Potpourri

A mishmash of thoughts, comments, and things to know...

I will apologize for this blog post in advance. So, here goes my current state of mind word salad...

Worker's comp - a baffling tool when you need it. It is something that you never want to have to use, but it is nice to know that it is there if something does happen. Here I go into the world of comp doctors, examinations, and paperwork. Ugh.

Behavior Management - I wonder if folks realize that allowing a screaming person to have whatever they want is not the best idea if you want that person to stop screaming in the future.

Chinese food - When I have a day like the one I had yesterday (see the two topics above for a small glimpse into my recent experiences at work), the best remedy is food from Peking Taste, my favorite Chinese food place. They deliver, so I do not even have to go to them. They bring all types of delectable morsels right to my door. Yum!

Frustration - There are moments when I am stymied. I am currently in one of those moments. There are three particular clients that I have right now who are engaging in inappropriate behaviors to communicate what they need or want. I have always felt that behavior is communication, but I am not asking too much. I ask for an answer to the question, "Do you want a book to read?" Screaming, kicking, pulling hair, and tantrum behaviors are not appropriate responses to that question. Unfortunately, I am just stubborn enough not to allow him not to answer with a conventionally accepted word or sign. Screaming, kicking, pulling hair, and tantrum behaviors are not socially accepted as responses to most questions. Hence, the trip to Worker's comp later today...

Comments

  1. Roia6:47 AM

    Gah! Sorry your day was awful, and, more importantly, sorry you got hurt. When my clients get completely out of control, I figure it's a sign to stop for this day and try again another day. Otherwise, it becomes an insane match-up of "who's going to win this?" and it's not about that. Of course, another possibility is that your person was very frustrated from the rest of his day and felt safe enough in your session to vent. Very agreed, however, that trying to kill people when overly stimulated/upset is not cool!

    Power and control are huge issues for people- especially people with lots of labels. Usually they're put in a position of not having much power, and, to add to the challenges, it's difficult to control themselves, so sometimes it all goes to hell and it gets reenacted in music therapy.
    :- (

    Be safe and good luck in the workers comp vortex!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sing A Song Sunday - The Time Change Song (Fall)

It's the time of year where most of us here in the states get to fall back one hour. This is a wonderful time as it gives us a chance to get an extra hour of sleep and to reset our internal clocks to be in sync with the earth's rotation a bit more than we are during the summer. I love this time of year and really dread moving to Daylight Savings in the Spring. Today' song is directed towards choir members and can be found here . There is also a spring version, and I'm sure I'll post a link to that one next year when we [shudder] spring forward yet again... Here is a YouTube video of a guy singing the song. I'm so very sorry for the pitch, but at least he's out there trying his best. Yipes. Anyway, the song itself is based on a hymn composed in 1907 by John Hughes. The words are by Dean McIntyre and were written in 1995. I find the song a bit tongue-in-cheek, but they give me a giggle every time I read them, so enjoy!! Sorry for the lack of diagram
Read more

Being An Internship Director: Why I Do Very Little Active Recruitment

Image
I am not someone who participates in every single internship fair or makes ads for my internship program to put on social media. I do not feel an obligation to anyone to fill all of the openings that I have every year. I operate on a "if you build it, they will come" type of viewpoint. I figure that the interns who are meant to be with me will find me. As a result, I do very little active recruitment. I will be part of the AMTAS Virtual Internship Fair this upcoming Sunday. I am not really expecting too many applications coming from this meeting, but I am interested in how it is going to be run. I decided to sign up because I want to see what others are doing and offering out there. So, this Sunday, I will be sitting in front of my computer, listening to what others share about their internships. One of the things that I like about being a National Roster Internship Director is that I have the ability to decide how many interns and when those interns work with me. I occasiona
Read more

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