Things That Interest Me in the World of Music Therapy

So, my brain is starting to think rationally again. It's been some time, and I welcome the change. I do not like being in the throes of an emotional upheaval, so getting back into a rational frame of mind is quite a relief to me. As a result, though, I am starting to think about the world of music therapy and where I want to fit into that world.

Right now, I am very interested in why our national association has gone through TWO executive directors in less than a year. I am wondering why this is so - what is going on with the membership, the board, and the leadership of our organization that is making folks leave us before even getting to know us. One director leaving seems somewhat unremarkable but two seems like a problem.

I am interested in why this is so.

Now, I've left some social media groups lately due to what I consider to be bullying behavior from some of the music therapists on those groups. I wonder if our directors have been the targets of the same sort of behaviors. I can tell you that my life is much more serene now that I am not sorting through posts that trigger emotional responses in me (more than not, that emotion is anger!). I am sure that both of our former directors are breathing better now that they are somewhere else - far away from us.

I am always interested in how we are teaching our future therapy colleagues. Competency-Based Education and Clinical Training is my major passion in this profession. I'm not sure what my role in this future really is, but I try to share what I know and what I think with students and interns as much as possible. Other than being a clinician, this is where I think I have much to offer our profession as a whole. 

I am not someone who wants to be researching the best method for doing things, but I do have an insatiable appetite for knowing how we are doing things. I want to know how we clinical folks arrange our instrument storage, how we design our session plans, how we use music to engage our clients in treatment, and everything else. I want to get us to use our power as the people who are doing this job, day after day, to influence what is taught and trained and investigated. There seems to be a disconnect between our educators/researchers and our practitioners. There is a role for us all, but I want more than what we have now. I'm not sure what I want yet, but I know that what we have is not enough for me.

Maybe I can take this idea and use it here on my blog. I could interview music therapy clinicians about the things that I am interested in and then put those interviews up as part of a series. Would you be interested in reading about these sorts of things? Would you be willing to be interviewed? What types of things do you want to know about how we do this job in our various settings?? Let me know!!

Ooh. Now I have a passion project. That's the last piece of this entire process - finding something that interests me and makes me try to answer some questions.

Thanks, as always, for being here.