Note of power and control

Note of power and control

http://mindfulmusictherapist.blogspot.com.au/2008/08/notes-on-power-and-control.html

Examining Power and Control in Music Therapy with

People who have Developmental Disabilities

In order to become more aware of the beliefs which you bring to your work, consider the following questions:

What are my beliefs about music therapy?

•What does my idea of the "perfect" music therapy session look/feel like?

•What is my expectation about what occurs in a music therapy session?

•How do I respond/react when reality doesn’t meet my expectations?  

•Do I choose to receive supervision?  When issues come up for me, do I address them in my own therapy?   

•What sort of theoretical approach do I use?  Do I use activities?  Do I use a behavioral approach?  A psychodynamic approach?  Am I product or process-oriented?

•Does music therapy “fix” people?

•What aspects of music therapy are healing?

What is my belief about the role of my clients?

•Should my clients always "listen" to me?  What if they don't?  What if they choose to not attend sessions?  How do I respond?

•What happens if my client is "acting out"?  How do I perceive it?  As manipulation?  As a way to gain control?  As a way to communicate?  Do I need to see it as being "good" or "bad"?

•What kind of language do I use to describe my clients- especially those who have severe disabilities (i.e., “I work with MR/DD’s” versus “I work with people who have developmental disabilities”)?  

•Do I talk about my clients in terms of their diagnoses and symptoms?  Or do I see my client as a person first?

•What if what my clients want for their lives is different from what I or their service team wants for them?

•How do I respond when a client has a “crush” on me?  Or wants to give me a hug?

•How do I feel about working with clients who are “clingy”?  How about those who are “hard to reach”?

•Do I arrive on time to sessions?  

•Do I start to speak in a higher-pitched “tone” (as if to a child) when I am addressing someone with a developmental disability?

•What are my “triggers” (i.e., the things to which I tend to react strongly)?

What are my beliefs about myself as a music therapist?

•What do I believe my role as a music therapist is?

•What does it mean about me if my session doesn't go as I planned?

•How do I deal with my agency's expectations and ideas about what my role should be?

•What time of day do I function most effectively?  What time of day do each of my clients function most effectively?

•How do I feel about having power?  Do I like to be in charge?  Do I avoid being in charge?  

•How do I feel about compliance and non-compliance?

•Where do I stand/sit in relation to my client(s) during the session?

•How much (physical) assistance do I offer (i.e. to clients who are unsteady?  to hang up coats?  In toileting?, etcetera)?  

•How frequently do I intervene (i.e. When someone is struggling with feelings?  When clients are aggressive toward themselves?  Toward other group members?)?  Do I have a need to “make it better”?  

•Do I feel pressure from my clients to “make it better”?

•How do I handle days when everything seems to be going wrong? (In my sessions?  In my life?)

What is my belief about the role of the music in the therapy session?

•Do I see music as the therapy?  Or do I see music as a way to develop and express the therapy relationship?  Or do I see music as a separate entity to be projected upon?

•Do I recognize that a relationship exists between the client and the music, as well as between myself and the music, both of which are crucial relationships to address, acknowledge and analyze?

•Is it important to me to plan out the entire session?  Or do I have a general idea of where I want to go within the session (i.e. based on goals for my client and how the particular person uses music)?  Or do I follow my client's lead most of the time?

•How do I feel about silence?  Can I tolerate my client's need to not make music?

What is my belief about the experience of making music during the session?

•Do I play the whole time?  Or do I leave musical space for my client?  Who is doing most of the playing?  What if my client wants to play the whole time?  Without me?

•How does it feel for me when my client expresses very strong feelings in the music (or in words)?  And if the strong feelings are directed toward me?

•Are my own musical needs being met outside of the therapy session?  Or am I inadvertently getting my musical needs met within the session(s)?  Do I know what my musical needs are?

•Are there certain types of sound/music I avoid?  Are there certain sounds I gravitate toward?  

•Do I have a need for the music to sound a certain way?  

•How comfortable am I in my own music making? Do I always use the same instrument?  How do I feel when I use an instrument to which I am less accustomed?

