music, therapy, and me

I will not turn this into a rant.  I am trying to figure out things around me, but I am also trying to keep my emotions in check. We are getting ready for another snow storm, and I have the day off for a national holiday, so there's not much to do outside. I am going to head to the library for the next round of books before the snow arrives. I anticipate that there will be another inclement weather day tomorrow since the snow is predicted to be heavier at work than here at home. I have picked up my grocery order, so I have plenty of food to get me through any sort of situation that occurs here. I also have plenty of matches, blankets, and ways to cook food without having electricity, so I should be good for another blizzard this winter. I was thinking about several things this week - blind reviews for conferences, how I am less depressed during the winter months than the summer months, the state of our government, what to present at the World Congress for Music Therapy 2026 in Ital...

Mondays used to be my days to talk about being an internship supervisor, but I'm not in that role anymore, so I am not sure what I can talk about on Mondays now. The only thing I've got are my opinions about things. So, Mondays may be opinion days for a bit until I figure out if there is something else to write about. Now, all of my posts are opinion posts, but I tend to try to pull back some of my non-music therapy opinions back most of the time. I don't want this to be a place where I just spew my thoughts about other things willy nilly. I still don't, so I will try to figure out ways to rant or opine about things that directly affect me and my fellow music therapists. Today, it is pretty easy to find something that stirs me up about the world outside my door. There is so much that is going on that affects my profession (and yours, probably) in the halls of our government. I am not confident that there will be much resistance where there should be people standing up a...

I was able to wake up on time this morning and also haul my ponderous self out of my very comfortable bed only an hour later, so I am considering this a win. I have had significant difficulty getting up and out of bed since our last time change, and this is unusual for me. I can say that I feel 100% better than I did three days ago, so I am also considering that fact a win. As a result of recovering from my latest illness and my need to do things differently, I am trying to come up with new things to talk about here on my blog. This happens occasionally. I get an urge to shake my thinking up and one of the ways that manifests is in new topics for this space. So, I am not doing an internship supervision post today. If that is what you look for in my blog, please send me a message or leave a comment. I can continue that topic, if you want. Otherwise, I think I am going to leave that topic behind for a bit. In the past, I have used the following Monday labels: Make It Monday and Music Mon...

As I am getting ready for work this morning, I am thinking about the fact that there are five days left until my next break. We work on Friday this week because of how the summer session and inservice days worked out. That is a no-contact day meaning that kids will not be present. I have an intern who needs her hours and then will be graduating and another one that could use an entire day of work time to get assignments done. I am hoping to be moving into a small office in my music therapy room. It is my old office, and I am looking forward to getting my professional space back. As much as I enjoy being around my interns, I really like having a place where I can do my own thing. I don't know if things will be moved out by Friday, but I will prepare for that move regardless. I have two cabinets that will make the move across the room with me. That will give my interns more space and less clutter to have to deal with, a place of privacy where they can talk about me, and a place where...

It is Monday again, so it is time to talk about being an internship supervisor and some of the joys and challenges of taking on that role as a professional music therapist. To protect the identities of all involved other than me, I do not identify my interns - if it was you, former interns, you may or may not know... [Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! - If you know, you know...] ANYWAY... Some of the things that I have noticed in my decades of being an internship supervisor are listed here - in no particular order... Each intern has something that makes them memorable to me. Some of those things have been interactions, some have been personality aspects, some have been specific words that kept coming up, some have been through the lessons that I've learned while working with those interns. I can remember each one of my interns through the songs that they wrote and through their assignments. It takes time to get to know each intern and how they learn. Some of my interns have not been able to underst...

I am a bit overly medicated at the moment, so I have to delay my commute for another hour. I am not accustomed to being late to work, but I do have a dispensation from my principal due to my current medical issues, so I am going to take advantage of that dispensation and not leave until the sun has risen completely. I am hoping that my side effects will be gone by that time so I can drive myself the hour to work safely. We shall see... I am tired today, but I am ready to get the last month of school for the 21-22 school year going. We have 32 days left (including weekends) until we have two weeks - TWO WEEKS - off for our first summer break. My facility has an extended school year, so we will work four days a week for most of the month of June and then the same schedule for three weeks of July before our last summer break. The 22-23 school year starts up in August, and my school calendar is finally starting to mirror the school district calendar. We will have less 12-hour days and more...

It is time to go back to work after a week off for Spring Break. I am nervous about going back - I always am when I have a new intern starting. I have been up since a little before 3am, and I am starting to feel the "get there early" twinges of anxiety starting to rear their ugly heads. It is WAY too early for that, but I still am feeling those twinges. It has been a long time since I have had two interns at the same time - about a year now. I do this every so often when I need to take a break from being supervisor and to simply be therapist. I had offered a position to someone last year who would have filled up my time, but that person declined the offer, so I left it open. The second time frame where I could have had an intern was a time that I really needed to be therapist again, so I did not fill up the available spot. This is one of the tricks that I have to keep myself from burning out - taking time away from supervision in order to be therapist again. I have lots of in...

