So Fortunate

This has truly been an excellent week! I have learned so much and have had a wonderful time doing it. On Sunday I got to meet my supervisor who zoomed me and two other students via the autobahn to his clinic in the rural town of Bedburg-Hau. We arrived at the clinic and I immediately was taken aback by the vastness and beauty of the grounds and buildings. Giant trees, brightly colored flowers, and beautiful old houses and buildings with historical charm gave the clinic a sense of serenity. We toured their largest forensic unit and it was very nice. One of the music therapists that worked in this unit gave us an overview of how the unit operates and what she does there every day. We walked over to the creative therapy house and I met several music therapists, drama therapists, and art therapists. I was blown away by the large amount of creative therapists that worked at the facility. I then met the drama therapist whose home I would be staying in for the week. She was very nice and seemed excited that we were there. We drove for 40 minutes, crossed the Germany/Holland line, and arrived in the city of Nijmegen. I noticed on our drive that there were less hills in the area than there were in and around Heidelberg. Nijmegen appeared to be a very nice city.

On my first day, I observed my supervisor some music therapy sessions at a day clinic. The clients in this group were functioning adults with psychological illnesses. There was a lot of discussion throughout the sessions, and some of the clients brought music for the group to listen too. There also was some improvisation with percussion instruments. It was somewhat frustrating sometimes not being able to understand what everyone was saying throughout the sessions, but there was always enough context clues for me to have the gist of what was going on. My supervisor answered all of my questions after the sessions so I could have a clear understanding of exactly what happened.
Many of the sessions I observed throughout the week primarily involved improvisation, listening, and discussion. Occasionally, we had workshops with some of the music therapists at the clinic, and I always learned a lot in them. My favorite workshop focused on meditative music therapy activities. We practiced listening to ourselves and attempting to play a simple instrument without thinking too much about it. We attempted to find our tempo within and I was completely intrigued by this exercise.

On my favorite evening in Nijmegen, we went to a small alternative hang-out spot by the river that was so very nice. There were lots of booths with people selling delicious food, deserts, and jewelry. Sand covered the ground and people sat and enjoyed live music. It was so lovely.

I was so fortunate to have met such nice creative therapists and to have had such incredibly kind and hospitable hosts. The week went by so quickly.