Synthesis Sunday: Twenty-Nine Years

Twenty-nine years ago, on this date, I was packing up my car and driving away from Phoenix, Arizona. I had graduated from my internship the day before, and it was time to start being a music therapist. I had no plans except to head to the place that I wanted to be more than any place else - home.

This time, of course, was before the internet was a common thing. There were no handy emails with job listings coming to an email address each morning. Music therapy positions were not advertised in many places, so finding a music therapy job was really limited in various areas. I had no idea if I would find anything to do in my geographical location, and my parents needed me to work. I had to work so I could have a car and to contribute to the bills that I generated while I was at home. It took me two months and a week to find and start a job, and that was an uncomfortable span of time in my life.

Once I found a job, I was able to contribute money towards household expenses and was able to buy my own car and insurance and health insurance and all of that. My first "real" job was as an activity facilitator for kids at a residential facility. I planned activities and acted as a direct service care person for those kids. I had a chance to bring in skills that I love using - my experiences as a camp counselor came in really handy in this job. I ran craft groups, music groups, and took my kids on trips all over the place. I was not titled "music therapist," but I was able to put some therapy into our interactions. The job was for very low pay - I think I got $6.50 an hour, so I had to look for more opportunities. That led to job #2 - Qualified Mental Retardation Professional.

Now, before people get het up about the title, this was 29 years ago - language was not what it is now. These days, this same title would be Qualified Intellectual/Developmental Disability Professional - a bit better, but still not really all that reflective of what the job entailed.

I was an administrator who worked for a company that provided living and work situations for persons who required 24 hour care. At this time, in the state of California, court orders required the de-institutionalization of persons with developmental diagnoses. There were many people who had lived in large state institutions for their entire lives, and it was time for them to move into communities outside of the institutions. Being in the group home business was a good thing at that time.

This job did not last long for me. I had to wear a beeper at all times. I had to do interviews and performance evaluations on staff members who were not all that ready to be evaluated by a younger supervisor who had not done the job that they had to do. I wanted so much to be working with the clients, not supervising staff.

So, when an opportunity arose to go into the state institution to be a rehabilitation (music) therapist, I took it. This job was the first one where I was expected to do things based on my career training, and it was about 25% music therapy. The remaining time was spent in recreation groups, Special Olympics trainings and meets, and lots of trips to various places. I helped prepare my clients for their deinstitutionalization by creating situations where they would have to be independent.  I was working with recreational and music therapists, and it was the first job where I found myself able to use my music therapy education to do music therapy. I left that job when it ended because I was ready to learn more about music, therapy, and me.

When I left my job to return to Kansas for school, I took a big leap of faith that I would find something. I was told that I would be able to be a teaching assistant, but that fell through. I had to find a job to support my education, and I did. I was hired (over the phone, by the way) to be the recreation specialist at my current facility. It took them 3 weeks to get me onboard because of some tragic circumstances at the facility, but 3 days after I started my orientation training, the music therapy position was advertised in the local paper for the same facility. I took that job as well and split my time between the school and the residential program for eight months before transitioning to full-time music therapist in the school. I have been there ever since, and I hope to retire from that job in about six years with a full pension and some benefits and then head out into another music therapy adventure.

What that adventure will be is still unknown, but I know what I would like to do...anyone out there want some tips on how to maximize your music therapy effectiveness within your team? I would love to spend some time talking to you about some ideas that I have for you! You can contact me here... 

As I reflect on my journey over the past decades, I find that I am still as interested and intrigued by music therapy as I was on this day 29 years ago, but my views of the world, of work, and of my medium have changed significantly. I am thrilled that I still love working as a music therapist. I am challenged daily by how to use my chosen medium with my clients to move them forward towards their goals. I also find myself able to reflect on current professional situations with the perspective of experience and knowledge that comes from being in this job for a long time. I know what things used to be like, and I can appreciate how far we have come. I can also see how long it takes for society and professions to change and adapt. I have things that I want to see happen in our profession, and I really hope that I will see some of these things come to pass before I retire completely from the world of music therapy. 

The picture I used at the top of this post is of a bridge. I took it during my trip east this year. Bridges have always become a metaphor for me of my journey through life. A bridge takes you from where you are to a place that you want to be, but you might not always be able to see what awaits you on the other side. All you know is that it will lead you to someplace different. You get to the end of one bridge, find the destination a good place to rest for a while before you get back onto the road, leaving those ideas behind but still a part of you.

I liked this picture because it was taken as I was moving onto that bridge. I could see other people on their own journeys at the same place that I was but not going to the same destination. This thought, of my professional journey as a trip over a bridge, fulfills my need to capture how I feel about being a music therapist in an image or in a concept. 

I continue to travel over bridges, twenty-nine years after I started this journey. I hope to continue to find my journey to be stimulating and what I am seeking.

Thanks for being on this journey with me, friend!