Being an Internship Director: Hiatus

Being an Internship Supervisor – Graphic looks like a hanging sign. The top of the graphic includes the website URL, “www.musictherapyworks.com” followed by the title, “Being an Internship Supervisor.” and the word, “explained,” on the part of the sign that dangles below.
Tomorrow is the first day that I will be at my job without an intern in seven and a half months. I am ready for a break from being mentor and coach and supervisor. I need times when I am just therapist, and this is one of those times. Fortunately, it coincided with no applications for my January or March start dates, so I didn't have to deny anyone a position. I am just taking this break since it is happening. This is also happening at the same time I am trying to decide if I want to continue as a member of AMTA and also as an ID.

Today, though, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I am at home, trying to figure out what I am going to do next. I do not intend on leaving my home at all today - it is just too cold to spend any amount of time outside - but I also have my session strategies figured out for the next several days, so I can stay in and try to thaw out one of my toilets. It has frozen - again - so it needs to be thawed out before it bursts. That is completely a tangent, though. It has little to nothing to do with this post topic.

I often need time to get back into the part of this job that I love the most - being the therapist rather than being an onlooker. I am trying to figure out what I want to be doing in this music therapy world - like I often do at this time in the year - but I am struggling with this situation. 

There are two national roster internship sites in my state. Mine is one of them.

There used to be nine. What has happened? Why are internships closing in this area? I know why I am contemplating closing, but why did the others go away? Were they faced with similar issues and concerns? Was it just easier not to welcome interns to their program than it was to continue? Are those of us who enjoy being internship directors just struggling with this way of doing things? Are job requirements more strenuous than before or is it something else?

Am I overthinking this? 

Am I antiquated in what I expect my interns to do when they arrive at my facility? 

Am I looking for skills that just aren't present? 

I am tired, so this break is coming at a good time. I am doubting my own competence as a supervisor, and that is not a good time to be actively trying to supervise someone. I am going to give myself until January 20th to decide about whether I remain a member of AMTA and an internship director. I have two applicants on tap for June, and I need to decide whether to invite them for their auditions/interviews by that date. If it is not to be, then I need to let them know that I am not continuing and then let the AIAC know that I will be closing my program.

At this point, I have started my decision process. I have a list of the pros to AMTA membership - being an internship director is on that list, and I have started a list of the cons to not being a member of AMTA. I hope it will be clear what I want to do by the 20th. We will see.

For now, I am going to enjoy some time as therapist, building therapeutic relationships with all of my students rather than just some of them. I am going to spend oodles of time making things for my students to use and play with, and I am going to do things that I think are just plain old fun. I want to play with my students, so that is what I am going to do. Play. It is time to just do the things that I love to do.

Welcome to my year of play.

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