Job Hunting
I just gave some advice to a new therapist about accepting that first job. I remember those days of angst - Do I really want to be a music therapist here? My parents pressuring me to get any job that paid me some money. The interrogations every evening about what I did, who I contacted, how many resumes did I send out during the day. The best advice I received was from my parents. "Find a job and then focus on your career." I spent a little over a year working near my profession, but not as a music therapist. It took me 14 months to find any music therapy job. In the waiting time, I was a recreation leader for children with emotional disorders and was a QMRP/Administrator for a group home company. When the call came for the music therapy job, I was petrified of failing as a therapist. My dad, who is my sounding board, sat me down and asked me several questions. The first was, "Do you want to be a music therapist?" I did not know how to answer - I had never been a music therapist. The second question was the one that cemented the answer for me, "Do you want to be a QMRP?" The answer was a resounding "NO!!!" I took the music therapy job the next day. Now, secure in my position with my school district, I am always half-looking for the next perfect job. I can afford to glance at job postings because I am fine with the job that I have. I do not need to find a better paying job unless one plops into my lap. This has happened before and I anticpate it will happen again someday. There is hope out there, ether. Keep looking.
Therapeutic Elements of Music
In the year 2010, Dr. Deanna Hanson Abromeit, professor at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, presented A Closer Look at the Therapeutic Function of Music , a presentation at the American Music Therapy Association's Annual conference. I was unable to attend the presentation, but she was kind enough to send me a copy of the powerpoint for my files. How many of us really analyze the way we use music with our clients? How do you describe the reasons why you sing a specific song at a specific tempo for a specific client? Every so often, the music therapy listserv erupts in a discussion about the appropriateness of sharing therapeutic music experience ideas. One camp feels that we should not share ideas with one another due to the fact that it diminishes the individualization we offer to our clients. The other camp wants new ideas on how to engage clients providing them with novel and interesting experiences. I can understand the point of both groups. There is a danger in...
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