Image via WikipediaWow! First, let me thank all of you who were kind enough to join me in this path of self-reflection and exploration! It has been so neat to hear from you and read your thoughts and responses. I've truly been honored that you've taken the time to share your experiences, and I'm excited to hear/read/see more as we progress!For my part, I have started to make short videos after some of my sessions (particularly with clients who challenge me or about whom I find I have a lot of feelings) in which I share my thoughts and reactions regarding the therapy experience on that particular day and then play a musical improvisation describing what it was like to be in the session.
It has been interesting for me to hear how being with different clients "sounds" (at least from my own musically and verbally expressed point of view). Of course, it's hard not to hear my own issues and musical patterns creeping into the music (oh, yeah, therapy 'til I'm dead, baby).
I'm sort of wanting to share some of the videos, but I want to be sure I'm not violating any ethical rules and/or regulations in order to do so.
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For most of us, during our busy weeks, we see lots of clients. And there are always the people we work with who stay with us and stick in our minds.
But there are also clients we completely forget until we see them the next week.
And I started to wonder, why?
Who am I forgetting? Do I forget this person/group all the time? Or is there something going on with this particular client/group that I just want to avoid? Or that I don't like dealing with for some reason?
What is this person triggering within me? Is it something about this person? Or is something going on with me? Why is it this person/group that I forget?
What is it about this person that feels "forgettable" to me? What might the fact that I'm forgetting this person/group be helping me know/learn/wonder about how this person perceive(s) him/herself?
How does my forgetting this person/group have meaning in the context of this individual/group's life?
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As you can (plainly) see, it was kind of difficult for me to formulate the questions, but, for me anyway, that's part of the process- figuring out better questions to ask myself. If you come up with a better question to ask (or simply find a better way to word the questions I already tried to ask), do tell.
As always, if you feel comfortable sharing, you're welcome to use the comments section to offer your thoughts or (if you blog) post a link to your blog post or You Tube video. Perhaps you might want to play contrasting musical portraits (a Ken Bruscia suggestion) of a client you think of often and a client you tend to forget, and either video or audio tape the improvisations. Or write a song about a client you've forgotten and share it with us.
I so look forward to your latest installments!
3 comments:
Okay, I know it may be sort of weird to comment on my own darned post, but I'm going to do it anyway. I think this particular prompt has some significance for me because of having worked in an institution for so long. I think my forgetfulness with regard to some of my clients is sometimes a way for them to (on some subconscious level) convey that they feel forgotten. Many of my clients don't have families who visit, and many have been there for years and years (since they were quite young).
On the other hand, I think, if I were to dig deeper, I wonder if some people feel "forgettable" and that we, as therapists, pick that up and "act it out" (through the miracle of projective identification) by forgetting that particular person.
I'm thinking this might be an issue in other populations as well.
Hello! I am glad that i found someone who knows music is somthing more then just entertainment. I have found that out my self a few years ago. I am concidering the possibly of becoming a music therapist myself. I am sure you know a great deal more then i do about using music in the healing process. I came to know someone who is very passionate about music, with a PhD in the subject of music. What specifically I am not sure, i never bother to ask. His name is Michael Ballam. Anyways, he has givin me some information on music. I want to share what i know with others and hope they can find help from it. I believe in helping people. I care about people and want to help them. The info that i have to share is way to lengthy for this comment box, for that reason i started my own blog,
beet9hoven.blogspot.com
Here are a few titles of someof the posts that i think might be helpful to a music therapist, you might already know about this information, but i wish to share it anyways and hope there is somthing else i can give so you can help your clients. Here they are; Words and Water Music, Handel and Healing, Albert's Accidental Acquisition, Jefferson's Jamming, Songs and Strokes, A Call Form California, and others. I invite you read my blog and hope you can find something to use. There are are fantastic lectures from Michael Ballam called "Music and the Mind" and "More Music and The Mind" on CD. You can get these products from his web site. www.michaelballam.com He goes into more detail about what i have in my blog, my blog is info he has written and givin to me and he is okay with me sharing it. They are unedited notes of his, so don't take the illiteracy of these notes against him. If you want to read the whole blog, please read the "PLEASE NOTE:" paragraph in bright red letters that is located near the top of the page.
Hello @anonymous. Indeed music is an integral part of our lives. Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts. Good luck in the blogosphere!
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