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Expect the unexpected!

By Kat Fulton on March 29, 2013 in Kat's Musings

Hey there you AMAZING Rhythm For Good reader – You Rhythm RENEGADE – You Rhythm MASTER – and Rhythm Friend,

So, check this out. A year ago, I had no idea that this new sweet website full of crazy amazing music therapy continuing education opportunities would basically take over my life. . . . in *such* a good way. And here I am with all these little experiments that I’ve tried in the past – The super fun string of music therapy and drumming videos I created, the older adults drumming DVD that sold out, the San Diego based music therapy operation in full force, my group coaching program. Everything has been successful in its own special way.

And now I’m entering an even newer era of fine-tuning and path-paving my life.

An era for which I have no vision yet.

An era during which I wake up thinking “What am I doing? Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing! I haven’t figured that out yet. How strange to go along without knowing where I’m going and what I’m doing. What if I never figure it out? Wait, let’s not start the day so fearful. Let’s just go eat breakfast first.” This is the type of thing that goes through my mind. It’s no wonder I FEEL like I don’t get much done, when in fact, I truly am very productive. I know this intellectually, but feeling is another story.

Here are my options at this point, according to one of my very wise and incredibly-talented superstar coaches: I can LIMIT my professional growth so that I can handle it all on my own, OR I can partner with others to expand.

You can probably figure which road I’m taking =)

So, back to the site that has taken over my life . . .

The instructors, team, and I are very clear on our values for the brand.
We are giving away free online music therapy courses to students.
We offer music therapy professional supervision for CMTE credits.
We are accepting new courses.

Now, I’m going to go back to visioning. I’m in the midst of creating a new vision for the site.

Here’s my question for you :: What’s your vision for YOUR life and business?

Comments { 1 }

What Is Muse Therapy? er, I mean Music Therapy?

By Kat Fulton on January 14, 2013 in Kat's Musings

I saw a video yesterday for which I simply HAD to create a response. This audio recording is the response to The George Center’s video explaining “What Is Music Therapy?” (See it below.)

Here are my lyrics:

I would like to tell you about my job.
Yes, it’s real job
You might’ve heard before. Yeah.

Using some drums, and then some Boomwhackers, rhythm, and songs,
We help friends with autism,
Memory loss, and more.

Also in wellness and team building,
Gain insight on a mental illness,
And there’s more.

I would like to mention some goals for you
Like word retrieval,
articulation and language. Yeah.

Auditory process and discrimination,
Functional life skills are some of our targets.

Also in wellness and team building,
Gain insight on a mental illness,
Anxiety reduction, pain management,
Brain injury, Alzheimers, oncology, and there is more . . .

Music speaks when words fail. Music Therapy.
Music speaks when words fail. Music Therapy.

(Thanks to Hans Christian Anderson for the quote.)

Here’s The George Center’s video!

Special thanks to Kimberly Sena Moore for organizing #MTAdvocacy month. Also special thanks to Ben Folds for designating a #FollowMTWeek on social media =)

Comments { 9 }

8 Ways To Give Burnout The Big KO

By Kat Fulton on November 20, 2012 in Kat's Musings, Music & Wellness

[KO means Knock Out] =) We just finished the Music Therapy Burnout Prevention bonus calls over at MusicTherapyEd.com, and I’m on fire with this topic! Plus, I’ve received NUMEROUS emails from music therapists asking about burnout. I just have to write on this topic.

You see, when people enter their name and email over at MusicTherapyEd.com, they automatically receive an email that asks about their biggest challenges as a music therapist. This is important information for me to know as the instructors and I do our best to deeply serve the community with our continuing education courses. It also helps me scout out the best possible future course releases to help music therapists thrive and prosper.

And that’s why a lot of people are writing me about burnout. Because I asked for it.

I think I have experienced burnout myself (if not on-the-verge-burnout), and I think I know how it feels. I’ve definitely experienced depression, so if it’s similar, then I’m at least vaguely familiar. Here’s my take: You’ve got to make a BIG change in something, somehow. You’ve got to just bite the bullet and take action, even if it’s a baby step.

Here’s what I’ve done in the past:

1. Taken an entire month off — even though I didn’t think I could financially do it, I did it, and came back to more clients and more work that totally paid off in the end! I wrote about that experience in my laryngitis post.

2. Taken a week off to travel – roadtrip, mountain camping with friends, beach getaway, SOMEthing to get out of the routine, get my mind off the clients to return refreshed.

3. Used ALL new music. I spent an entire day learning ALL brand new songs. I went back to sessions the next week, and stayed far, far away from any old songs that I used to use. Might be better if 2 days are taken actually…

4. Invited someone to come observe me. Just the presence of having a student, intern, volunteer, or colleague will completely change your mindset and make you think… “Hm, what does this look like from the outside? What am I achieving? How are my clients responding (if applicable)? What’s going on here?”

5. Changed the schedule. Even simply doing afternoon groups in the MORNING instead feels wayyyyy different than the usual.

6. Used something totally outside of the box and creative. Use miming, or some sort of drama therapy intervention just to change it up. Go observe an art therapist, or other creative arts therapist, and integrate their ideas with your own.

