Fun Friday: Five Silly Things I Love About Music Therapy

I admit it, I am someone who loves this profession of music therapy. Sure, there are good things and bad things about it, but that's the way of any and all professions, so I've learned to make the bad things sting a bit less and to appreciate the good things just a bit more deeply. Here are some of the silly things that happen in my life as a music therapist that I just simply love.

1. Having to explain myself EVERY SINGLE TIME I tell someone else what I do: Does this sound silly to you? Or is it something that makes you cringe? Having a bit of history in the profession allows me to have a bit of perspective about this process. These days, everyone has an idea about what music therapy is and should be. Many of those ideas are not entirely correct, but nobody really just stares at me with a blank expression. My old joke went something like this..."So, what do you do?" ME: "I'm a music therapist." Silence for about 6 seconds. "So, what is musical therapy, anyway?" ME: Internal sigh. Launching into a watered down explanation of the AMTA official definition of what we do but making it a bit more relevant to me and my choice of population and to the receiver of the conversation. These days - "So, what do you do?" ME: "I'm a music therapist." THEM: "Oh, I know what that is. So you sing to people with dementia (or anything else that they have seen on television about what music therapists are and do...). That is so cool." ME: "Well, that is what some music therapists do. I work with kids..." I like this process, almost every time I go into it, because it means that I have an opportunity to be an advocate for music therapy for that person at that time.
2. The Vibraslap: I love this instrument. I always have loved it, and I love it when my clients hear the sound it makes for the very first time. It makes them giggle, and I get to join in, remembering how I feel when I hear that distinctive sound in different pieces of music.
3. Getting paid to do something I love: You know how people say, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I've found this to be SO true with some of my jobs. It is wonderful to be paid a living for doing something that challenges me but that is also perfect for my interests and joys.
4. The STUFF: I admit it, I like stuff, especially teacher stuff, so being a music therapist in a school allows me to satisfy some of my stuff liking but also makes me stop buying things. Sure, I could buy that really cool poster about science and write some songs to help students go through the scientific process, but in my current job, there is no real therapeutic benefit in that exercise. So, I reluctantly put the science poster back, but the idea sticks with me. I love the instruments, the visual aids, the manipulatives, and the file folders! I especially love the file folders!!
5. How Music Therapists act when they are together: Having recently spent some time at a music therapy regional conference, I can attest that music therapists are a unique bunch of people. My sister and my mother came to a presentation of mine a couple of weeks ago, and they remarked that our conferences are very different from the ones that they attend as an elementary school teacher and occupational therapist, respectfully. We don't hesitate to sing or to engage in musicking. We have our own professional language and lingo. We have our inside jokes, and we are united in our common goal of bringing music therapy to as many people as possible.

I wonder if I have a vibraslap here at home. I don't think I do. Maybe I should use the West Music card that I recently found and purchase one for my home collection of instruments.

By the way, my first CMTE course is ready to be launched! I am getting my paperwork ready for CBMT approval and then we're off!!