Special Edition: Job Solutions From the AMTA Thrive Guide
In this segment of the Job Solutions special edition symposium, music therapist Barb Else shares some excerpts and thoughts from the AMTA Thrive Guide.
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Excerpt and Thoughts from the AMTA Thrive Guide
Barbara Else
March, 2009
Welcome to AMTA.Pro, an on-line symposium for music therapists, by music therapists. AMTA.Pro is a benefit exclusively for members of the American Music Therapy Association. My name is Barbara Else. I am a music therapist and consultant, with part-time consultancy work for the American Music Therapy Association.
Over the years I’ve noticed in my work, and elsewhere, the ubiquitous use of the words survive and survival. It sometimes appears as a sort of badge of honor or bragging point when people say things like, “I survived the Steel Dragon roller coaster” or “I survived the hot wings at Jake’s Tavern”. You’ve probably seen people proudly wearing “I survived” tee-shorts on one subject or another. You see the word in television shows. It shows up in news reports and books. The problem I sometimes have with the word “survive” is that it carries a negative connotation, especially when a sort of morbid fascination billows around some challenge or event and you are assaulted with the story over and over again in the news media and “blogosphere”. The recent rapid economic downturn in the United States and the world economy is attributed, in part, to market behavior driven by a type of collective fear. That fear seems to feed on itself and the dialog takes on a survival frame.
I much prefer the word “thrive” which implies preparedness, response, as well as dynamic planning and living. According to the dictionary, thrive comes from 13th century Middle English, Old Norse for the word “thriva” meaning to grasp. In modern English, thrive means to flourish and prosper but it also means to progress towards or realize a goal despite, or because of, circumstances. Today’s economy may or may not affect you directly, but we tend to thrive when we adopt a considered or well thought-out approach.
In this AMTA.Pro Special Edition Symposium on Job Solutions titled Excerpt and Thoughts from the AMTA Thrive Guide, I’ll be talking about a few of the points featured in AMTA’s Thrive Guide. The guide is one in the quintet of multi-pronged tools provided by AMTA, and mentioned in Andi Farbman’s introductory segment of this symposium. Let’s turn to a few points about the Thrive Guide.
The Thrive Guide notes that with calm, deliberation and prudent counsel, music therapists can move forward as a community of professionals and grow the profession. So, how do we make that happen and how do we know that we are actually in a thrive mode? After all, some music therapists are meeting tough times head on.
As you listen to this, some of us may be in the throws of defending our budget lines. In so doing we may need to draw upon the resources and materials related to AMTA’s strategic priority on reimbursement and the work of the State Force initiative on the topic of state recognition. This is the time to make the most of your advocacy skills and to support our colleagues who give of their time and expertise in the many states’ task force activities. As an example, in feedback from music therapist Jennifer Geiger, in California, she noted that to address the problem of maintaining ongoing relationships with administrators at facilities, she is offering a certain number of free staff development programs. In Arizona, the state music therapy association, along with music therapists throughout the state, and the State Task Force are coordinating a state level response to the impact of rate cuts on music therapy services to persons with disabilities. This is a case where the collective work by the entire music therapy community is in play.
As you listen to this, some of us may be in the throws of reinventing our business and personal budgets. This effort can be stressful but knowing a plan is in place is worth the challenge. I spend part of my time working in disaster response. One of the most important phases of disaster response is preparedness. Preparation allows for timely action, and knowledge that there is a plan to respond. A music therapist in New York noted how she was in a push to improve productivity for services to special needs children in early intervention while making prudent cut backs in operating expenses.
As you listen to this, some of us may be in throws of reinventing our practice, dealing with furloughs, and some must meet the opportunities of being laid off. We know that change is inevitable and change may not take a path you anticipated in all cases. In fact, sometimes that path may feel like a ball in a pinball machine – jostling and seemingly random. A music therapist and business owner in the southeast told us the following:
“We are being expected to ‘prove’ ourselves to our clients and clearly articulate what we are doing to improve client functioning and the necessity for ongoing services on an almost daily basis. Since we specialize in treating autism and related disorders, progress is slow and therapy is very long. This is a time of showing that we offer a valuable and effective treatment.”
I would that, to do what this therapist suggests, we must draw upon our training, skills, experience, and gifts.
Key to the efforts you put into your music therapy practice reinvention, and thriving in your music therapy career, are four concepts I wish to comment on.