•How do I feel about improvising?  How do I feel about my voice?  

Interesting things to read:

The Dynamics of Music Psychotherapy Edited by Kenneth Bruscia;  1998;  Barcelona Publishers;  Gilsum, NH;  ISBN#:  1-891278-05-3

Cognitive Counseling and Persons with Special Needs:  Adapting Behavioral Approaches to the Social Context by Herbert Lovett ;  1985;  Praeger Publishers;  Westport, CT;  ISBN#:  0-275-91651-0

Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities:  The End of Silent Acceptance?  by Dick Sobsey;  1994;  Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.;  Baltimore, MD;  ISBN#:  1-55766-148-0

Power Tools:  Thoughts about power and control in service to people with developmental disabilities by Dave Hingsburger;  2000; Diverse City Press Inc.;  Eastman, Quebec, Canada;  ISBN#:  1-896230-18-0

The Ethics of Touch:  Establishing and Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries in Service to People with Developmental Disabilities by David Hingsburger and Mary Harber;  1998;  Diverse City Press, Inc.;  Eastman, Quebec, Canada;  ISBN#:  1-896230-12-1

  

Handbook of Mental Health Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities-  1999 Revision by Ruth Ryan, MD;  1996;  The Community Circle Publications,  1556 Williams Street,  Denver, CO  80218;  (303)316-8794

Thinking About Institutions:  Milieux and Madness by R.D. Hinshelwood;  2001;  Jessica Kingsley Publishers;  London;  ISBN#:  1-85302-954-8

Interesting Internet Resources

http://disability-abuse.com/cando/

http://www.normemma.com/arhellbe.htm (Where you can find the article “Hell-bent on Helping:  Benevolence, Friendship, and the Politics of Help” by Emma Van der Klift and Norman Kunc)

http://thechp.syr.edu/ (The Center for Human Policy has interesting articles.)

http://www.quuxuum.org/~greg/journal/contents1.html (Where you can find the Pennsylvania Journal on Positive Approaches)

Article on helping -

Dear all,

How's your week been?

As a allied-health profession, we might spend a lot of time helping others and assisting in meeting their needs. However, we need to take care of ourselves and find a good balance between our clients, ourselves and the needs. this is a good article to have a look :)

 

HELL-BENT ON HELPING:

Benevolence, Friendship, and the Politics of Help

http://www.broadreachtraining.com/articles/arhellbe.htm

What are your thoughts?

 

 

Best regards,

Hanna

Merry christmas and a happy new year of 2015 to everyone!

Merry christmas and a happy new year of 2015 to everyone!

 

To wish everyone a great christmas , I've found that amongst the great house decoration lights,

I've yet did not miss out these great lights of "star wars" here, may this be a christmas gift for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5dfpe_-Lgg

I myself find it really fascinating, as the lights are nearly like a show by itself!

 

My Christmas was relatively quiet and peaceful as my first year spending christmas without my family , but in sydney. However, I've got to play for some church and christmas events and got some festive atmosphere happening around in sydney :) I've also got a few christmas feasts to enjoy! Thanks God for the time to rest up and reflect upon 2014 and think about 2015! Also, chrimstas shows that his love is magnificent, everlasting, unconditional...hmm... just amazing.

 

Year 2015 will be a brand new start for me, starting up to work and find jobs whenever is possible. I believe that it'll not be an easy one! I'm happy to announce that I've got a few contracts ready to start in Jan 2015! It will be at nursing homes, childcare centres and a private psychiatric hospital. It's exciting!

 

Goals for 2015

 

1. Be adventurous and explorative to my work

To keep myself open to new jobs and opportunities,trying out and working myself hard, and to make good connections. Keep learning...keep striving :) :)

 

2. To have a balanced life

I guess I am more a 'workaholic' type, so I will work hard on having a good diet, exercising well and keeping myself time with family and friends :) :)

 



 

Please keep my accountable to my goals so I could keep them on track!

Why music therapy?

Dear All,

I found this website quite interesting, have a look :)
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-musical-self/201006/top-12-reasons-why-i-have-job

Have a great day!

