Systems Sunday: Research-Informed Clinician

As you know, I am an opinionated music therapist who doesn't (really) hold back when it comes to writing this blog, so it should come as little to no surprise to you that I have written quite a bit about being a research-informed (my term) clinician. I often use this forum as a place to think through some of the ideas that I have and to figure out my positions on music therapy relevant topics.

If you are interested in the system that I have developed for myself to help me figure out if the research I read has any direct relevance to my clinical situation, then feel free to read any of the posts listed below. I've been writing about this for about three years now, so there are lots of things to read. Most of this information is what is usually on my blog when I am trying to figure out things - my thought process as I developed this system, but the system does work for me, so it is something that has lasted for the past several years. It works for me.

http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/02/research-influenced-or-research-informed.html

http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/03/revisiting-idea-of-being-research.html

http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/03/research-informed-clinician-quest-entry.html

http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/03/becoming-research-informed-clinician.html

http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/04/becoming-research-informed-clinician.html
 
http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2016/10/research-informed-clinician-last-post.html


http://musictxandme.blogspot.com/2018/04/synthesis-sunday-getting-back-into.html

This entire topic started because I find it difficult to reconcile the information that is presented to the music therapy community via our research journals with the day-to-day situations that I find myself in during music therapy sessions. There is very little in the journals that has relevance to my population of choice and my treatment style. I see this as a huge obstacle to the growth of our profession - a disconnect between clinicians and educators/researchers - that needs to be addressed in some way. I don't know how to make it better for me as a clinician, but I know that there are ways to do this.

Here's what I am going to try for the next six months. (Let's see - write that in my bullet journal - December to May). I am going to find an article for each month - something that may have direct implications for my clinical population - and take that article through my research-informed clinician process to see if it will help me incorporate more research-based decisions into my clinical interactions.

I know that there needs to be a link between what researchers are investigating and what I do in my music therapy clinic, but there are lots of research questions out there that have little to no relevance to my situation here as a music therapist. I wonder if I am alone in this attitude - I know of at least one more therapist out there who feels the same way I do, so I know the two of us aren't alone - are we?

Okay - for the next six months, I am going to make my Sundays dedicated to research. Starting on December 1, 2019 and going until May 31, 2020, I will investigate the research that is out there. I will identify articles from the entire history of music therapy - there are no year limits here - and will try to figure out some of the questions that I have about why music works the way it does with my clients. I may spend some time thinking about those questions next week. Or, I may not.

Hope to "see" you next week as I start this off by selecting some articles.