A "Typical" Tuesday?
Does anyone have "typical" days in this job?
One of the reasons that I am still a proud, fulfilled music therapist after 26 years in the profession is that it is rarely completely planned or routine. I like that because I have an idea of how the day is going to go, but that idea is never set in stone - at best, it is set in half-set cement. I wonder if there is any music therapist out there who plans their day and it goes exactly as planned - no surprises, no clients changing the way music is used, no power outages or missing materials or crabby moods or things like that.
Is it just me? Or does this happen to you all as well? I'm curious.
I think the fact that my days are somewhat random is affected by me as a person and as a therapist as well as my clients, but I think that there has to be some part of us music therapists that is able to recognize the unexpected and then go with it. Maybe. I'm not exactly sure, but I think that this type of ability is something that makes therapists able to weather the ups and downs of this profession.
Lately, I've been discouraged by the number of music therapists and former music therapists who have indicated frustration with their current professional situations. My social media feeds are full of people who cannot find jobs as music therapists and who are leaving because they feel that they were promised things that are not happening. At the same time, my social media feeds are full of potential music therapy employers who cannot find enough music therapists to fill great, well-paying open positions. It is an interesting dichotomy that I think is shameful for us as a profession.
When I'm asked about job potential for this profession, I answer in this way. "There are plenty of jobs, but you have to be willing to either make your own way into music therapy (often very slowly and doing other things for a while) or you have to go where the jobs are." I don't think I'm lying about this - I really do feel that this is the state of music therapy in this time and place.
I wonder what types of things people are hearing in their music therapy coursework and internships that lead them to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. I wonder if we are really able to teach critical thinking skills to a generation who were taught to test expectations. I wonder if some of these frustrations are regional in nature or if the frustrations are tied to the therapists who are experiencing them.
I spent a year and a half after my internship before I got my first music therapy-ish job. After that time, I've moved for jobs and consider moving again on a regular basis. I have never started a direct service music therapy business, and I never will because I need the stability of a paycheck and a job as an employee rather than being all things to all people. I think there are many other therapists out there who are like me - better employees than salespeople. Some of the therapists I admire the most in this music therapy world are entrepreneurs - the ones who have started music therapy businesses in places where there were no music therapy jobs - the ones that continue to grow their services and therapy into those places - the ones who have to learn something completely new every time a new employee starts with them.
What is it about this job that ends up with people either loving it completely or completely hating it? How can we better prepare music therapy students for the realities that they will face in their professional lives? How can we take the rose-colored glasses off just enough to show them the challenges?
What can I do to help others stay in this job?
I know that's an inauthentic question - I cannot choose the path of someone else, but there has to be something to help other people understand the complexity of being a music therapist as well as the joys of it.
Maybe that is the reason behind this blog - to share the things that happen - good or bad, happy or sad, challenging or boring. The ups and downs of being a music therapist - someone who loves most of what she does but not all of it. Someone who wants to let other people know what the realities of this world are, and someone who can be honest about what happens in the day to day situations.
So...
Here goes.
Yesterday was a good day at my music therapy clinic. No one had to be removed from a session. Most people participated - there were a few who did not - that's to be expected when therapy is mandatory. No one protested, but a couple did walk out for various reasons. We started working on graduation songs for our upcoming graduation ceremony. We also did some music listening and some singing about preferences. My "NTM" TME was a song that my most recent former intern wrote about "Baking a Pie" (Hi, Rachel!), and the two groups who did that TME with me seemed to enjoy its return to the music therapy session.
Today's strategy is to figure out my "NTM" TME (I'm thinking "Skeleton Bones" [Hi, Meaghan!], another intern-composed song), supervise intern #26 in her three groups, lead my two groups, and practice graduation songs again. I also have a meeting with eight other folks to see if we can get our schedules set for the next school year. I will do what I have to do to try to engage everyone in music therapy interactions, but I can only do what I can do - the client has to want to engage as well. If I cannot get every client engaged for every moment, I have to be forgiving of myself and realize that this is not an indication of failure - it is an indication of a developing therapeutic relationship.
Do you know that I have a mantra that I use before the start of my most challenging groups? My mantra is directed towards God, because that is my spiritual foundation, and it goes like this:
In the end, however, I think that I am still a music therapist because I enjoy the fact that my job is different every day. There is no "typical" Tuesday...
...and I like that.
Thoughts, comments, questions? Always welcome in the comment section below!
