Re-Boot: Thoughtful Thursday

"When you said everything would be OK, was that for you or for me?" 

(Fiore, 2016, p. 219).

I received my latest copy of the Journal of Music Therapy in the mail this week. I started my "research-informed clinician" routine to see if there was something that had direct clinical relevance to my population (there really wasn't in this edition) and then started to read for any type of import to my clinical existence.

While the research was interesting, I continue to be challenged to find things that work with my clients in my treatment modality.

Anyway...

The one thing that I came away with was the quotation cited at the beginning of this post. This was a song lyric generated by a group of campers at a bereavement camp, and it really stuck with me.

We say things all the time. As a therapist, I make statements to my clients that are probably often for me rather than completely for them. My phrases? "Ignore him," "Use your coping skills," and countless other phrases that come out of my mouth during situations. In the heat of the moment, I often find myself saying the same things over and over.

If a statement becomes so routine, is it genuine? I'm not sure that it is.

So, my goal for myself is to think before simply going into one of my phrases. 

You know, I used to sing those things. I am going to challenge myself to do that again - using my therapeutic medium to reflect and respond to my students in their emotions and moods (I mean, duh, right?). I will also try to remember to think about my responses BEFORE I make them happen - is the statement something for me or for the benefit of my client?

 
 
Fiore, J. (2016). Analysis of lyrics from group songwriting with bereaved children and adolescents. Journal of Music Therapy (53), 207-231.