It is Monday. I was going to start this post with a title that included the word "exhaustion," but that's really the theme of life at the moment, so I decided not to focus on feeling tired and on getting ready for this week. This is the busiest week of my year, everyone. It is Online Conference for Music Therapy week, so my life will be taken over by last minute registration questions, trying to keep myself from losing it when other people make demands on my time and my process, and combating the stress that comes from having to do my parts of the conference. It is a difficult time for all of us who run the conference - anyone who tells you that running a conference is easy is seriously lying to you! I get very frustrated by the people who "forget" to register and then complain when they do not get information. I get very frustrated by those who seem to think that rules and deadlines are not meant for them. I tend to get very frustrated by those who do not read ...

My desk is currently a mess. I have about seven different projects buried in this mess, and it is getting so that I have little to no space to breathe. Since this is bothering me right now, I'm going to spend some time excavating through the piles of stuff and the tissues and the various envelopes and fortune cookies and more stuff to get back to a clear surface again. My current state of being is that of restless anticipation. I know why this is happening. Tomorrow, my next intern arrives to start her internship, and I am nervous about it. That's right, I get nervous every time a music therapy intern arrives to my facility. I always have so many thoughts and questions and concerns and fears and anticipations and it keeps me up at night and gives me all sorts of energy and keeps me from sleeping. It's such a wonderful form of stress that I put myself through on a regular basis. I talk quite a bit about how to be an intern. There isn't as much out there about how ...

I fell yesterday. I tripped on a bag that contained cans as I was trying to toss my shoes into the washer, and I twisted my ankle pretty severely. In addition, I sprained the pinky and ring finger of my left hand and banged up my right knee and right shoulder. I avoided splitting my head open on the door of my brand new dryer (I don't know how I avoided that), and then I laid on the floor for about three minutes as the pain crested through my various body parts. After the pain started to subside, I did my head to toe check (learned in First Aid training) and determined that I hadn't broken anything. I then stood on my feet, hobbled over to the couch, and cried for a bit. In my family, I am known as the klutz. I am the one who spent her entire life encased in ace bandages because I never really broke anything, but I sprained everything - over and over and over again. I was the one who tripped at the skating rink and jammed both of my elbows so severely that I was unable to e...

I've determined that my current "NTM" TME challenge level is 3 "new-to-me" therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) per week. I've tried hard to break into the 4 per week level, but I'm not sure that I can do so - 4 seems to be an unattainable level at this time. By Thursday, my brain is trenched in rut and does not get out of it at all. I also use Thursdays to catch up my groups so that they can experience the new TMEs. I am enjoying this process since it is making me look for new ideas to bring to my clients.  A side effect of this particular personal challenge is that I also am finding some old TMEs that I haven't used for quite a bit of time, and I'm using those in music therapy as well. Last week's selections were things that my most recent former interns wrote and introduced to our clients. Some of the students that are with us now don't know these TMEs, and the ones that do are great models - they just sing strongly to familiar...

I admit it. I did not want to acknowledge the fact that it was morning this morning. I awoke, thinking that it was still early (it wasn't) and hoping that I had some time to just be quiet in the dark (I didn't). I looked at the time - found that it was 30 minutes later than I usually wake up, and had to get started. I fed the cat, got some cold water, and sat down at the computer to check email and various and sundry other stuff. My day started off with some good email news, so I am now sitting here, wondering if the rest of my day will go like this morning - ups, downs, and things coming at me sideways. It probably will, and that is Monday. That's the way it is most of the time. I have two groups to run, two individuals to work with, and two interns to oversee today. I have two new games to teach to my clients (tomorrow), and lots of ideas in development. I have a relatively clean desk (here at home and somewhat at work), and the drive to write some new music and some ...

Extended School Year (Week Two) Last week was a week full of humiliating circumstances that I had to go through - people changing things from how they were supposed to be to what they thought they should be without checking with the people who were directly affected (e.g., ME!) I looked wrong in all those circumstances (something I REALLY hate!), but I wasn't. I am hoping that this week will be a bit more settled. I declare, here and now, that I am going to make this Monday count. I'm not entirely sure how I am going to do this, but I am going to, by golly! This week is Centers week. I feel woefully unprepared for everything these days, so I'm not exactly sure what we are going to be doing. I'm thinking that the Orff instruments will play a role. We are working on the theme of "Helping Others." We could use the Orff instruments to play familiar songs with one client helping another to find the correct notes. We can use the boomwhackers and drums to mak...

