Systems Everywhere - Music Therapy Systems Everywhere

My constant quest for organization and time management perfection (I know, I know - bad word) leads me into all sorts of reading and experimentation and trying things and manipulating things until I find something that works for me. It is an ongoing process, one that will never be completely finished, and one that I really do enjoy.

I also enjoy seeing and experiencing the systems that others use in their therapy practices.

If you've never heard this particular term used in this particular way, let me expand on what I mean by "systems."

To me, the word systems means the strategies or routines that we put into place to make our way into the world of music therapy a bit easier. I fit many of the administrative tasks that have to happen away from clients into this category, but there are other things that fit as well. How you budget is a system. How you arrange your materials is a system. How you complete your documentation is also a system - there are systems around us everywhere.

I work in a facility where I am the only board certified music therapist. I often have interns who work with me, but it is my job to arrange the systems that we use in our clinic. I have things that I have established that work for me. Sometimes they don't work for my interns, but I pull the seniority/power card in these situations and tell my interns that they can arrange their clinics however they want when they are on their own. I need my systems to function in my workplace. They usually take that pretty well - I don't think that they've had any issues with it. It wouldn't have mattered, there are some things that you can't mess with on your own when they affect others and systems are often those things.

Now, systems are meant to change and adapt. Have you heard the story of the woman who wondered why she always chopped off six inches of her large haunches of meat before cooking it? She went back three or four generations before finding out that that woman had a very small roasting pan and couldn't fit an entire haunch of meat into the pan. The others just did it because that's the way that one person did it.

We often perpetuate systems that we've experienced because we know no other way. I am just as guilty of this as anyone, so I know what I'm talking about. The problem is that we get stuck in the "we always do it this way" viewpoint and start to stay in the same old thing just because. I know that I am guilty of this for some things, but not for others.

My art therapist colleague is currently changing how she completes her documentation. Her format is not something that I can see working for my treatment, but it is fascinating and has made me look for possibilities for my own documentation. It wasn't until she made her change that I realized that there were additional possibilities. I mean, really MJ? You didn't see that you could change things up??

So, I am currently thinking through exactly what is important to me to document. I know that I like checkboxes. I know that I want to record who is doing the treatment, what we are working on, and how each client responds to the treatment sessions. I also want to know if there are trends in how folks respond. The trick is to come up with a system that will be easily accomplished for the 180+ clinical notes that I have to write every week. 

Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to help me see which systems are effective and which are used because "Grandma's roasting pan was very small." I am pretty good at seeing those processes in the lives of others, but it is a bit more difficult to do that for myself - but, I do try. I think this is part of why I am constantly looking for routines for my professional and personal lives. I want systems in place - structures and boundaries - but I also want the freedom to move in and out of those systems without feelings of guilt.

It's time to evaluate my systems. It's time to see what truly works for me and what is holding me back from doing what I need to do. Documentation is on the top of the list. My session schedule is next. I am also looking at the student store that I maintain. There are so many things that could change - I have to be careful not to change just because I feel like I need to change...

Today's only real system is home stuff, errands, and self-care. The laundry system is a bit broken - wash the clothes, dry the clothes, pile the clean laundry on the floor...I bet I could fix that particular system without difficulty. Just got to do it!