TME Tuesday: The Organizing Benefits of Thematic Programming

I am getting ready to be a solo therapist again which means taking over my entire caseload for the first time in a bit over a year. Now, this is not a bad thing at all, but it means that I have some things that I will need to make habitual again that have been set aside in favor of intern development. One of those things is putting together about 20 group sessions per week in a way that allows me to keep myself organized. I find that thematic programming helps me be a bit more organized and helps me remember which clients have experienced what in their time with me.

Now, when I say thematic programming, many music therapists become a bit defensive - on both sides, to be fair. There are valid arguments to all sides, so let me elaborate a bit on what I am meaning by thematic programming...

I like some themes, and you may find that my idea of themed programming is a bit different from your own. That's okay. I do not have a week for "Dogs" or "Science" or "Super Heroes." My themes tend to be "musician of the month" and "music education concept." I use these themes to organize one portion of every session in order to ensure that all my clients are exposed to the same information during these sessions. I make adaptations to all of the thematic materials and experiences provided during sessions to shape the experiences to the students who come into my space. So, we will all be learning about the violin during the week after Spring Break, but we will be learning in different ways.

Thematic programming helps me figure things out as a solo therapist. I can establish routines for myself that no one else really seems to notice - week one is the culture of the month, week two is the instrument of the month, and so on. There are so many different ways to put together thematic programming and still hit all clients goals and objectives.

For me, the most effective way to plan themes is to focus on general theme like "musician" rather than something more specific like "jazz musician." I can add so many things into my general themes that I can include "jazz musicians" into my week of "musician of the month" without any sort of problem.

Now, I LOVE writing session strategies that center around one topic - like "cats." This type of session has every TME framed around the theme - "cats." So, we focus on how to assist our clients in meeting their goals while everything that we do has to do with cats. These are great fun when you are designing the ideas, but my adolescents just don't go for that type of programming, so I do the one-topic sessions for others to use. I have to do other things for my clients. 

I will be heading back into thematic programming for the next several months. I have decided to start up in March, so we will start off with our country of the month on the first full week of  March. The second full week is Spring Break, so we will miss one of my weeks, but that's fine with me. The third full week will be an instrument-focused week because we have a jazz violinist coming to do a fundraiser concert for us. He and his sons will come to our school on the last day of the week to do a quick concert for the students. I will be gone at that time for a conference, but I will get everyone ready for how to be a concert attendee. The last week will be a celebration of different musicians with March birthdays. April will follow a similar pattern with the addition of a music education concept in week three.. Week two will be an instrument. Each of these concepts and themes will take up about 15-30 minutes of the 60 minutes I see each student per week, so I will have additional time to fill with other TMEs.

My primary personal goal during this time without interns is to increase communication opportunities for my students in these themed sessions. I want some dedicated communication boards for my students to use to tell me what they want and what they think. The problem is that my clients communicate in many different ways, so I will have to figure out  systems with multiple levels. I will start with the instruments since I will be leading discussions about the violin very soon.

Back to thematic programming...

When I get into this routine, I am able to strategize ahead of time for all of my sessions, but I make significant changes during every session in live time. My clients NEVER respond to things that way that I think they will, so I have to remember that no plan is sacred. Things will not go exactly as planned, and that's okay. I can adapt and adjust. If my clients are unable to focus on what I have prepared, then it is time to pull something out that will assist them in focusing. That may mean scrapping my plans entirely. For me, clients are always more important than the plan. Always.