Thinking about the nuts and bolts of music therapy...

I have been thinking lots about how I do my job. There are things that no one ever really tells you about how to arrange yourself and your environment so that you can effectively do your job as a music therapist. How do you arrange your instruments? How do you organize your documentation? Now, not just what do you include, but what do your forms look like? Do you use a paper copy or an electronic copy? All kinds of things that no one ever really thinks about until they are in the midst of needing to complete these tasks.

I hosted a webinar about one aspect of being a music therapist - that of organizing our stuff - last Thursday. It was a topic inspired by my most recent intern graduate who is getting ready to start a job as an itinerant therapist, doing most of her sessions in homes and storing things in her car. In addition, it was inspired by my mother's garage, pictured here...

 Aaah, the familiar environment of home!

Anyway, when I see this, I see all of the tools that my Mom, an accomplished Occupational Therapist, absolutely CANNOT live without! I also see a never-ending organizational challenge that makes me itch.

How do we learn how to organize our materials, our sessions, our objects, our instruments?

For me, it has been a matter of trial and error, coupled with moments of frustration when I have not been able to find something that I need in the moment. My organizational structure works for me, and I really don't need it to work for anyone else. My interns learn to put things back where they belong (in my mind, anyway), because that is the way I organize. If they challenge my organization, I pull out the "Because I said so" gem that I hoard for those special moments. Since I have a bit of say in their final grade, they often do not argue for long. ;-)

My organization system goes much deeper than my instruments. I started making file folder activities for children and adolescents several years ago. About two years ago, I realized that I would be able to identify the appropriate folder activities if I had color-coded everything from the beginning! Aaah, where was that brilliant idea from the start? Now I get to go back and either use them the way they are (not color-coded) or make them over again! I am still debating that one...

Here are my basic tips for organizing your music therapy flotsam and jetsam:

• Choose one place in your environment where you always keep your music therapy stuff - do not deviate from that one place!
• Organize based on convenience - what do you use together the most often?
• Buy multiple sets of popular materials - more than one is never a bad idea!
• Set up your sessions ahead of time and take only what you need.
• Keep an inventory of your stuff.
• Use a check-out system to keep track of where you have put items - even if you are the only person using your materials, a system will help jog your memory if you have forgotten that you put the scarves in the preschool session box.

In the interest of full-disclosure, here is one of my instrument cabinets at my facility... and a picture of me sitting at my extremely messy desk!!

Happy Organizing!!!