Best regards,
Hanna

Want to study music therapy?

Cant imagine how 2years has flown by amd I have completed my two years of music therapy studies！thinking back，this course is very rewarding that ive met so many clients with so many life stories behind them. It is so life enriching for me to see a lot. Also，it is life transformimg，for me，is to first change myself inside out to be transformed as well：）

To study music therapy，
you will usually need a few qualifications for most courses you desire to study：

1. One main instrument you can play well
It can be the piano or the guitar，or even the accordion！something you are confident in playing back to front in front of people you have not met yet，and an instrument that can introduce yourself to others...
skills of accompanying，singing，group leading will be beneficial！

2. Knowledge of music-
not just how you can play music，or music theory and history，but how  music works ：how can music affect brain activities，change mood？how can music change behaviors？how can music facilitate change？

Yes it seems it starts to go to the direction of musicology，music psychlogy or ethnomusicology，but its ok：）

if you dont， here are some resources you can find and you can still learn it （ it is definitely a lifelong process！）

3. Experience working in social services or with people
I personally think it is really important to experience in social service with people beforehand，such as volunteer work or work projects with organisations. Of course，it will be very beneficial if you have some work experience at the music therapy centre，or at some population specific facilities（nursing homes，disability services）

However，personally，if you wanna study，
i think it is more important to have a few personal qualities in mind：
1. Openness and acceptance
It is crucial to be open to our clients，and in all means，willing to accept change，adapt to differences.

2. Sensitivity
Being sensitive to another persons needs is essential. Do you sense when they needed space and their own time？do you sense when they need a hand？

3. Genuine love and care
Do you genuinely want to help，want to love and want to care for the clients？do you seek their needs before yours？

4. Approachable
Being approachable shows if you are a person they want to develop a clinical relationship with you. If they are willing，it will be much easier for them to open up to you，talk about their problems with you and such：）

Feel free to email me if you have any questions regarding to music therapy matters！
i am here to help：）

Best wishes to you all，
Hanna

A few weeks to go.... and time management :P

How is everyone？

I am recently very busy with my final semester preparation，time flies，and Ive only got a few more weeks to go！

As I am trying hard to finish my course assignments and placements，it is definitely a struggle ，as always，to deal with my time management and my stress coping skills！

As you are reading this blog，I would love to share a few of my coping strategies with you all！

1. Start early
Or at least，think about it early，get the things around your head and in your mind first，
Then you might have ideas gathering your head！
Usually I try to finish assignments a week or two earlier so I dont need to just meet the deadline，But trying to do it properly and out of my management！
Also，I can have time checking my assignments！

2. Have a balanced time or lifestyle
When it is the busiest times，I will normally cancel out all unnecessary or unimportant commitments or meetings I needed to go to， and try to focus. In that way，my timetable will be more fixed，and I can arrange the timetable myself. I can try spending most of my time （eg 70%） of it on my work，while I still have an hr to do things I normally do （for the rest 30%）. Or things I like. For example， cleaning，cooking，talking to friends，exercising，，，

Personally，I find having a balanced time is essential，as this will not make me feel that I have lost something during the busy periods，but I still live a life！（luckily！）

3. Take a break ：）
Taking a break regularly in between your work is great！It makes your work more efficient and it also refreshes your mind！take a deep breathe，smile，drink some water，relax... This will all help you！

4. Feel how you feel
It is not easy to go through all the stress！how are you feeling right now？do you feel sore in your body？do you find your arms or knees tense？try to relax the body parts that are not feeling great.

How do you feel in your mind？do you feel anxious，worried，painful？do you feel tired？try to feel them，acknowledge them. How do you actually feel about it？then you can try releasing yourfeelings. Allow time to release them！

5. Listen to some music
Music does sometimes bring us to another state of mind，doesnt it？it brings us to the water streams when the water music is played，or the valleys. Playing music on your own instruments also

Do you have any ideas to cope with stress？

my life as a student music therapist！

I want to share about my life as a student music therapist！
For some of you that might want to pursue that in the future，here it is：）

I work part time as a music tutor，teaching students flute，theory and piano at public and private schools，also I do my internship 1/2 days a week！For uni，i get a full day class with limited break with a few lectures and workshops.

