Becoming an upright professional: it's still a grand journey

Hello everyone!

First of all let me apologize for my slacking in posting entries—I have been extremely busy and absolutely loving it, so this post is going to be a sort of catcher-upper.

I write to you from the Winking Lizard Tavern, Starbucks simply wouldn’t cut it today becauseeee FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! I am the only one decked out in Washington Redskins gear surrounded by Brown’s fans…there is a lonely dolphins fan though.

GOODBYE sundresses, sunburn, and beach trips HELLO football, cool weather, hot drinks, and warmer fashions; I am ready for fall!

Had to….sang this song for an audition once…I find myself singing it a lot this week :P

I have had an awesome few weeks and cannot believe I’m approaching month 3!  I am becoming a very confident intern and therapist and starting to move into independence.

On top of seeing patients, developing music skills, leading groups, article reviews and book reports, I have to complete a couple of big projects while I am here: a presentation about music therapy, a case study, and a research project.

I am proud to say that my case study will be completed this week!
This was something I was nervous about even STARTING.  How will I know which patient I want to work closely with?  Am I ready to carry out the therapy process on my own?  Will I actually be benefiting this person?

YES!
To make a long story sort of short--

Going on rounds with Dr. Lane, she was easing me into independence and wanted me to take more of a lead when working with this specific woman.  I don’t know why, but the leadership and confidence came almost effortlessly that day, rapport was built almost immediately and I was able to completely assess her and implement a session. 

Because I was able to connect with her and figure out multiple goals I could work on, I decided she would be perfect for my case study.  I have developed a program plan for her and have led five sessions on my own. I plan on terminating services on Monday and writing up my report.  I have data to show her progress and have charted in her notes all the amazing things we accomplished.  Her goals are mainly psychosocial but I am fully confident I have helped her greatly in her stay at the hospital and have evidence to prove it.

Here are my goal areas I set for her after the assessment:

            Mood modification
            Decision making (and independence) through leisure time skills practice
            *I started out with pain management but then as she got closer to discharge
               this was not really needed so I focused on her biggest needs

I have learned so much from her and am so glad to have knocked this project out so I can begin to focus on my upcoming rotations in Toddler Rock and the Intensive Outpatient Program for Adults with mood disorders.

With all this going on, weeks seem to fly by! I certainly enjoy my weekends, a chance to breathe, a chance to relax, and a chance to just have some fun!

A couple weekends ago I got to travel to Pittsburgh, what a great city, I ate a slice of pizza the size of my head! Last weekend I was able to make a trip home to VA!  I even got to enjoy a delicious all you can eat blue crab feast.

This is the first time I have been away from home for this long and this far away so it was just what I needed.  I found that at first, being in Cleveland, all I had was my internship, I didn’t know anyone, didn’t know anything to do, so I drowned myself in work.  Being here almost three months now, it’s a lot easier to “escape,” and that’s very important, in any line of work—I believe I talked about this before…anyway…

I am so excited I got to see a lot of my friends and my family; I love and miss you all! Good luck to everyone at SU this semester!