On Tuesday, I was interviewed for a class on Developmental Music Therapy. One of the questions that Janice (the professor for the class) asked me made me think more deeply about why it is necessary for me to intervene when paraeducators try to take over my sessions through yelling at students.
The question was this: "What is the treatment philosophy at your facility?"
My facility tends towards loose behavioral principles. We do not focus in on any one type of behavioral method, but we also bring in things like trauma-focused social work, EMDR (look it up - it's the current trend), and anything and everything that someone suggests.
Janice asked a follow-up question: "How does your treatment philosophy differ from that of your facility?"
This question came from something I said during the interview and led me into a discussion about my own philosophy. I tend to be less of a behaviorist than most of the education folks at my facility. I tend to identify more with the humanists these days.
In my role as a humanistic therapist, I feel very strongly that I have to be "that person" for each client that walks into my room. The role of "that person" changes with the arrival of each client and may change from session to session for the same client. It is part of my job to offer my clients what they need from a therapist and from the music - whatever that may be.
Last night, my role was as sister, listener, and calmer. Today, at work, my role will be therapist, listener, facilitator, and structure. I will strive to be what I can be for the people around me. Whatever life brings.
Blogging may be spotty for the next several days - don't worry, I'm doing fun stuff...
Happy Thursday!
How scary for your sister! Have fun taking care of yourself next week!!
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