[1] The first concept is employability. Employability refers to the portable set of in-demand skills and experiences you carry as a music therapist. Take a time out and re-inventory these skills and experiences. Be inclusive and inventory it all even if you need to reframe it later on to be suitable for interviews, marketing, and your resume.
[2] The second concept is networking. Networking refers to our professional web of colleagues, friends, and community members that makes your skills and experience known. Sometimes that network is formal through clients and work. And, sometimes it’s informal through casual conversations and contacts in your community. Take a second time-out and draw or map your network on paper. The network may be quite extensive, web-like, and knotty – as in k-n-o-t-t-y. Then, consider those areas of networking you may want to spend more time, and a few areas that you’ve not really pursued before.
[3] The third concept is adaptability. Adaptability is the ability to adjust and effectively position yourself for changes that inevitably occur. This statement implies some planning and anticipation, and I know most of us have dealt with totally unexpected events – both positive and negative in terms of the job and home. Therefore, you need to ask yourself, how and when you’ve been adaptable in the past. I suspect that music therapists stand out at adaptability because we tend to be creative and innovative thinkers and doers. We all know adaptability when we see it so take time to recognize it in your own thoughts, words, and deeds.
[4] The fourth and final concept is problem solving. In order to thrive, build your skills and reputation as a problem solver. This means being recognized as someone who adds value to an organization, situation, or problem set. Adding value may take many forms. And, when added value contributes to the mission and purpose of the job at hand, the rewards tend to follow. Here’s an example to illustrate adaptability and problem solving.
Late in college, I had use of an old family car to get to and from practicums and work. Anyway, I had a flat tire way out in the country side — and this was pre-cell phone era. I was with another music therapist. The lug nuts were fused tight and had been pneumatically tightened on the wheel. There was no way we could budge them with the tire wrench. So we took oil from the dip stick and patiently lubricated the lug nuts while the other music therapists did her “Come on little tire, loosen up your hold” chant. Maybe it was the chant or maybe it was the oil, but the lug nuts eventually pried loose, we changed the tire, and went on our way. Sometimes value-added problem solving solutions come by thinking “out of the box” and using our resources in unexpected ways.
These four concepts, employability, networking, adaptability and value-added problem solving are not independent by any means. They interact and thrive when they all come into play. It’s rather like a highly performing quartet where everyone contributes and all the parts are covered. Let me offer a closing example.
Ages ago I worked with a four year old boy with a seizure disorder and an undiagnosed array of soft neurologic signs and tone. I was asked to see the child in his PreK classroom where he was not really an active part of the classroom. Following observation and evaluation it became clear that this child experienced frequent petit-mal seizures when exposed to certain sounds. I presented my observational data and suggested to the parents and team that I conduct an analysis of the sounds that the team believed were the most common sound sources. I interviewed everyone, much like an epidemiologist would, traced and recorded sound loops of each suspected sound item. I ran the tapes through a sound analyzer in the acoustics lab at the university, thanks to Dr. Ed Asmus. The loops confirmed several common acoustic properties across all the sound sources. I educated the team and parents about these properties and made recommendations to better control this little boy’s environment while the neurologist adjusted his medications. This child had musicogenic epilepsy and showed significant improvement . I had to go above and beyond my allocated, approved hours to do this special assessment and I absorbed much of the costs of the work. But it was worth it on many fronts for the child, his parents, and for me. It was the right thing to do. Music therapy brought to play the necessary package of skills, problem solving, team networking, and adaptability to expedite the treatment planning for this child, accelerate his rate of learning readiness, and reduce his overall costs of care.
Once again, I am Barbara Else, but you can call me Barb! Feel free to contact me via e-mail at [email protected]. (Else is spelled e-l-s as in sam-e.) I am a self-employed, board certified music therapist and consultant. I specialize in health policy, economics and research and my clinical interests are in disaster response and traumatology. I see clients through my small private practice. Please feel free to comment on any aspect of this podcast, Excerpts and Thoughts from the AMTA Thrive Guide. Just enter your ideas or questions in the comments box at the bottom of the symposium text, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
I think of the current recession as a sort of enzyme that triggers change and a reaction affecting jobs, career, and lifestyle. I encourage music therapists to approach that change or reaction constructively and honestly by drawing upon the leader within you and by taking stock of the concepts I’ve talked about in this segment.
Thank you for listening.