Day Two Recap and a Dilemma
Well. Day two is now over and day three will be dawning pretty soon. Time to make some decisions about my conference timeline and continued participation, but we'll get to that later.
Here's what happened yesterday.
One of the nice and still challenging things about the AMTA National Conference is that there are plenty of things to choose from, yet there are times when what is being presented is not something relevant to me. This happened a bit more on day one than on day two, but was still something that happens more and more as I mature into one of the "older" music therapists.
I started my day with a big breakfast (big mistake) and then went to a session about "Reconceptualizing the 'work-life balance': Integrating our multiple identities." (I've read a social media policy since yesterday which states that I am not to list the names of people who present without their explicit permission, so I will refrain from listing the names of the presenters from yesterday. I didn't get permission from them...) Anyway, the two presenters were pretty interesting (seemed to be extroverts and kept pressing me to "join the circle." I was in the middle of figuring out Messenger on my phone and wasn't quite ready to join the circle, but I did eventually...kinda. It was a good thing that I didn't get into the circle completely because I had a bad coughing incident and had to dash out pretty quickly.
I digress. The conversation was about how we often deceive ourselves into thinking that there should be a balance in our lives, and when we are not balanced, we are not good. Instead of the word, "balance," the presenters suggested that we think of our selves as in a dynamic equilibrium model rather than on a see-saw. The idea of dynamic equilibrium comes to us from the science of geology (look up Koplik, 2017, Ellen Langer, and Virginia Satir for some inspiration). When things change in the environment, the environment adapts to absorb that change. It is not a quick or easy situation, but the environment adapts. The presenters believed that we, as humans, do the same things, but we often try to cling to the "way things were" and place undue expectations upon ourselves to go back to things that are simply not possible.
TANGENT: Most of the presentations that I attended yesterday included the following statement - almost exactly the same syntax each time.
"Now I'm a parent, and EVERYTHING is different."
The implication was that these presenters seemed to want to cling to the patterns and routines developed pre-kids, but were unable to do so because the addition of other human beings into an established routine changes the environment. Rather than learn to adapt to the new environmental status, folks seemed to want to cling to the practices that worked in the old environment. I'm going to ponder this a bit before writing more. It is not something that affects me (I'm not a parent), but I see it with friends and family members all the time.
I then gave my own presentation, "Writing rock solid clinical goals, objectives, and benchmarks: Keep it simple,..." The room was tiny - only 20 chairs available. The room was packed. When I say packed, I mean that there were people sitting in all the chairs, all the aisles, up by the screen, next to the presentation table (that I moved close to the front wall), and in several rows on all of those places. Most of the audience were students, which was good, and something I expected, but there were quite a few folks who are very established in our field. The room was hot (my hairline was sweating), and I didn't have quite enough material to fill up all the time (whew), but there weren't many questions and people stopped me later to thank me for the presentation. I'm going to add this presentation to my growing CMTE library because there seems to be a need.
The next presentation that I attended was offered by the AMTA Technology Committee. The presentation was titled, "Real tools for clinical practice: Part one." It promised lots of hardware to use with clients. It was full of Apple technology (this appears to be typical for the AMTA Technology Committee - they focus on Apple stuff pretty exclusively). I am not an Apple person, and I don't have the money to buy an iPad that will not make any sense to me, so most of what was presented was not applicable. So, I just sat while others played with the things. There was no reason to play with applications that I cannot have at all at my job. The only thing that was presented that worked with a PC was a Makey Makey device - something I already have. I did get a good presentation title out of the experience - something to propose for next year. I'm not going to share it because I don't want to bias the review committee, but I'm pretty proud of it!
I finished up the presentation day with a presentation called "Working with traumatized children: A look at patients and self." This presentation was an excellent overview of Trauma-Informed Care. I enjoyed the review, but we didn't really get a good opportunity to discuss intervention when working with these kids. Nothing presented was new to me (which reinforced the advanced training that I start tomorrow as a valuable resource to me professionally). The person I sat next to was new to Trauma-Informed Care ideas, and she got lots out of the presentation.
The day ended with a dinner with a friend of mine at the Hard Rock Cafe and a long conversation before checking in with family members and crashing into sleep. I think I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep before waking up at 2am. Now, I am in the process of packing...
...and a dilemma.
I am exhausted. I am full of ideas and still have a four and a half hour drive ahead of me. I'm trying to figure out if I stay for today's presentations or if I just get in my car and drive home. It is amazing how a presentation that really intrigued me on Thursday afternoon is losing its appeal on Sunday morning after little sleep and interrupted patterns. I also know that most folks leave on Sunday morning and those presentations are often less attended, but the information is still important. So, do I do something self-care or something professional and self-care?
The presentations that I am interested in today include:
Happy Sunday and end of AMTA conference.
Here's what happened yesterday.
