TME Tuesday: Practical Considerations When Designing TMEs

One of the things that I wish I had learned way back when I was an undergraduate is the skill of thinking through therapeutic music experiences from an ergonomic perspective. Not just what will I do for my clients, but how will I preserve my joints and body as I am interacting with clients? This has become more of a consideration as I have aged, but it would have been good to be thinking about this more as a young music therapist so I could preserve my knees and back.

I am a big fan of only taking in what I absolutely need in a session with multiple options for how to use those things in many different ways. Since this is something I think about, it has become a consideration when I am developing my session strategies.

When I had a music therapy room where my clients came to me, this was less of a concern. Now, since I am no longer clinic-based, this will become more of a focus when I am designing sessions. Of course, I am not sure that I will be working with clients in my near future, but who knows at this point? As an itinerant therapist, the amount of things that you lug around with you does make a difference, and it pays off later when you take care of what you are hoisting and heaving about in the moment when your body feels good and healthy.

I write therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) without considering what I am going to have to take from place to place, but I do create my session strategies thinking about that very concept. "What do I want to do with my clients? What TMEs will best support their therapeutic goals? What do I need to run these TMEs? What else can I do with these materials?"

So, I sit down with my TME list and look carefully at the materials needed for those TMEs. Then, I think about what my body has to do to get the materials to the clients for sessions. After that, I make adaptations to my TME list to help me conserve energy. Do I really need 18 tubanos? Can I substitute sound shapes? If I do need the tubanos, then what else can I do during the session that uses those instruments and addresses my clients' goals? How will I be moving those instruments to my clients? How many trips will it take from my car? Is there a way I can decrease the load??? So many considerations, but they are important to think about.

One of the things we don't focus on much is how we use our bodies when we are doing our jobs. It is something that we do need to consider because the wear and tear on our bodies is important and contributes to longevity and attrition in our profession. When it becomes too painful to move instruments around, we are less likely to enjoy our jobs.

So, when designing TMEs, it is important to think about how you will move during implementation. Keeping that in mind will help out in the long run, believe me!

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