SMWC Music Therapy: Trust the Process

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Trust the Process

slow down.

calm down.

Don’t worry.

don’t hurry.

trust the process.

-alexandra stoddard

This quote encapsulates what I often tell students as they move through the undergraduate music therapy program. So much of what occurs in today's world revolves around rushing, meeting timelines, the end product, hearing the results, and more. But, developing into a music therapy clinician takes a great deal of time and methodical process. Students may become frustrated when they struggle with a specific skill, wanting to be able to do it before they even begin trying. They want results immediately, but their mind and body just aren't ready yet. I want to encourage them to "slow down".

These frustrations are so evident in any musician's journey. Learning how to play an instrument or how to develop one's singing voice takes time. "Don't hurry", a music teacher may need to remind a student who races through a musical passage to get to the end. In order to have a nice "end product", musicians must live with the music before the music truly shines. Years of practice and effort, one skill building upon another...this is how a musician exists day to day. And it never ends. A musician moves through life working on another piece of music, refining another skill, preparing for another performance, and absorbing yet more understanding about a composer's intention. This is a way of life for a musician.

Photo Credit: Sharon Boyle

And so it goes for music therapists. In addition to our musician journey, we are on a journey toward 'becoming' every day. Years of developing one skill to build on another, practicing so many different instruments and music, facing new issues which arise with our clients, learning new ways of documenting, learning again and again from the people we serve...this is how a music therapist exists from one day to the next.

Again and again I tell my students to "trust the process" and to "trust the music", as well as the importance of trusting their own intuition and judgment. I have discussed the role and importance of silence in the music and within a session....the importance of just "being present" without always having to "do" something. And sometimes they just do not believe me. They struggle with the "not knowing" and sometimes the "not doing". I understand this because I was once a student who could not sit in silence and be okay with it. I struggled as they now struggle. So many students (not just in music therapy) worry about doing the right thing, or rather, not doing the wrong thing. "Calm down", I want to say, "trust the process". We can't just know how to do things which are new to us. This is not always a "right or wrong" issue. Working therapeutically with others, especially in music, is not "black or white" thinking. We live in the gray. We have to gain experience, and yes, even make mistakes along the way in order to learn, grow, and develop. In nature, the beauty around us emerges over time and often overcomes great adversity.

Yet, this "process" is an ambiguous thing...an unknown entity which escapes us when we are starting out as young music therapists. Even as a seasoned professional I can lose sight of it and get caught up in "doing", "accomplishing tasks", "rushing", and "stressing". That is when I, too, need to be reminded to:

SLOW DOWN. Take time.

CALM DOWN. Breathe.

DON’T WORRY. Relax...laugh...rest.

DON’T HURRY. Just be in the moment. Be mindful.

TRUST THE PROCESS. Yes. Trust.

In the weeks leading up to my students' final days of their final semester, I always take time to reflect on their journey, and my own journey with them. I have to smile at all the times I spoke some of the words above and they looked at me like I just don't understand. But, in those final days of the semester I might see them take a breath to calm themselves, be mindful and open in the moment, and trust the process during a session. In those moments I feel so much pride and I know they are ready to move forward into internship and their career. I then tell myself "Don't worry" as they will hopefully always continue learning and "becoming".

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Blog post author Sharon R. Boyle has been on faculty at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) since 2002.