New Year = New Goals

2015 is going to be hard to top. One of my Drexel classmates posed a question on Facebook asking people to respond with their proudest accomplishments of 2015. What a great way to reminisce about the last year. So I began to think about it and got a bit overwhelmed – in a good way! I finished my 80-page thesis, completed my internship, graduated with my MA in Music Therapy and Counseling from Drexel University, passed the music therapy board certification exam, and started a new full time job as music therapist. Whew! All very rewarding but also very exhausting. Thank you, 2015, for challenging me so much!

Now a few months into my new career, I am taking this opportunity to set some professional goals for myself for 2016.

So in no particular order:

Learn to play the ukulele (full disclosure – this was my resolution for 2015, and it didn’t happen…)
Present at a music therapy conference. This one is easy because I already know it will happen, barring any unforeseen circumstances. In March athe Mid-Atlantic Region Music Therapy Conference, three of my Drexel classmates and I will be presenting a panel discussion entitled “Over 30 and Starting Over: Becoming a Music Therapist Later in Life.” We will be sharing our experiences of choosing to start a new career and letting supervisors know the strengths and challenges that older students face when going back to school and completing internships.
Implement a documentation system at YCCA. One of the interns at YCCA has been working on some ideas and we will collaborating more to get this started. As music therapists it is very valuable and essentially to be able to track data in order to assess and reassess goals for the clients. This can be in the form of notes, numerical data, progress reports, checklists, etc. We just need to find the right type of documentation that will help us track the kids’ progress as they hit important developmental milestones. More blogging to come on that topic!
Seek out supervision. In school, we were constantly supervised multiple times over. Now in the real world, I need to continue to find my own supervision as a way to continue to grow as a music therapist. I have a peer supervision group that meets on a somewhat regular basis, but it would be good for me to seek out other forms of supervision as well.
Earn at least 30 CMTE credits. In order to stay certified as a music therapist, I have to complete 100 continuing education credits in the next five years. I figure I might as well be ambitious my first year and get a head start.
Make self-care a priority. Someday this will be a whole blog post of its own right, but for now I just want to make sure I remember to take care of myself. As therapists, there is no way we can do what we do without taking care of ourselves at the same time.