Dr. Forinash asks a question that I have asked myself since beginning my studies in the equivalency program at this university. I am just one semester away from completing my studies and beginning my internship and I have had the pleasure of pursuing this journey with a diverse group of students in the music therapy program.
I can comment on four students that have left the program while I have been in school here. I believe that they have each left for different reasons and maybe they are not even fully aware of all their reasons themselves. All four of the students have stayed in school, but switched their majors. Two of the students switched out of the music school altogether and two of them switched to other majors within the music school. Their reasons for leaving included wanting to explore other fields of study, wanting to focus on performance, wanting a more financially secure career and not feeling equipped emotionally for the clinical experience.
The sophomore year seems to be a critical path juncture. All four of the students changed their majors either during their sophomore year or immediately after. As incoming students it takes some time to determine if the path that we have chosen is the right one. We are fortunate at the University of Louisville to be able to begin practicum experiences in our second semester if in the equivalency program or in the second year if in the BA program. So, students are able to begin to assess their talents and/or shortcomings on this career path earlier rather than later. This has been a welcome opportunity for me. I have made the choice to leave my other career and pursue music therapy in midlife. I did a good bit of research before returning to school including interviewing professional music therapists, reading on the subject, observing a music therapy session and watching video of music therapy sessions. As I entered the program I felt as though I had as much information as I could reasonably gather to make my decision. What I could not have at that point was actual experience as a student music therapist with clients. Getting that experience was valuable in that it confirmed my decision to pursue this career.
Yet even with this confirmation this has been a much more difficult path than I had imagined it would be. In my third semester I seriously considered leaving the program because of self-doubt about my own abilities to complete the music school curriculum. I thought that I might have come to this career too late. I was very saddened at the time because I felt strongly that I would be a very good music therapist. I have been very fortunate to have had music therapy professors who have encouraged me and reinforced my belief in my ability to be a music therapist. Sometimes in life there are no hard and fast quantifiable answers to the difficult questions. Sometimes it is about looking inside ourselves and doing that gut check. Perhaps that is the answer to the question... everything that I am is what is going to make me a great music therapist.
Forinash, Michele (2007). What "Makes" a Music Therapist?. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from http://www.voices.no/columnist/colforinash100907.php
Wheeler, B. L. (2002). Experiences and Concerns of Students During Music Therapy Practica. Journal of Music Therapy, 39(4), 274-304.