"I Heard It through the Grapevine"
A while back, I was with two colleagues from other countries. We had some free time between activities and were able to spend a relaxed few hours over lunch with nothing that we had to do. Since all three of us work very hard, we commented on how unusual it was that we would take this kind of time just to do "nothing." It was a real pleasure!
So what did we do with this time? Well, we did enjoy the lunch. And our conversation covered a broad range of topics, both professional and personal. But the thing that I think we all really enjoyed—and on which we commented—was talking about people who we know and catching up on what they had been doing. Our conversation felt positive, enjoyable, and even professionally useful.
I came away from this time having bonded more closely with these women, whom I already knew and liked, and also with a sense of being more connected to the music therapy community through having talked about so many people. We laughed as I said that I might write a Voices Fortnightly Column on professional gossip! It has taken me a while to get to it, but here is that column.
I would like to say from the beginning that I don’t think that we talked about anything that was harmful or malicious, although I do not remember the entire conversation at this point. I will also acknowledge that this type of discussion could be malicious or hurtful—and say emphatically that I do not support that kind of interaction. It seemed to me that our conversation not only drew us closer together but also brought us closer to those about whom we learned more.
Were we gossiping? Gossiping has a negative connotation but, as I have looked into it more, I think that this negative impression is not always deserved. Gossip is defined as "idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; light, familiar talk or writing" (www.dictionary.com). A definition from the Monitor on Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, is "any conversation between two or more people about another person who is not there" (Foster, in Winerman, 2006, p. 2). Articles in the Monitor on Psychology, several of which explore the nature and value of gossip (Stambor, 2006; Winerman, 2006), have given me insight into some of the positive aspects of gossip. I am not going to cover what they say, but one of the interesting things that I discovered in reading them is that psychologists and others have studied gossip and its value. One value of gossip has been evolutionary, in which the ability to acquire information about others increased people’s ability to survive. Gossip also helps to develop and cement social ties, thus contributing in a positive way to society. The Review of General Psychology (2004) published an entire issue on gossip.[1]
Obviously gossip can encompass a wide variety of topics, and not all of them are professionally useful or nice. In the U.S., we hear more than anyone needs to know about the lives of celebrities. I think that a lot of energy is wasted on this information.
This awareness of what other music therapists are doing contributes to our sense of community in music therapy. This sense of community is something that I treasure as a music therapist. I think that Voices contributes to this, and this is one of many reasons that I value my involvement with Voices. The Music Therapy Listserv that I belong to also fosters this sense of community, and that is one reason that I enjoy it and encourage others to join it.[2]
I encourage my students to learn the names and a bit about the background of the music therapists whose work we read in class. I find that this enhances their understanding of the topics and provides a context for what the person says. In addition, I find it useful for them to connect a person’s writings on different topics, sometimes seeing the changes that the writer has gone through, sometimes seeing the way that their ideas remain consistent even through various topics. Because my students often do not learn the names as I wish that they did, I have threatened to test the students on people’s names, although I have not done this yet.
I have been told that I am more aware of music therapy and what is going on in some countries outside of the U.S. than are many people in those countries. Although it surprises me, I take this as a compliment and believe that my awareness of what is happening in various parts of the world broadens how I see and practice music therapy in my own part of the world,
I will begin my term as President of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) in January 2008. My awareness of other music therapists should help me a lot in this position. First, I will have a sense of who can fulfill certain positions in the organization, hopefully informed by my awareness of what they have been doing. Second, it should help me to be able to be responsive to concerns of music therapists from various parts of the organization and from around the country and the world. And third, I hope that my awareness of international music therapy will have a positive impact on my perspective as President of the U.S. organization.
In conclusion, I encourage people to engage in positive professional gossip and to use the connections that we make with others to develop our sense of community with other music therapists around the world.
Notes
[1] Articles in the special issue of the Review of General Psychology (2004, VIII, 2) include: Introduction to the Special Issue on Gossip; Research on Gossip: Taxonomy, Methods, and Future Directions; Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective; Gossip as Cultural Learning; Social Comparison Account of Gossip; Postscript to the Special Issue on Gossip.
[2] For information on joining the listserv, go to www.musictherapy.org, then click on About AMTA, then click on Music Therapy Around the World and On the Web.
References
Stambor, Z. (2006, April). Bonding over others’ business. APA Online: Monitor on Psychology. http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/latest.html (retrieved April 29, 2007).
Winerman, L. (2006, April). Have you heard the latest? APA Online: Monitor on Psychology. http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/latest.html (retrieved April 29, 2007).
How to cite this page
Wheeler, Barbara (2007). "I Heard It through the Grapevine". Voices Resources. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=colwheeler180607
About Barbara Wheeler
Biography
BARBARA WHEELER, PhD, MT-BC has been Professor and Director of Music Therapy at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, since 2000. She came to that position after 25 years on the faculty of Montclair State University in New Jersey. Her clinical work has been with children and adults with a variety of problems; she currently works on a hospital oncology unit. She edited the books Music Therapy Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives and Music Therapy Research, 2nd Edition, coauthored Clinical Training Guide for the Student Music Therapist, and has written a number of articles and chapters. Wheeler is President of the American Music Therapy Association. She is Interview Co-Editor for Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Barbara frequently speaks and consults about music therapy both in the U.S. and abroad.