My Favorite Moment This Week
My session plans this week included some Halloween-themed therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). I wanted groups to make recordings of silly Halloween stories, but quickly found that I had overestimated the interest of my clients in this particular idea. I had to change my plans on the fly, so I did.
Even in the midst of changing my mind about what we were going to do in our session, there were some music therapy moments that just made things worthwhile.
So, I had all of my novelty instruments ready for the sound effect idea that I had, so I altered my own idea into that of instrument exploration and singing Halloween Carols. The novelty instruments are those that are unique - people clackers, plastic instruments, thunder tubes, noisemakers, and other soundmakers - things that don't come out of the cabinet too often. I don't often use those instruments as part of my therapeutic interventions - I keep them novel.
We chose instruments from the box whenever we wanted to do so. We played them with hesitancy as well as with vigor. Sometimes it was cacophony. Sometimes it started to organize into recognizable patterns. Sometimes we would start to vocalize, and the simple TME became something meaningful for us all. (Music therapy!)
One of my favorite moments this week was with a group of high schoolers. There was a young lady in the group who was very loud. She usually has two volumes - whisper and bellow. She was stuck in bellow mode during music therapy. She sang every song. She echoed everything that I said (just in case the others weren't listening to me, I guess), and she laughed heartily. Her group mates thought she was a bit loud, but accepted her and her volume without difficulty.
Later, she was doing some counseling with her LPC and her family. (They were in a common area with the doors open, so everyone could hear what was going on). Apparently, she sang There's a Spider on the Floor to her family, her LPC, and the entire building. She was able to recall all of the verses that I had taught her (with my own awkward rhymes when I couldn't remember the original or when I wanted to adapt them a bit). What a perfect way to be affirmed as a therapist - a client wanting to share what they have learned in the music therapy sessions with others.
I didn't hear her singing - I was busy at the time - but lots of others did and shared the experience with me in private and public conversations.
That's why I do the job I do. There are these moments that happen. They make the difficult parts of the job bearable because there are clients out there that will remember the silly Halloween carol that you share about the spider on the floor, and they will sing it with abandon for all to hear!
Find your moments. Happy Saturday!
Even in the midst of changing my mind about what we were going to do in our session, there were some music therapy moments that just made things worthwhile.
So, I had all of my novelty instruments ready for the sound effect idea that I had, so I altered my own idea into that of instrument exploration and singing Halloween Carols. The novelty instruments are those that are unique - people clackers, plastic instruments, thunder tubes, noisemakers, and other soundmakers - things that don't come out of the cabinet too often. I don't often use those instruments as part of my therapeutic interventions - I keep them novel.
We chose instruments from the box whenever we wanted to do so. We played them with hesitancy as well as with vigor. Sometimes it was cacophony. Sometimes it started to organize into recognizable patterns. Sometimes we would start to vocalize, and the simple TME became something meaningful for us all. (Music therapy!)
One of my favorite moments this week was with a group of high schoolers. There was a young lady in the group who was very loud. She usually has two volumes - whisper and bellow. She was stuck in bellow mode during music therapy. She sang every song. She echoed everything that I said (just in case the others weren't listening to me, I guess), and she laughed heartily. Her group mates thought she was a bit loud, but accepted her and her volume without difficulty.
Later, she was doing some counseling with her LPC and her family. (They were in a common area with the doors open, so everyone could hear what was going on). Apparently, she sang There's a Spider on the Floor to her family, her LPC, and the entire building. She was able to recall all of the verses that I had taught her (with my own awkward rhymes when I couldn't remember the original or when I wanted to adapt them a bit). What a perfect way to be affirmed as a therapist - a client wanting to share what they have learned in the music therapy sessions with others.
I didn't hear her singing - I was busy at the time - but lots of others did and shared the experience with me in private and public conversations.
That's why I do the job I do. There are these moments that happen. They make the difficult parts of the job bearable because there are clients out there that will remember the silly Halloween carol that you share about the spider on the floor, and they will sing it with abandon for all to hear!
Find your moments. Happy Saturday!
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