I spend lots of time talking to interns about time management. I don't spend much time talking about motivation with them, and I've recently come to the realization that those two things have to go together before anything works. I have had little to no motivation to do my clinical documentation lately. That has led me to doing avoidance tasks rather than my work. I've paid for that decision as I have had to dedicate more and more of my time to documentation than I do when I am managing my time well. This week has to be a good time management week - I have lots of stuff to do and not as much time available to me to get it done. I have a plan to help me with these tasks. It all starts with my to-do and my not-to-do lists. It continues with my 30-minute on and off strategy, and finishes with prioritization of every task I do for the next 48 hours. If I didn't have to be at work for some of those hours, my to-do list would be really manageable. I do, though, so that ma...

I am having a day off today. It is a holiday, so there is no school. I am going to enjoy this bonus day as much as I possibly can. I am adding things to my to-do list and my not-to-do list as fast as I can. To-do - laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, chiropractor, changing the sheets, organizing the front closet. Not-to-do - listen to news, stress about situations that are not my responsibility, avoid toxic people and topics I'm working on things that will move me forward. I'll start some chicken in the crock-pot in a couple of minutes here. I am getting ready to go to my new chiropractor to get my second adjustment - there will probably be another on next Saturday as well. After the adjustment, I'll go grocery shopping for some hamburger and then I'll start the process of making food for the next couple of weeks. I enjoy these days, and I try to make the most out of them. There is something luxurious about having an extra weekend day that gives me such satisfa...

It's Monday Morning again, and I am dragging myself to the middle week of the second summer session. Only two more weeks until our next big break, and then no big breaks until AMTA Conference and Thanksgiving. I can make it through these next two weeks. I can. Our Extended School Year (ESY) consists of several students who need educational services during months when their school districts do not provide those services. It also means that several of our students are not present. With the nature of our school, - approximately 50% are day students and consistent and the other 50% are residents and less consistent - we have lots of new students who haven't met our folks missing from ESY. It will be challenging to fit the old folks into what will feel like new classrooms. (Believe me, I've done this 22 times now. It is never easy.) I have more difficulties during the summer months with the Monday morning phenomenon than I do during the school year. I think this is due to th...

Today, I will take my lunch box, my new stuff, and myself, dressed in my work uniform, and go to work. I have three weeks (12 days) of work to go through for this last session of our Extended School Year (ESY) before another break and then the start of the 2017-2018 school year. Today will be a day of new colleagues (though I sincerely doubt that ANY of them will come to the music therapy room) and some new students. I have written down the ideas that I have for the Cuckoo in the Woods and the Aviary movements of Carnival of the Animals , but I haven't thought about it at all during this past week, so I am not sure what I'm going to be doing. In other words, this is just another ordinary day. Some time back, our principal offered the opportunity to work during our school breaks for time and a half (based on our own salaries). I am refusing to do so because I need time away from being a therapist. Even though the money is good, the self-care element is more important than the ...

I woke up about the usual time this morning, and then laid in bed for about 45 minutes, telling myself that I had plenty of time (which I did), and that the day did need to happen (which it does). Armed with the thought that next week would be a holiday week, I arose to get the day started. I am going to try (really hard) to get to work no earlier than 7:15 this entire week, so I have postponed my morning shower and am blogging in my currently funky mood and condition before I take myself in and finish my hygiene for the day. The cat has arrived for her daily dose of attention (interrupting my typing for some cuddling), so the morning is progressing in a routine manner. Today, three out of my four groups will be experiencing the Aquarium and Animals with Long Ears movements of Carnival of the Animals . We are going to make a rain storm with the ocean drums, rainsticks, and mini rainsticks that I have both here at home and at work. (That reminds me, get my ocean drum and rainsticks an...

Well, here it is. The first day back after Spring Break. It's time to get back into a therapy routine and focus attention on client progress and treatment again. The past week was a good start towards my personal goals (always trying to get to minimalism - but not succeeding), but it wasn't quite enough time to get bored with my own company and be itching to get back to work. I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to do (I NEVER do), but I did get some things done. I spent time in the company of other music therapists (got some really good feedback about my presentation topics). I bought some new pants (spent WAY more money than I've spent in the last two years on clothing, but I really needed to have some new uniform pants!). I completed and submitted my CBMT pre-approved provider application so I can start offering CMTE coursework for music therapists. I took naps, had a severe dizzy spell, and cleaned the house a bit. I got lots of kitty snuggles and maintained an...

Well, week two of this experiment went about as could be expected. I got some good anecdotal information about my students, and I am now revising my centers yet again. I realize I need MANY more things to do, covering a wide range of interests, academic levels, and attention spans. Now, to be fair to myself, I knew most of that already, but this week REALLY reinforced that which I already knew to be true. I was fascinated by who would and who would not go listen to something on the computer. Only about half of my students would wear headphones - the others either took them off immediately or refused to leave the singing carpet to begin with. I had thought that being able to listen to someone other than me would be a big draw, but I was wrong for about half of my students. Interesting. This week is supposed to be two center start-off week. I have some animal themed things to do. There is a sensory box full of dyed pasta (It was fun to make, and I hope it's completely dry now) ...