One of the reasons that I am still a proud, fulfilled music therapist after 26 years in the profession is that it is rarely completely planned or routine. I like that because I have an idea of how the day is going to go, but that idea is never set in stone - at best, it is set in half-set cement. I wonder if there is any music therapist out there who plans their day and it goes exactly as planned - no surprises, no clients changing the way music is used, no power outages or missing materials or crabby moods or things like that.
Is it just me? Or does this happen to you all as well? I'm curious.
I think the fact that my days are somewhat random is affected by me as a person and as a therapist as well as my clients, but I think that there has to be some part of us music therapists that is able to recognize the unexpected and then go with it. Maybe. I'm not exactly sure, but I think that this type of ability is something that makes therapists able to weather the ups and downs of this profession.
Lately, I've been discouraged by the number of music therapists and former music therapists who have indicated frustration with their current professional situations. My social media feeds are full of people who cannot find jobs as music therapists and who are leaving because they feel that they were promised things that are not happening. At the same time, my social media feeds are full of potential music therapy employers who cannot find enough music therapists to fill great, well-paying open positions. It is an interesting dichotomy that I think is shameful for us as a profession.
When I'm asked about job potential for this profession, I answer in this way. "There are plenty of jobs, but you have to be willing to either make your own way into music therapy (often very slowly and doing other things for a while) or you have to go where the jobs are." I don't think I'm lying about this - I really do feel that this is the state of music therapy in this time and place.
I wonder what types of things people are hearing in their music therapy coursework and internships that lead them to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. I wonder if we are really able to teach critical thinking skills to a generation who were taught to test expectations. I wonder if some of these frustrations are regional in nature or if the frustrations are tied to the therapists who are experiencing them.
I spent a year and a half after my internship before I got my first music therapy-ish job. After that time, I've moved for jobs and consider moving again on a regular basis. I have never started a direct service music therapy business, and I never will because I need the stability of a paycheck and a job as an employee rather than being all things to all people. I think there are many other therapists out there who are like me - better employees than salespeople. Some of the therapists I admire the most in this music therapy world are entrepreneurs - the ones who have started music therapy businesses in places where there were no music therapy jobs - the ones that continue to grow their services and therapy into those places - the ones who have to learn something completely new every time a new employee starts with them.
What is it about this job that ends up with people either loving it completely or completely hating it? How can we better prepare music therapy students for the realities that they will face in their professional lives? How can we take the rose-colored glasses off just enough to show them the challenges?
What can I do to help others stay in this job?
I know that's an inauthentic question - I cannot choose the path of someone else, but there has to be something to help other people understand the complexity of being a music therapist as well as the joys of it.
Maybe that is the reason behind this blog - to share the things that happen - good or bad, happy or sad, challenging or boring. The ups and downs of being a music therapist - someone who loves most of what she does but not all of it. Someone who wants to let other people know what the realities of this world are, and someone who can be honest about what happens in the day to day situations.
So...
Here goes.
Yesterday was a good day at my music therapy clinic. No one had to be removed from a session. Most people participated - there were a few who did not - that's to be expected when therapy is mandatory. No one protested, but a couple did walk out for various reasons. We started working on graduation songs for our upcoming graduation ceremony. We also did some music listening and some singing about preferences. My "NTM" TME was a song that my most recent former intern wrote about "Baking a Pie" (Hi, Rachel!), and the two groups who did that TME with me seemed to enjoy its return to the music therapy session.
Today's strategy is to figure out my "NTM" TME (I'm thinking "Skeleton Bones" [Hi, Meaghan!], another intern-composed song), supervise intern #26 in her three groups, lead my two groups, and practice graduation songs again. I also have a meeting with eight other folks to see if we can get our schedules set for the next school year. I will do what I have to do to try to engage everyone in music therapy interactions, but I can only do what I can do - the client has to want to engage as well. If I cannot get every client engaged for every moment, I have to be forgiving of myself and realize that this is not an indication of failure - it is an indication of a developing therapeutic relationship.
Do you know that I have a mantra that I use before the start of my most challenging groups? My mantra is directed towards God, because that is my spiritual foundation, and it goes like this:
God, help me be the best therapist I can be for the clients who are in front of me.That's it. That's all I can do - to be the best I can be for the clients I serve.
In the end, however, I think that I am still a music therapist because I enjoy the fact that my job is different every day. There is no "typical" Tuesday...
...and I like that.
Thoughts, comments, questions? Always welcome in the comment section below!
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