Perceptions

If you are a music therapist, likely you understand the above paradox. People's perceptions are all different about what "music therapy is".  Hence why we need a “elevator ride” length pitch on music therapy in our back pocket at any moment in time. Starting a new position I have been asked to explain what music therapy is multiple times in the past week alone. AND if you have any experience as a MT (even as a student or intern) you may have already encountered some preconceived notions and well... to be honest... annoying comments/assumptions/generalizations that people may make. For example: My first day out in the field with my new colleague we were greeted at a facility by their front desk personnel with a cheerful,

“Oh great! The entertainment is here!” I kind of assumed that my fellow MT might brush it off and go on her way, but instead she politely corrected the lady across the desk with a short, simple, and non-judgmental educational statement on what she was actually there to do. The employee's eyes widened slightly, you could see the wheels turning in her head as she understood just a bit more about “what music therapy is”. She was genuinely interested and impressed. I had that old familiar PSA theme running through my mind, "The More You Know"...

We all have that cousin, or friend of a friend, or neighbor that at some point says to us, “You paid all that money to go to school and learn to be a music therapist! I'm a (enter other non-music therapy related credentials here) and I just sing to/play a CD for my patients/kids/dog!”

I have a basset hound but she wont sing with me. I've tried. Maybe I'm NOT a music therapist...

Well, that's fantastic that you sing to them. Really. It is. Music is a fantastic and powerful part of care giving. HOWEVER! When I drag a guitar, computer, industrial sized hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, song books, paddle drums/xylophone/electric keyboard/ocean drum/thunder tube up to a patient's bedside it is not a grand entrance for the “Annie Walljasper Music Hour”. I'm on a mission. I've taken time to plan and prepare. I've created goals to work on for each client. I've checked up on, studied, and planned out the best way to serve their diagnosis. I do more than sing. I do more than play the guitar. I watch every little action and reaction. I change my approach on a dime. I create goals for patients, I develop ways to achieve those goals. I collect data and prove to doctors, nurses, social workers, as well as insurance companies and the government that what I am doing is clinical, beneficial, and appropriate. It's a clinical and evidence-based way to assist others in order to help them accomplish social, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual goals. In order to reach those goals, I use music intervention. It's THERAPY, and I use music to do it. 

Furthermore, in order to "do music therapy" you must be a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapists take courses in everything from biology, anatomy, and psychology to acting,

There are many fantastic colleges and universities who offer
music therapy education... the University of Iowa is just one of them

conducting, orchestration, and movement to voice lessons, music research, music theory, and music appreciation. Not to mention specific courses such as "Music Therapy in Special Education" or "Music Therapy and Older Adults". After completing coursework and studying hard, our young budding music therapist goes on to a six month internship. They must apply, interview, and successful secure and internship and then work (normally 40 hours a week) more often than not without pay. Interns gain real world experience and truly get a taste for what it is like to be a full time employed MT - at least I did.

AFTER you complete all 1,080 hours of your internship it's time to start studying up. There's a big old certification exam. The CBMT Board Certification examination consists of a 150 question multiple-choice test, you are allotted 3 hours to complete it, and it costs a pretty penny (if I do say so myself). Now, some of you may ask "Why? Why get certified?" The credential MT-BC is to provide an objective national standard that can be used as a measure of professionalism. Basically having the credential allows the public to identify qualified practitioners who have passed a national exam measuring the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to competently practice in the field of music therapy for the given year. So, they KNOW that they are getting someone who knows what they are doing and are doing it with intent... not just playing a CD. Also, it's a way to hold me accountable for my actions. If I am not working within my scope of practice (meaning if I am pretending to know how to do something I don't know how to do) or if I am doing something unethical or illegal, there is a certification board who will hold me to higher standards or will revoke my credentials. When you finally take the test, you find out right away as to whether or not you passed. Thank God, because just waiting for the results to print off was a torturous wait itself. If you passed, you then get mailed an official certificate that looks like this:

Isn't it beautiful? I think so. So, then you frame it and hang it in your office... or in your car if you work for hospice. I might put mine on a chain and just wear it around. I'm the Flava Flav of music therapy,

"Yeah boooiiii!"

And then? Well, then you GET A JOB! Oh an every 5 years you either have to have continuing education credits or you have to retake the test... darn that whole keeping you accountable thing. ;)

Whew, I'm tired just thinking about all that work! But you know what, it's totally worth it. Everyday I am honored to share some of the more intimat

Lessons learned....

From my previous post I have been thinking a lot about what exactly I did to earn such a wonderful email. I have been working with the previously mentioned patient for four months now and while I have seen a HUGE change in her I also realize that I am learning a lot and have much further to go. However, lessons I have learned about being a music therapist include the following:

1. Don't be afraid of the silence.
    Learning about therapeutic techniques, I'd assume you have heard people say "Don't be afraid of the silence" but that is an exceptionally hard lesson to learn. But IT IS SO TRUE. Be calm. Take time to gather your own thoughts. Recognize that the patient you are working with may need time to process their thoughts and feelings as well. Let a question hang in the air awhile. If you don't get an answer it's ok, you can move on. But if you wait you may just get an answer you weren't expecting. Don't just string every song you can possible think of together so to avoid the silence, because in reality - you are avoiding the therapy as well. We aren't there to just play a bunch of songs and "perform"... the music is there to assist the therapy. And I'm really coming to realize that a lot of therapy is being done in the silence.

2. Don't rush.
     This particular patient takes a while to gather her thoughts and then vocalize them. I watch another person interact with the patient once and she talked and talked to the patient but she didn't take the time to really sit and patiently listen. I have learned to just sit and wait and listen. If I don't understand what she is saying I ask her to repeat herself (which can be a painstakingly long task) or I give myself time to process and think harder about what she might have said (which reinforces the first point).

3. Don't assume you know anything.
     I don't even know 1/16th about music therapy. It amazes me that even in my 5th month of internship I am faced with new situations or new challenges - with patients I have been seeing for 5 months! Read, read, read. When I went back and read about Parkinsons Disease I understood this patient that much more.

4. Be present in the moment.
      I am exceptionally lucky to be an intern right now. I do not face the pressures of "productivity" that my supervisors and the other professional do. I can sit with my patients and spend as much time as they need with me. Sometimes that means I am with someone for 10 minutes, and other times I am there for 2 hours. I don't know what would be the "correct" time but I am glad I don't have to look at my watch and worry about fitting everyone in on one day. Sitting with the patient and being present in the moment not only allows me to be more relaxed and attentive, but it also communicates to the patient how important they are and that they are cared about.

There are more things I've learned but for now, these are good starting points... and one that I want to talk about will likely take up it's own post. So! Be sure to check back soon.

After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
~Aldous Huxley