Context and Carry-overs
Unsurprisingly, my work from last summer at my internship in Austin is coming in handy during this experience. I'm familiar with the format of the databases, software, etc. In the world of social services, the basic needs for administrative systems are similar across the board. Every organization needs a way to track other social services programs in the area: the services they offer, their direct contact person, the relationship between the organization and other service providers. They need to have quick access to concise information that says "this is how x place can help my client". I have already been around that kind of system at Project Transitions, so organizing database information for ITA is more efficient for me as I know what therapists will be looking for as they search for referrals/business connections. Context is everything- I know the purpose for the work I'm doing with database updates, and therefore I can do the work in a more helpful way. I'm discovering that I am what my roommate Molly likes to call a "full-context communicator"; I am more comfortable, motivated, and I can do better work when I understand completely how my job fits into a wider context, how it contributes to a "big picture".
CAT Mashup
In our group supervision on Friday (a one hour a week time slot set aside for professional development for me and the 2 clinical interns in the office), the clinical interns discussed their challenges with integrating their modality (music therapy) into other sessions that they were experiencing. My brain went back into creative possibilities mode and I started cranking out suggestions of how music could fit into their dance and drama therapy sessions. I again experienced that as the part I love most about Creative Arts Therapy- coming up with creative solutions to achieve a client's therapeutic goals. I am glad my arts background is in theatre, too, and that I have some directing experience; a theatre production is in a sense "cross modality" . Theatre is a marriage of the art mediums used in CAT: drama, visual arts, music, and dance/movement. As a theatre person and a director, I've had exposure to all of those elements, and especially their synthesis. Incorporating music into a dance session or drama session is therefore a natural combination. The lines between modalities, then, are blurred for me. It's hard to separate in my mind a "music therapy approach" versus a "drama therapy approach" because 1) I haven't had the training and exposure to fully understand what approaches fall in either category, but also 2) if DT is using theatre techniques as therapeutic interventions and music is a commonly used theatre technique, then music in a drama therapy session is simply DT in my mind. It makes me excited to learn more about what is technically classified as a DT strategy as opposed to DMT (Dance/Movement Therapy), MT or even AT (Art Therapy). Right now they are all entangled in my brain in the umbrella category of CAT.
Client-Centered
That entanglement manifested itself in our clinical meeting this week, as well; I was suggesting a DT strategy for a client enrolled in MT. The treating therapist gently corrected me and told me that was not the approach they were using. It was a good reminder to hearken back to the client's wants. If a client wants to use a specific art form in his sessions, as that was the modality he/she signed up for, that is the appropriate approach. I have to remember that just because a strategy from another modality may work, that doesn't mean it's the right choice for that client. Having other modalities at ITA is helpful, and there is always a cross-modality solution when appropriate, but that solution may not be applicable 100% of the time.
Chi-Town Adventures
I haven't talked much about my outside-of-work adventures; I was considering them somewhat separate from the credit-bearing experience I'm having in the office and in client sessions. I can't continue that division, though; my adventures in Chicago are integral to my personal and professional growth, too. As a future drama therapist, I will draw upon experiences on and off the clock to inform my work. Cultural events, theatre productions, even conversations with friends involved in other fields will all help me understand people and serve as inspiration for creative solutions in sessions. That being said, I want to recap a couple of the really awesome opportunities I've had since arriving in Chicago:
-King Lear at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier
It was a great show, filled with some pretty incredible theatrical moments. I was also lucky to go with my roommates, both of whom love to critique theatre, so we had some great critical discussions about the show afterwards. The actor playing Lear did an enthralling performance of a descent into insanity/dementia.
A tidbit to take with into DT: lighting as a mood setter. Of course lighting can change the tone of a scene- any director or lighting designer would assure you that is true. I had never actively thought about that in relation to therapy, though. One of the scenes in Lear had a warm yellow light wash, and I felt in myself an immediate physical relaxation in response. I thought to myself , "if I had a client that was high strung and, say, highly anxious, this lighting would be perfect to start off a session more relaxed."
One more tidbit: I will never throw away important business cards. On my Cornell LEADS trip in April 2013, my group toured Chicago Shakes with the Exec Director, who told us to let him know if we were ever in the area and looking for tickets to a show. I dug up his business card (thank goodness for my pack rat, save-everything mentality) and emailed him- to which he replied he would comp 2 tickets for me :) Yay for working connections!
-Shedd Aquarium
Just livin' the Chicago life. It's a must see, and over the 6 hours I was there with Erin Vick, a fellow Cornellian who's in the area doing her student teaching (Cornell is everywhere), we saw some fish, touched some stingrays, watched some dolphins jump 10 feet in the air, and learned that sea otters eat a quarter of their body weight every day. It was worth it, and if I ever find myself living here I'll definitely go back.
-Swing Dancing at NU
If you know me, you know this is essential to my self care and mental health. Luckily, I am nearby a dance community, a criterion I will seek out wherever I end up.
-The Johns at the Mayer Kaplan Theater
Written by a Chicago Resident specifically for a Chicago Northshore suburban audience, this was play that blew my mind about sex trafficking in Chicago. The talkback was with the Dreamcatcher organization, a nonprofit that provides services to victims of sex trafficking in the Chicago area. I learned a ton about the issue, saw again the power of social justice theatre, and talked to some awesome employees from Dreamcatcher about their work.
This continues to be an adventure, good work experience, and a unique opportunity to be required to reflect on a regular basis; that is all to say I'm getting a lot out of this. 5 weeks down, 3 to go!
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