Being An Internship Supervisor - Break Is Over, Time to Go Back to Work and Mentoring

It is time to go back to work and back to my internship program. Intern #36 will be leading opening interactions and one therapeutic music experience (TME) for two groups today, and I will take over those two groups and lead the other two groups we have on our schedule. I have the country of the month on my schedule, but I'm not really feeling it today. We will see what I end up doing with my clients in my groups.

It is always interesting to watch each intern develop into their own style of therapy. Interns tend to start off as beings who are focused on strumming and making the chord progressions happen. As they become more practiced and more comfortable in the leader role, they are able to assimilate client responses to music into their interactions, but it takes time.

Today will be the first time that I sit with my clipboard to give formal observation notes for my intern. I have a form that I printed on 500 sheets of NCR paper (you know what that is - it's the type of paper that you can write on and have a non-carbon copy - think yellow copies go to me) that allows me to track what observations I make throughout an intern's time with me. It incorporates competency tracking as well as goals and data. If you would be interested in seeing this form, just click here. This form works really well for me, and it seems to focus my feedback on the things that I want to express to my interns.

I will only be taking notes for a short period of time during each session. The rest of the time, I will be leading our TMEs. I am not sure what I will be doing with my clients this week, but I will figure it out. I always do. 

Break is over. I am unhappy about having to go back right now, but it is time. I am hoping that the next two weeks will be professionally stimulating and a chance to engage with my clients in a meaningful way for them. It is only eight work days before my next big adventure. I can do this.

It is time to take my shower, brush out my short hair, and head to work. I will get to work, wade through all the emails that accumulated over the past nine days, and then figure out what I want to do with my clients. I will test out my singing voice. I will also monitor the air conditioning and my breathing. I will prepare my feedback form for my intern, and then I will relinquish the leader role for part of two of the four groups that are happening today. It is time to move into the role of mentor and observer rather than lead therapist.

Happy Monday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more