music, therapy, and me

Don't you hate it when you are all settled on not thinking for a time and then someone posts something that you just can't stop thinking about? I do. Recently, a post on Facebook started me thinking. The post was about cultural appropriation - you know, when people from one culture take over the cultural characteristics of another culture, and in doing so, negate the purpose and traditions behind that culture. I admit that I did not respond to the original post, specifically because I am not sure how I feel about all of this. I am one of the privileged. I am a highly educated, American woman who has a good job and more than enough. I fit into all the categories of "privileged" in this world. I have instruments and objects from other cultures in my home. I don't adopt the ideas of other cultures, but I probably appropriate those ideas as others have before me. I would never state that I was playing my angklung the way that the persons of Indonesia would, but ...

I got into a spirited debate with my Father regarding the incident that happened in San Bernardino, California last week. This incident was literally close to home as the Inland Regional Center is about 30 minutes away from my parent's house and about 15 minutes away from my sister's house. I used to work with case workers from the Regional Center in my former life as a QMRP/Administrator. The shooting that happened struck really close to home and has shaken my family in different ways. Things like this tend to send my Dad into political pronouncements that are directly contrary to my own views. So, we debate. Now, for the purposes of this post, it is not important to know which side of any issue my Dad and I end up on, but let me just say that many topics lead us into conflict - education, politics, human services, budgetary topics - are just some of the topics that we agree to disagree about. We are both strongly opinionated people and have learned to discuss things in a ...

My brain and entire being has been struggling to make sense of the situations that happen here all of the time - not just the event of this week, but all of the events that have been controversial, damaging, hateful, and polarizing in my life. On September 12, 2001, I sat in a classroom with a bunch of graduate students. We were all in shock. It was the day after 9-11, and we were distracted, mourning, and scared. The class was made up of international students - I was in the minority being a born-citizen of the US - and we took turns presenting information on special topics with curriculum and instruction. The man who was scheduled to present on September 12th was someone who was from a country in the Middle East, I believe it was Saudi Arabia, and he maintained his religious requirements for dress and observances. I will never forget his speech. He opted not to discuss his topic of the evening, and started to talk about the events of the past day. It was all that anyone was tal...

I am a member of a Facebook group for music therapists. This group is a good thing and a bad thing. Currently, there is a MAJOR discussion going on about censorship, thread jacking, attacks, purpose, and the way we are with each other. I've noticed that whenever there is a post that sparks controversy, there are three or four people who take it that direction. They seem to love arguing and will criticize every little thing that someone says. If a person asks for assistance in using a resource, song, or material with a client, we all of a sudden start conversing about conformity. "Why is the therapist forcing this client to participate in an experience that requires conformity with others." No actual consideration of the client, the client's goals, or anything about the client in the discussion. That was not the original intent of the postee. she just wanted an idea about how to use something with a client. The thirty-plus comments about whether we should make client...

Conundrum... As funding for children with developmental and psychiatric concerns is changing in my state, the way these kids obtain treatment is dramatically shifting as well. This is leading to new challenges for the people who have the task of providing meaningful treatment experiences. I am one of those people. There is something interesting about living in a time when health care is changing rapidly, but there are MANY challenges as well. Let me explain what I'm thinking about here... For years, I have worked with kids who were with us for a significant period of time. I was able to establish a therapeutic relationship based on substantial observations and interactions. I was able to adjust my schedule to accommodate their needs, once those music therapy needs were identified. Now, a kid comes to us for about 90 days - we have had a complete change from that of developmental/intellectual disability to mental health funding, necessitating the changes in the facility. I f...

Ah. Here in the States it is a season of political debates as we get ready to vote for our next President and many of the Congressional Senators and Representatives that we expect to be our voices in government. It is always an interesting time of year - one that sends some of us (for example, ME!!!) shrieking and running away from any and all political conversations. So, as a result, you will not hear about who I plan on voting for or who I think is right. There you go... Instead, I would like to focus on how we debate - each one of us - every day. Yesterday, I debated with both sides of my brain whether I should address the pompous school secretary who attempted to throw away one of my projects without even attempting to find out who owned the materials. I erred on the side of caution and did not confront her. We shall see if that was a fortunate decision - I did rescue the materials and the project from the "giveaway" place. I debated about a response to a particular...