Thanksgiving - Giving Thanks
In the past several sessions, I've been improvising a song entitled I Am Thankful For. This is a therapeutic music experience (TME) that I have used before and will use again. It's main goal (primary goal) is to encourage thankful thinking - something that can be very difficult for my clients as being grateful is an abstract concept.
The concept itself is simple - write down or draw things you are thankful for and then craft them into a song.
Some of my clients have really gotten into this TME - they've written or drawn things and then have sung them for their classroom groups. Others have used the concept of being thankful as an excuse to have a behavior so they could escape from the concept. Yet others have written things and then asked me to set it to music.
Giving thanks for something that you have when you think that everything has been taken away is difficult. My clients are often taken away from family, family often relinquishes parental rights, and my clients often remain in the foster care or state system until they turn 22 years of age. They feel abandoned, and rightly so in many cases. For those that struggle, I think that this is the motivation behind that struggle. Their lives have changed from family to staff - 24 hour line of sight oversight and lots of rules. Those that have been with us for some time tend to find the structure something to be thankful for, but others do not.
I cannot imagine what their experiences are like. My life does not resemble theirs at all, so I try to help them negotiate the situations that are in front of them without complete understanding. Most of the time, I am a listener, not a fixer. I cannot fix the situations that they face, but I can listen. So, I do.
There are parallels between my clients and the greater society at large these days. I have a relatively easy life. I do not have people following me around different places. I don't face discrimination - overt or implied - when I go out into the world. I cannot completely understand or experience what others feel in the world, but I can listen.
While I cannot fix all that is wrong in this world, I can regulate myself and my interactions with others. I cannot fix the family situations of my clients, but I can teach them how to cope with their emotions. I cannot fix the world, but I can make sure that my interactions with others are based in love, not fear.
Happy Thanksgiving week, all. I have two work days and then I get five luxurious days off. I'm already giving thanks for time off!
The concept itself is simple - write down or draw things you are thankful for and then craft them into a song.
Some of my clients have really gotten into this TME - they've written or drawn things and then have sung them for their classroom groups. Others have used the concept of being thankful as an excuse to have a behavior so they could escape from the concept. Yet others have written things and then asked me to set it to music.
Giving thanks for something that you have when you think that everything has been taken away is difficult. My clients are often taken away from family, family often relinquishes parental rights, and my clients often remain in the foster care or state system until they turn 22 years of age. They feel abandoned, and rightly so in many cases. For those that struggle, I think that this is the motivation behind that struggle. Their lives have changed from family to staff - 24 hour line of sight oversight and lots of rules. Those that have been with us for some time tend to find the structure something to be thankful for, but others do not.
I cannot imagine what their experiences are like. My life does not resemble theirs at all, so I try to help them negotiate the situations that are in front of them without complete understanding. Most of the time, I am a listener, not a fixer. I cannot fix the situations that they face, but I can listen. So, I do.
There are parallels between my clients and the greater society at large these days. I have a relatively easy life. I do not have people following me around different places. I don't face discrimination - overt or implied - when I go out into the world. I cannot completely understand or experience what others feel in the world, but I can listen.
While I cannot fix all that is wrong in this world, I can regulate myself and my interactions with others. I cannot fix the family situations of my clients, but I can teach them how to cope with their emotions. I cannot fix the world, but I can make sure that my interactions with others are based in love, not fear.
Happy Thanksgiving week, all. I have two work days and then I get five luxurious days off. I'm already giving thanks for time off!
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