Thoughtful Thursday: Realizations Occur Even After 27 Years of Doing This Job

I had a revelation and realization yesterday as I was in a supervision session with one of my interns. When it occurred to me, I felt amazed that everything was finally all together and a bit ashamed that I hadn't figured this out before.

This revelation may not be as wonderful for others, but I realized that my procedure sessions had to reflect the music therapy purposes established at the top of every therapeutic music experience that I write. If I write down that the purpose of the TME is to address fine motor skills, then I had better have a part of my implementation procedure where I assess and reinforce or redirect fine motor skills.

Duh, right?

I'm not sure I've ever thought of this before. There has to be a link between what we are doing in sessions and what we say we are doing in sessions. Now, my procedures change based on the clinical goals of my clients, so I may not have to assess fine motor skills with a particular client. If I don't write it down, though, I will NEVER remember to assess those skills.

I'll be entering my future TME planning with this perspective in mind.

Now, why didn't I think of this before?? Who knows, but it becomes clear when it is ready to be understood and embraced.

I also found that I need to update my TME database. I have lots of new resources that I haven't added onto the form. They are all on my jumpdrive, but they are not cross-referenced or easily accessed. It will be time to organize things a bit more - I have tons of TMEs to sort through, format, and add onto the drive.

I'm glad that I still have these "a-ha" moments even after all the time I've been studying and doing this job. I hope they continue for me for the rest of my life!!