One of the nice and still challenging things about the AMTA National Conference is that there are plenty of things to choose from, yet there are times when what is being presented is not something relevant to me. This happened a bit more on day one than on day two, but was still something that happens more and more as I mature into one of the "older" music therapists.
I started my day with a big breakfast (big mistake) and then went to a session about "Reconceptualizing the 'work-life balance': Integrating our multiple identities." (I've read a social media policy since yesterday which states that I am not to list the names of people who present without their explicit permission, so I will refrain from listing the names of the presenters from yesterday. I didn't get permission from them...) Anyway, the two presenters were pretty interesting (seemed to be extroverts and kept pressing me to "join the circle." I was in the middle of figuring out Messenger on my phone and wasn't quite ready to join the circle, but I did eventually...kinda. It was a good thing that I didn't get into the circle completely because I had a bad coughing incident and had to dash out pretty quickly.
I digress. The conversation was about how we often deceive ourselves into thinking that there should be a balance in our lives, and when we are not balanced, we are not good. Instead of the word, "balance," the presenters suggested that we think of our selves as in a dynamic equilibrium model rather than on a see-saw. The idea of dynamic equilibrium comes to us from the science of geology (look up Koplik, 2017, Ellen Langer, and Virginia Satir for some inspiration). When things change in the environment, the environment adapts to absorb that change. It is not a quick or easy situation, but the environment adapts. The presenters believed that we, as humans, do the same things, but we often try to cling to the "way things were" and place undue expectations upon ourselves to go back to things that are simply not possible.
TANGENT: Most of the presentations that I attended yesterday included the following statement - almost exactly the same syntax each time.
"Now I'm a parent, and EVERYTHING is different."
The implication was that these presenters seemed to want to cling to the patterns and routines developed pre-kids, but were unable to do so because the addition of other human beings into an established routine changes the environment. Rather than learn to adapt to the new environmental status, folks seemed to want to cling to the practices that worked in the old environment. I'm going to ponder this a bit before writing more. It is not something that affects me (I'm not a parent), but I see it with friends and family members all the time.
I then gave my own presentation, "Writing rock solid clinical goals, objectives, and benchmarks: Keep it simple,..." The room was tiny - only 20 chairs available. The room was packed. When I say packed, I mean that there were people sitting in all the chairs, all the aisles, up by the screen, next to the presentation table (that I moved close to the front wall), and in several rows on all of those places. Most of the audience were students, which was good, and something I expected, but there were quite a few folks who are very established in our field. The room was hot (my hairline was sweating), and I didn't have quite enough material to fill up all the time (whew), but there weren't many questions and people stopped me later to thank me for the presentation. I'm going to add this presentation to my growing CMTE library because there seems to be a need.
The next presentation that I attended was offered by the AMTA Technology Committee. The presentation was titled, "Real tools for clinical practice: Part one." It promised lots of hardware to use with clients. It was full of Apple technology (this appears to be typical for the AMTA Technology Committee - they focus on Apple stuff pretty exclusively). I am not an Apple person, and I don't have the money to buy an iPad that will not make any sense to me, so most of what was presented was not applicable. So, I just sat while others played with the things. There was no reason to play with applications that I cannot have at all at my job. The only thing that was presented that worked with a PC was a Makey Makey device - something I already have. I did get a good presentation title out of the experience - something to propose for next year. I'm not going to share it because I don't want to bias the review committee, but I'm pretty proud of it!
I finished up the presentation day with a presentation called "Working with traumatized children: A look at patients and self." This presentation was an excellent overview of Trauma-Informed Care. I enjoyed the review, but we didn't really get a good opportunity to discuss intervention when working with these kids. Nothing presented was new to me (which reinforced the advanced training that I start tomorrow as a valuable resource to me professionally). The person I sat next to was new to Trauma-Informed Care ideas, and she got lots out of the presentation.
The day ended with a dinner with a friend of mine at the Hard Rock Cafe and a long conversation before checking in with family members and crashing into sleep. I think I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep before waking up at 2am. Now, I am in the process of packing...
...and a dilemma.
I am exhausted. I am full of ideas and still have a four and a half hour drive ahead of me. I'm trying to figure out if I stay for today's presentations or if I just get in my car and drive home. It is amazing how a presentation that really intrigued me on Thursday afternoon is losing its appeal on Sunday morning after little sleep and interrupted patterns. I also know that most folks leave on Sunday morning and those presentations are often less attended, but the information is still important. So, do I do something self-care or something professional and self-care?
The presentations that I am interested in today include:
- Music Therapy in Ecosystemic Family-Based Therapy
- Life Turns on a Dime: Navigating Community Trauma and Tragedy
- Rural Life Realities: The Blessing and Challenges of Being a Rural Music Therapist
Happy Sunday and end of AMTA conference.
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