Searching for a Vision
I often find myself wondering if I am going down the right path for me and for music therapy... does anyone else ever feel that way?
It's time for some introspection and general thought generation, so here I go.
What I am trying to do is to figure out my vision for myself and my music therapy presence for the next 5-10 years. This is probably coming up since I am no longer in school, have just signed a lease for the year on my current home (I wanted to move, but can't), and am feeling a bit stagnant in my current job. Things will be changing for me soon, but right now, I am just simply feeling stuck. So, it's time to shake myself up a bit.
So, how to do that? I've been thinking about it a lot. One of the things that I started playing with is a visual organizing program called Inspiration. It allows me to put things into a visual format - something that really works for me and my learning style. The program allows me to put my ideas into a flow chart and then manipulate the ideas around until I can see a clear pattern and direction.
I have also been thinking lots about my particular interests when it comes to music therapy as a profession. I love working with my clients - children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders. If I had to choose between the two forms of diagnoses, I would tend towards the developmental side of things, but, luckily, I don't have to choose! I am also passionate about how we train future music therapists - in pre-clinical experiences and in internship training. The last thing that I can identify is that I strive to help my fellow therapists in developing their own skills as therapists through training, product development, and supervision. These are the things that I enjoy doing, so these are the things that I'm going to pursue in the near and far-off futures.
So, a beginning of a vision.
Now that I have direction, I can start to develop my goals and objectives. This is eerily similar to how I work with my clients, isn't it? (That's the entire point of the exercise! This is something I already know what to do.) So, I want to provide training to music therapists - students, interns, and other professionals. I've started that process through offering webinars at home and presentations at conferences. I'm also part of the Online Conference for Music Therapy - an opportunity to interact with music therapists from around the world. I help to coordinate the conference, and I have presented several times as well. So, how do I want to expand on the foundation that I have already laid there? I'm not sure - that's where the visioning process comes in.
During my Spring Break #2, I'm going to spend some time trying to pin down my vision of what and where I want to go.
It occurs to me that this would be so much easier if I won the lottery. Does anyone want to give me a ticket?
It's time for some introspection and general thought generation, so here I go.
What I am trying to do is to figure out my vision for myself and my music therapy presence for the next 5-10 years. This is probably coming up since I am no longer in school, have just signed a lease for the year on my current home (I wanted to move, but can't), and am feeling a bit stagnant in my current job. Things will be changing for me soon, but right now, I am just simply feeling stuck. So, it's time to shake myself up a bit.
So, how to do that? I've been thinking about it a lot. One of the things that I started playing with is a visual organizing program called Inspiration. It allows me to put things into a visual format - something that really works for me and my learning style. The program allows me to put my ideas into a flow chart and then manipulate the ideas around until I can see a clear pattern and direction.
I have also been thinking lots about my particular interests when it comes to music therapy as a profession. I love working with my clients - children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders. If I had to choose between the two forms of diagnoses, I would tend towards the developmental side of things, but, luckily, I don't have to choose! I am also passionate about how we train future music therapists - in pre-clinical experiences and in internship training. The last thing that I can identify is that I strive to help my fellow therapists in developing their own skills as therapists through training, product development, and supervision. These are the things that I enjoy doing, so these are the things that I'm going to pursue in the near and far-off futures.
So, a beginning of a vision.
Now that I have direction, I can start to develop my goals and objectives. This is eerily similar to how I work with my clients, isn't it? (That's the entire point of the exercise! This is something I already know what to do.) So, I want to provide training to music therapists - students, interns, and other professionals. I've started that process through offering webinars at home and presentations at conferences. I'm also part of the Online Conference for Music Therapy - an opportunity to interact with music therapists from around the world. I help to coordinate the conference, and I have presented several times as well. So, how do I want to expand on the foundation that I have already laid there? I'm not sure - that's where the visioning process comes in.
During my Spring Break #2, I'm going to spend some time trying to pin down my vision of what and where I want to go.
It occurs to me that this would be so much easier if I won the lottery. Does anyone want to give me a ticket?
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