Getting Ready
I have a visit from an intern applicant on Monday, and I am getting ready to show off my music therapy space and what I do in that space. This takes a bit of time and effort, because (as you know if you read this blog regularly) I am a pack rat and organization is something that challenges me. Last Friday, I organized the storage room which will double as an intern office once I have an intern. I organized all of my cabinets so I can show this applicant (and the three others who will be coming) what type of materials are available. Today's task is to tackle my office space.
The clearing and cleaning of my office helps me also declutter my brain - something that I need to do more often so my brain can work without getting bogged down in extraneous thoughts and problems. I keep my idea book near to me so I can write down tasks and ideas as they occur, but not address them until there is time to do so. The more I organize, the more things I find to do. It is amazing how that works.
As I am spending time organizing my brain and my session strategies and my physical environment, I will be preparing myself for sharing space with another music therapist.
Doesn't sound like much, does it? Sharing space. Over my (wow) 20 years of being part of the AMTA National Roster, I've shared space with 23 interns. This is the first time (ever) that interns have had their own office space. This is the first time (again, ever) that I've had my own office space. This is going to be different for me.
Being an internship supervisor means more than simply sharing space with another music therapist. It also means sharing clients.
I usually accept interns on a rotating schedule. I get a new person in my space every three months (or so). This helps me with the challenge of sharing clients with another person. I accepted two simultaneous interns once, and it nearly stifled me. Back in 2011, I had two excellent interns who started at the same time. They were able to take on their caseloads pretty quickly, and that left me with only observing, not doing therapy. Since my interns take about half of my caseload during their time with us, I had very little to do during the second half of their internship time. It was a very creative time for me, but I wasn't able to put anything into action. I decided at that time to keep going with my intern rotation rather than accept two interns at the same time.
With rotating start dates, I get to be therapist for my clients every three months. One intern starts, and I am the model therapist for he or she as we move through orientation and co-treatment. As that intern takes over full implementation duties, the other intern graduates. I inherit the clients from the other intern as the new one starts. This system works well for me, and seems to work well for my clients as well.
All of this takes planning and organization. I will start that organization today as I get my office organized and my brain ready for deciding about which people will share my clients and my space next school year.
The clearing and cleaning of my office helps me also declutter my brain - something that I need to do more often so my brain can work without getting bogged down in extraneous thoughts and problems. I keep my idea book near to me so I can write down tasks and ideas as they occur, but not address them until there is time to do so. The more I organize, the more things I find to do. It is amazing how that works.
As I am spending time organizing my brain and my session strategies and my physical environment, I will be preparing myself for sharing space with another music therapist.
Doesn't sound like much, does it? Sharing space. Over my (wow) 20 years of being part of the AMTA National Roster, I've shared space with 23 interns. This is the first time (ever) that interns have had their own office space. This is the first time (again, ever) that I've had my own office space. This is going to be different for me.
Being an internship supervisor means more than simply sharing space with another music therapist. It also means sharing clients.
I usually accept interns on a rotating schedule. I get a new person in my space every three months (or so). This helps me with the challenge of sharing clients with another person. I accepted two simultaneous interns once, and it nearly stifled me. Back in 2011, I had two excellent interns who started at the same time. They were able to take on their caseloads pretty quickly, and that left me with only observing, not doing therapy. Since my interns take about half of my caseload during their time with us, I had very little to do during the second half of their internship time. It was a very creative time for me, but I wasn't able to put anything into action. I decided at that time to keep going with my intern rotation rather than accept two interns at the same time.
With rotating start dates, I get to be therapist for my clients every three months. One intern starts, and I am the model therapist for he or she as we move through orientation and co-treatment. As that intern takes over full implementation duties, the other intern graduates. I inherit the clients from the other intern as the new one starts. This system works well for me, and seems to work well for my clients as well.
All of this takes planning and organization. I will start that organization today as I get my office organized and my brain ready for deciding about which people will share my clients and my space next school year.
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