4 P's of Coping with Windshield Time

Today, I finished my 2nd straight day of 300+ miles in the car, with another sure to follow tomorrow. I currently cover about 31 counties in Iowa. Usually it's 19 counties but I'm covering an office until we can fill their music therapy position. By the way, if anybody is looking for a music therapy position in hospice, check out iowa-hospice.com or ask me if you have any questions.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I have struggled with the drive time in the past. What do you do when you're in the car for 2.5 hours, seeing some clients, and driving 2.5 hours home? Here's what my coping mechanisms have been lately:

1. Processing - Use the time to process your day. I feel that as a therapist, I need to constantly be aware of my thoughts and feelings. They affect what I do, say, and react when in a session. Driving gives me time to think about what just happened at my last client or what may potentially happen at my next one. This also helps me clear my mind from home to work, client to client, and work to home. Doing this helps me stay present in the moment with each client and keeps work from interrupting my home life.

2. Podcasts - There are a few music therapy podcasts out there. Check out Music Therapy Round Table, The Music Therapy Show with Janice Harris, and the Music Therapy Research Blog Podcast on iTunes. All have great information, insights, and give a sense of camaraderie with other music therapists, no matter where you are. I also check out podcasts from different sports (Puck Podcast), stories (StoryCorp), news (just about anything from NPR), music (All Songs Considered), and general knowledge (check out Stuff You Should Know).

3. Practice - I'm not very good at memorizing lyrics. Sometimes the best way for me to memorize is to sing them, butcher them, and try to fix it. Songwriters chose words purposefully (most of the time) and those words sound best together, so I try to stay true to what they've written. I will occasionally change words for therapeutic purposes, but that's a different subject for a different post. I sometimes sing with recordings if I have them or just try to fumble my way through without help. Also, I can practice writing songs, for an extra mental workout.

4. Pump it up - I'm a music therapist. Music is right in my job title. I really love music. Driving gives me a lot of time to explore new music and listen to old favorites. With such a wide territory, I get a variety of radio stations to choose from and, when they fail to interest me, I always have my iPod.

Hope this helps some of you. What do you do pass the time of driving, whether business or personal? Let me know!

Story: All the Tulips in Holland

I recently visited a hospice client of mine with an interesting story. The client, who I'll call Bee, has dementia, although she is still able to interact with others. She used to own a flower shop and is very proud to tell people how much money she made with the flower shop, although the dollar amount she made seems to increase with each telling of the story. Bee will always show is done with the session by saying, "Listen here. I tell it to you straight. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to go home and bring your wife some flowers because that will make her feel really good."

In our last session, Bee told this story (paraphrased): Last week I went to Holland. I really liked it there. The people were real nice because I brought them tulip bulbs from my shop and planted them all over the place. People really thought they were beautiful, so they started growing them themselves. That's where all the tulips in Holland came from.

I hope this story brightens your day a little bit, just like the tulips brightened Holland. :)

Sincerely,
Bryan Odeen, MT-BC

The Journey Begins

Hello world,

My name is Bryan Odeen and I am a board-certified music therapist in Mason City, IA. I currently work for Iowa Hospice full-time as a music therapist. I travel to clients' homes and facilities across the northern counties of Iowa. I enjoy this job because it puts me in contact with so many great people with so many great stories. Whether a client, caregiver, administrator, friend, or family member, everyone has a story and I feel I gain so much from their stories. When my story and their story intersect, I strive to assist my clients with a compassionate presence, a comforting voice, and a guitar. It seems it only takes a few sessions before I become "That Nice Music Man", so that's what I've called this blog.

The focus on this blog will be to share stories, tips, and feelings from this full-time job and a blooming (albeit small) private practice I wish to establish here in Mason City and the north Iowa region. I hope the posts will be helpful, inspiring, and (at the very least) interesting.  Please feel free to check out my Facebook page by searching for Odeen Music Therapy. Also, feel free to comment.

Sincerely,
Bryan Odeen, MT-BC