Two and a Half Weeks Left of Summer Session

We have hit the mid-point of this week. Today has six groups and no individual sessions. The forecast is for a bit better temperatures for my breathing but the humidity levels are still very high for my clogged lungs. My music therapy room is very hot - maintenance just keeps telling me that there is NOTHING that they can do - I do not agree with that and will continue to request less heat in the music therapy room. There has to be something that can be done to make the room more tolerable. Students are just not motivated to do anything, and I don't blame them. I'm not able to think or create or function in the heat, much less breathe in the humid air. I may have to do some sort of formal complaint with some health stuff brought in before this becomes a priority for anyone other than me. I don't think I'm asking much, but having the air coming out of the vents be the exact same temperature as the air going into the vents seems to indicate that THINGS ARE NOT WORKING!

Anyway, students are just really puddles, and I am no better in my office watching. Interns are doing a good job of finding TMEs that match the mood and interest levels of the clients, but nothing is easy these days. I'm not finding anything to be easy. Not even breathing.

I get to lead one group with three familiar students and one new student. It is the last part of the day, so I am usually a combination of exhausted, asthmatic, and thrilled about doing something therapy-like. My problem is that I have to get some enthusiasm for running a session at the highest temperatures of the day as well as when kids have already had a full day of learning, therapy, and being outside. So, we will probably sing some familiar songs, listen to some familiar music, and then head out into the world.

Yesterday, I sat through four group sessions and ran two individual sessions and supervised another individual session. I spent some time thinking about our new post-graduate program and how I want to offer leisure programming in my program. I also made some visual boards for different music-based leisure choices. I decided that the options that I have available to our students are in the following categories: sing, play, move, and learn. My next task is to start thinking through specific things to introduce to a group of students who are going to be pushed towards independence in environments where that was never the goal before, including music therapy! I will have to teach many of my students how to make their own choices in the music therapy room when that has been something controlled because my treatment focus was different for those students up until just now.

I am not sure if my vision for how this will work will match how the vision of the people planning this program will work, but I am the expert in music, so I get to do what I want to do. What I do not want is someone expecting me to be running typical music therapy sessions, though, for some of my clients, I may need to do some of that until I can teach them how to be independent. I want my students to find things to do when I am not around but I cannot abandon all familiar elements until we have found things to replace those familiar elements.

It is a bit past my regular time to post and leave for work, but that is fine. I am able to take a bit of time to do some self-care and get things ready for this third day of the contract year. I have ten work days and 26 days until my last break for the summer. Tonight will be a movie night. I am going to an evening movie after work so my sister and I can talk about the particular movie...

See you tomorrow.