So my timetable is as below：
Mon
My day off ：）
uni work，catch up with readings，exercising，catching up with friends，
Doing volunteer work，doing something I want，，
（just cant believe how fast the day usually goes！）
Tues
Full day placement！
running around，doing sessions，learning，chatting with colleagues and supervisors，，
Usually dead tired after it，，，and need to write notes and do evaluation after
Wed
Full day uni！lectures，workshops，，，
Being loaded with teaching and new knowledge！
Jamming at night
Thurs
Teaching ！
Rehearsals at night
Fri
Teaching！
Day off at night（friday night，，hehee！）
Sat
Day with practise，exercising and miscallaneous things
Sun
Church day

As you can see，time is limited and there is not much time to fit everything in！so the lesson is to constantly learn to have good time management skills. It is easy to take a lot of things on but it is also a practise of life work balance：）

What are your schedules like？

wonderful moments in the children's hospital

I would love to share a few of my wonderful moments with you in music therapy！

In the childrens hospital，
A lot of children are in great pain，living their lives in the hospital，not knowing when or where they can be free again. Also，with lots of discomfort，they often find it hard to adapt to the environment in hospital. Imagine a young child at their age，they couldnt express feeling either. They dont know how they should feel，except parents keep telling them to do whatever is needed. What is the best thing of the day？

On request，the music therapist and I went to see a child in his room. As we entered the room，he was with his mom，playing computer games. That was his only friend that could always company him. As he seemed to look bored and dull，we said hi to him and invited him to join us for the music therapy session. As we started inviting him to join in with music，he started smile a lot more！As the music therapist encouraged him to try more on the drums，he became more excited and he was also amazed！

He got fascinated when water came splashing up like a mini fountain on the tibetian bowl，that was sitting on his lap，where he laid on his bed. He shouted WOW and also laughed and giggled cheerfully. His mom said，this is the best day in his hospital！

In 60 minutes' time，he has found his joy and his positive experience in the hospital.

Music cam be a tool to  connect the lost minds，a tool to light up the bored.
It is also be a social avenue to the ones who has lost.

Music is life! : )

Music is life, music has the power to change, to help, to empower...

After three weeks of placement in the children's hospital , I've seen very sick kids lying in the bed, with pain and distress. Their eyes showed their eagerness to go out and play, and their determination to see and explore the world outside, to meet and interact with the world.

What does music do for these poor little kids ? ♪♩

1.        Provide stress relief in a distressed hospital Environment

The little girl M , aged 3, was diagnosed with cancer. As we (music therapists) played the guitar and sang along an improvised song about procedures, she got distracted and kept playing along to the music with shakers, she nearly forgot about the procedure that she was doing! 

2.        To promote a positive hospital environment 

M was diagnosed with cancer, and it was a long stay for her. She couldn't get out to play and meet her friends. Through making a music video together with the music therapist, she created a song "jungle song" with her own recording of the drum loops, singing. She even drew her own animals and put them into the video! She had a creative hospital experience, and she couldn't wait sharing her video to her friends and family of her creation! 

More to come...

Music is like the lyrics below  "It's amazing how you can speak right through my heart, without saying a word it can light out the dark... " ♬

Music speaks to our hearts with the right language words cannot express, and when we cannot express through words.  Enjoy making, listening and sharing the joy of music!

♬ Music is not only for kids but for a lot of other populations too. What are your stories? Feel free to share it with us!  

Best, 

Hanna 

Hello, welcome to "Music is in you" ♫

Welcome to this blog-  ♫ MUSIC IS IN YOU ♫ - and me too!
Yes, it is true. It is a power in all of us and it empowers us.

This blog is created finally, phew!
At the moment, I'm a final year of the Creative music therapy student in Sydney, Australia. It's a blog I create to share my experiences of meeting people through music, making relationships.

Hoping to meet you all through this blog, and to hear more amazing experiences from you!

All the best,
Hanna