Design Thinking and Design Theory - I'm Just Starting Here

Yesterday, I was driving home from work, listening to a podcast that I enjoy, Hidden Brain. I was initially drawn to the radio stories because of the name of the host - it is like music in my ears, but I've remained for the interesting stories. I'm glad I chose this podcast on this day.

The episode I was listening to was about thinking differently and getting unstuck when you are stuck.

This is the topic I'm going to speak about during next month's Western and Midwestern Super Regional Conference - getting unstuck. The podcast was perfect. It suggested some practical ways to think about slumps and career pivots. I think my presentation is shaping up.

The podcast centered around design thinking and design theory. I haven't really delved into the entire concept at this point, but it intrigues me and seems to be something that I will enjoy knowing more about in the near future.

Basically, the idea is that all problems can be solved in many different ways, but how we approach the problem-solving process often limits our solutions. Design thinking and theory encourages out of the box thinking.

I like that.

I have always been a bit of a divergent thinker. I often think of possibilities - many possibilities - to problems. In fact, I am most content when I have a problem to solve with no restrictions about how to get to the end goal.

This idea of design thinking and theory seems to fit my ideas about how to solve problems. I think I'll get some books and look up some more information on this way of thinking. I can't wait.

How can this affect music therapy? I'm not sure yet, but I think that being aware of creative solutions to client issues can strengthen the therapeutic process and outcomes. I'll let you all know more about it when I get to my research!

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