Musings

My sister made an interesting comment last night about my absence from the AMTA conference this year and last year.

"You seem happier when you don't go." - my sister, November 20, 2020

Hmmm.

That made me stop and think a bit. I used to love being a part of conference but it did wear me completely slick and I would need an entire week afterwards to recuperate. I enjoyed it more when I had a roommate, even though we would often have conflicting schedules due to meetings and the like, so we didn't see each other much. I liked going when I had things to do for the Association. I liked being part of the inner workings and now, all of that has gone. What made conference a valuable experience for this extreme introvert just evaporated.

I no longer go to conferences for inspiration. I just can't find it. If I go to a presentation on music therapy with a specific population, I find that I am wanting clinical interventions and not overviews of research that cannot be replicated in my clinical setting. I am less interested in the research thing than I am in clinical application and things that I can use to fortify my standing as a clinician advocating for my clients and my music therapy practice.

There. I said it. I miss leaving conference and feeling inspired.

I am looking for other places to go - places where I can I can find inspiration again. I used my conference money this year to sign up for a specialized training program that would have been over by now but because of COVID-19, had to be postponed. I am looking forward to this training because I think it will give me some of the inspiration that I've been missing.

So, I am going to spend some time this year creating the types of interactions that I crave. Be on the lookout for a Make and Take coming up in December. I think I will host a couple of TME Swaps this year as well. I will start working on the CBMT/CMTE paperwork and get going on it all! If you are looking for clinical inspiration, let's get together and do this!! 

I have some planning to do...

Anyway, from what I've seen on social media, it seems that music therapists enjoyed the conference but missed out on the socialization aspect. It will be interesting to see if we return to a live conference in the future. I hope that we can do a hybrid-type conference - something that allows those of us who are not as energized by the hugging and constant social demands to participate but in ways that are good for us. We will see.

In the meantime, I am going to do things that I find fulfilling. I am going to different conferences and some specialized clinical training this year and next year. I will look for inspiration in other places, and I will find it, too!