Thoughtful Thursday: Bad Sessions

Yesterday was a day full of screaming, clients acting up and acting out, and general chaos. Actually, that was only the first session, but it felt like the entire day. It was quite funny to watch the kids take advantage of cranky staff members and the opportunities presented by their peers. One had a hissy fit when I asked him to look next to him and let me know if there were any cards on the floor. Full-out tantrum. Ridiculous.

When they left, I had to go into the next session immediately, so I didn't get much time to process the events of the day. I'm behind in my notes, and I'm trying hard to keep a bunch of cranky people in the room during music therapy sessions.

I know that this isn't all my fault (I've been hearing very similar stories from people all over the facility), but it really does feel personal at times.

My goblins start, especially in the car and when I'm trying to sleep. "You should be able to engage all clients at all times." "If you were a better therapist, you wouldn't have these difficulties with clients." "You could devote more of your waking hours to figuring out this problem. Why are you thinking you need to sleep? Eat? Craft?"

What does this signal? First of all, I need some more time with and around my clients. Play and observation help me to figure out clients.

Second of all, I must remember that I can only bring one half of any relationship to the experience - my client brings the other half. I never know any of the classroom details when it comes to my groups. I am isolated from 10 of the 11 classrooms in the school, so a student may have just been yelled at by a teacher, and I am the one who gets to experience the backlash. In addition, all of the classrooms have had changes in clients and staff recently, so none of the group members know their place in the pecking order. Also, my session plans are not "one size fits all." 

Third, bad sessions happen to every therapist at one time or another. When things don't gel the way you think they should, that doesn't mean that the therapist is bad. It means that the plan didn't work as planned. It means going back to the planning/thinking process. It means going back to the basics of music therapy and why I believe it works.

Fourth - today is a new day. What happened yesterday (and the day before, and the day before that) is now over. It is time to step into this new therapy day with confidence and patience.

Had a bad session? Don't fret. Learn from the process and move forward.

Here's to better sessions from this point forward (at least for today!!)

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