Hello everyone! I hope you have had a fabulous week! These past few weeks I have really been finding myself as a music therapist. It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s not always rainbows and butterflies. If I had two words to describe the past few weeks, they would be stress and growth.
Stress
As I approach the ¾ mark in my internship, everything is getting real. In just 6 or 7 weeks my internship will be over, and the only thing left to becoming a music therapist is the board certification exam. I’m so excited, but also terrified for what lies ahead.
On top of preparing for professional life and the exam, there are intern duties that I need to complete and regular clinical work that needs to be done. Lots of prep was needed, new classes started, new session plans, etc. Long story short, there was a lot going on.
I felt the stress a lot last week. I was putting everything before myself. I had late nights, skipped meals, and did not take care of myself. I ended up getting sick on Thursday and could not come in on Friday. I truly think that I got sick because I was neglecting self care.
I talked to my supervisors about ways to help combat the stress, and, wow, I immediately felt a whole lot better. I started making daily check lists rather than weekly, which doesn’t seem like a big change, but it has helped. It’s beneficial for me to see the few tasks I need to complete during the day rather than the long list of tasks I need to complete for the week. It simply helps my mindset.
I also will prioritize these tasks. Clients come first, followed by my assignments. I was also encouraged to take a break for even just a few minutes in between sessions when able. These few changes and simply talking it out made me feel so much better going into the final stages of my internship.
Growth
The past week wasn’t completely full of stress; great things happened too. The first Listen & Learn classes went great and I had a lot of fun teaching them. My clients also made great strides toward their goals! I also saw growth in myself as, though I was feeling stressed, I did not show it and still had wonderful sessions throughout the week.
I’ve always shown exactly how I feel on my face. I really can’t hide anything. However, this is not always helpful as a therapist. This past week I had to push aside my feelings and focus on my clients during their sessions. My supervisors told me that they could not tell I was stressed based upon how I was interacting with my clients. This is a HUGE compliment, as my affect has been a main area of focus throughout my practicum experiences and internship.
I also learned that I can handle a whole lot more than I think I can. With everything going on, I still had successful sessions with my clients and completed everything I needed to. In reality, the stress I was feeling was not worth it.
I’ve also learned a very important thing: Take care of yourself!
I decided to share how I have been feeling these past few weeks because I know that music therapists, interns, students, and others outside of the music therapy field all have moments of stress. I’ve learned that making time to take care of yourself, despite all of the tasks you feel like you need to complete, is essential to getting through the stressful time. Skipping out on self care may only make it worse. In my case, I got sick and had to miss a day of internship. If something has to give, don’t let it be your self care.
Thanks for reading my thoughts this week. If you have anything to add on this topic, please leave a comment!
Emma Kovachevich
