TME Tuesday - I Don't Like
I spend lots of time talking to kids about things that they like - identifying things that they might use for leisure time or to ameliorate stress during times when a therapist is not available. I thought that there was some disconnect between always focusing on the positive and acknowledging that there are things out there that we just don't like.
Hence, this TME. (You can find it at this link.)
I find it important for my clients to express things that they don't like as a way to establish their identities as separate from others. Some of my students have never learned that their opinions are valuable, appropriate, valid, and just as important as those of others. We engage in active discussion about the fact that MJ like to eat lima beans but QP doesn't, and that's okay! We don't have to agree to get along with one another.
This concept seems to confuse some of my clients. They haven't had the ability to express their own opinions in a supportive environment before. They have been told to agree with the adults in their lives or there would have been aversive situations - abuse, neglect, and others. So, we use the music therapy relationship to illustrate that each person is a valuable part of the entirety and that all ideas are valued and accepted.
Like/Don't Like - both are important to identify and to think about.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Hence, this TME. (You can find it at this link.)
I find it important for my clients to express things that they don't like as a way to establish their identities as separate from others. Some of my students have never learned that their opinions are valuable, appropriate, valid, and just as important as those of others. We engage in active discussion about the fact that MJ like to eat lima beans but QP doesn't, and that's okay! We don't have to agree to get along with one another.
This concept seems to confuse some of my clients. They haven't had the ability to express their own opinions in a supportive environment before. They have been told to agree with the adults in their lives or there would have been aversive situations - abuse, neglect, and others. So, we use the music therapy relationship to illustrate that each person is a valuable part of the entirety and that all ideas are valued and accepted.
Like/Don't Like - both are important to identify and to think about.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
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