Where has the year gone?

2008 is almost over. It has been a busy year with many therapeutic "A-ha" moments for me as well as MANY "oh-no" moments. Here are a few for your reading pleasure...

  • Oh-no #1 - realization that, while I have been working REALLY hard at my education, I have not made as much progress as I would have liked towards my advanced degree in music therapy
  • A-ha #1 - the archives in Fort Collins are very interesting and a valuable resource for therapists interested in what folks thought about music therapy as a profession way back when
  • Oh-no #2 - my anonymity in my profession is rapidly disintegrating
  • A-ha #2 - other music therapists like my ideas and what I share with them during conferences - thanks to all who stopped by my space in the Clinical Practice Forum
  • Oh-no #3 - I have not been able to spend as much time as I would like on developing new experiences, interventions, and applications for my clients - the projects are piling up
  • A-ha #3 - online CMTE courses WILL be viable soon, CBMT willing!!
  • Oh-no #4 - I am rapidly running out of options in the professional market, so, unless someone in my immediate family wins the lottery, I am pretty well set in my job
  • A-ha #4 - Music therapy continues to be the best option for me as a person - it is fulfilling, even with the challenges and obstacles that sometimes occur
  • Oh-no #5 - Sometimes folks on the listserv appear to need attention greatly causing me to immediately delete anything from specific writers rather than taking the time to read their thoughts
  • A-ha #5 - even though things change, change does not mean that the end of the world is arriving

Goals for next year - 2009

  1. Finish competency papers
  2. Move into comprehensive examination and dissertation phases
  3. Continue to work with music therapy interns
  4. Travel to Washington D.C. for a VACATION!!!!!
  5. Start up online CMTE courses through the website, specifically designed to provide clinicians with training on development and creative applications and interventions for clients
  6. SLEEP

Here's to a very long year that is now coming to a close! Happy New Year!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more