7. Take a workshop for yourself. Find something that will feed your soul. Go in to the workshop with the intention of shaking it up within yourSELF first. Find some way, any way, to see the world from a new lens. This will automatically help you re-boot with your clients.

8. There are other ideas that are more drastic like…. move to a new city, surround yourself with non-English speaking folks for a weekend, attend a SILENCE retreat… but those are a little crazier.

If you are experiencing burnout, hang in there friend! I have definitely felt it. I think the important thing is to TAKE ACTION on making a change. Just take some sort of baby-step towards changing your scenery.

Oooooo. One more thing. The holidays totally recharge me for the new year! I’m so busy doing holiday music that when January comes around, the regular interventions feel NEW…. How do YOU shake it up to give burnout the big KO?

Comments { 10 }

My Vision

By Kat Fulton on November 14, 2012 in Kat's Musings

Someone called me a visionary the other day. I was smiling ear-to-ear. I love hearing words spoken of me about that which I aspire to be! Here is my vision…

Expanding Music Therapy: I see more music therapists and our sister professionals standing in our power, owning our expertise, and sharing it with the world. I see music therapists consulting and packaging their expertise so that other healthcare professionals can improve their service to patients. But wait, that’s already happening HERE.

Collaborating: I see music therapists working side by side in the same clinics and on the same par as OTs, SLPs, and PTs. I see common goals being achieved by different disciplines in a million creative ways. I see a safe place for children to go to be heard, to be recognized, and to be loved. But wait, that’s already happening here (and many other places):

More Access: I see a world where private insurance companies acknowledge the decades of research and effectiveness of music therapy. I see patients like children with special needs, people who suffer stroke, brain injury, Parkinsons and other neurologic conditions, and people with developmental disabilities having access to music therapy services through insurance companies. Oh wait, that’s already happening HERE, HERE, HERE, and I’m sure in more places than that.

Rhythm-Based Wellness: I see a world where health coverage agencies include rhythm-based wellness programs for the communities they serve. Oh wait, that’s already happening HERE.

Learning With Ease: I see a world where continuing education for music therapists and music therapy lovers is affordable, accessible, and available at their fingertips any time of day, any day of the year. Oh wait, that’s already happening HERE.

As a visionary, the way I “see” it, I’m just speaking out loud the things that are already happening.

Maybe I should dream up some bigger dreams?

What do YOU see in your visions?

Comments { 0 }

More Bold Statements From AMTA12

By Kat Fulton on October 21, 2012 in Business & Practice, Kat's Musings

[If you are looking for conference handouts, scroll down.] Last year I made some bold statements after the American Music Therapy Association’s national conference in Atlanta. #3 was especially important from last year.

This year I have 2 more bold statements.

1. You can be an expert AND a life-long learner at the same time. Dear music therapists, just say YES to outsider collaboration. Don’t build up your own personal anxiety about people taking the term “music therapy” and misusing it. Don’t even spend 10% of your time and energy worried that people are going to “steal” your expertise, especially if there is no evidence of such actions. They can’t, and they won’t, and if they do it’s not as big/bad/horrible as you think. That’s why we have standards, a degree program, a board-certification process.

Thanks Kellee Coviak for capturing me in action!

Instead, focus your energy on expansiveness, consulting, outreach, education. But not in an exclusive way. Think bigger. Our training gives us the expertise and unique opportunity to show others how *they* too can use music for good health. If you put yourself in a position of “I’m the ONLY one with the power to heal using music,” then you will wear yourself out and even worse… you’ll become a martyr. You do not have enough hours in the day to do this by yourself all around the world. Or even in your small town.

Stand in your power, consult, and do your good work. Maybe even consider packaging your expertise online. There’s no need to prove yourself, and if there ever was a time when you had to prove yourself, it’s over. There’s no need to “do your time.” Stand in your power, be the expert, be the authority. Don’t limit yourself. Otherwise, you’re making decisions based on fear. Decisions based on fear never have a good outcome. Let’s quit making decisions based on fear.

You can be an expert AND a life-long learner at the same time. Go that route.

2. Just say no to the masters level. I know far too many well-known music therapists who have said to me in confidence “Oh, I think masters level will kill our profession, but I’m in no political position to state that publicly.” Well, here I am stating it publicly. Apparently I don’t care much for politics and who is going to “like” me or “dislike” me, etc. Don’t let my biases be yours (as Dr. Madsen would say). But consider this:

There are about 2,909,357 registered nurses in the United States.
There are about 845,000 LCSWs in the United States.
There are about 96,000 speech language pathologists in the United States.

There are a WHOPPING 5,583 board-certified music therapists in the United States.

Do you think our numbers will increase or decrease by requiring a masters degree? If we assume that the numbers will decrease, then do you think that is a good thing or a bad thing for our field?

Simple math. I vote no. =)

But I voted yes at first. The math changed my mind. I love the idea of music therapists in the field who have delved into studies and specific populations deeper than bachelors level. However, considering the numbers, we would be shooting our profession in the foot. There would be even FEWER of us to go around. There is power in numbers, so let’s keep growing.

Now for your conference goodies! If you attended our presentation on Web-Based Business And Beyond, Nat Mullis and I have this bundle of goodies for you.