The past six months as a Therabeat intern have shaped me and pushed me to become the greatest therapist I can be. It has been quite an adventure learning how to navigate session planning and assignments, living on my own, and working with clients in a full-time position. Although the days felt slow, the months flew by, and I am in shock that it is already December! I started this internship with hot weather and sunshine, but now it gets dark before dinner and I have to turn my heat on in the house. There have been many highs and a few lows navigating imposter syndrome, balancing the full-time workload, and learning and observing new music therapy methods. The consistent result of these highs and lows was personal growth, which is exactly what to look for in an internship. The transition from student to professional came with many twists and turns, but thankfully I feel prepared to enter the professional sphere!
I have learned how to work with other disciplines while here at Therabeat, Inc. I have gotten the incredibly special opportunity to work with speech and physical therapists and it is amazing to see how much can coincide with the other therapeutic forms. I have learned so many new interventions and ways to approach music therapy by receiving help and inspiration from observing different therapists. I now have prior experience working side by side with PT, and Speech and it has increased my knowledge of those fields as well as music therapy. I also finally got to try using a laminator for the first time. They sure are handy, I now have a library of visuals I can use in future sessions! I am excited to apply that knowledge in my future endeavors. I have also learned how to communicate with the parents of my clients. I now feel comfortable communicating with a parent/guardian about the skills addressed in sessions and how they were addressed through music. I believe good communication with the parents is important for them to see and understand their child’s growth.
I am so thankful to everybody at Therabeat Inc. for taking me in and helping me grow. I could not have gotten here without their support!
-Janelle Lockney, Music Therapy Intern