Discovering My Role as a Music Therapy Advocate

"An advocate? Me?"

For the past three years as a professional music therapist I have heard the word advocacy and have been told the importance of it numerous times. I have never considered myself an effective advocate for my profession though because my understanding was it only happened if I wrote, called, or met with my local representatives regularly. Honestly, I have a deep embedded fear of contacting elected officials, and even the “What Is Your Advocacy Style?” quiz confirmed I am a “Behind the Scenes Sleuth”. I see myself as lacking in this area that is so important for the future development of the career I hope to find myself in for many more years to come.
 

In the spring of 2011, I attended a continuing music therapy education course by the Illinois Association of Music Therapy. They brought in Judy Simpson of AMTA and Dena Register of CBMT for a day long workshop that focused on how to be an effective advocate and how to contact elected representatives. I learned a lot, and my confidence level to take the next step towards contacting an elected representative rose. The problem was I still had the fear of accurately representing the profession of music therapy. As a young professional, I see many other seasoned music therapists who can speak and write so eloquently about the essence of music therapy. With far less experience and education, I sometimes see myself as not having all of the right words to say. I constantly try and remind myself that  I am an expert in the this field. I may not be as much of an expert as others, but I know the basics and I have many clinical experiences to describe how music can impact lives.

It wasn’t until earlier this month, while I was preparing for the GRE, that I came across the definition of advocate and could see it as a description of me. My review program defined advocate as “To speak in  favor of; to support; to encourage”. For the first time I saw myself as one who can and has fulfilled the definition. Maybe I haven’t contacted any elected officials, but I am advocating daily by talking about the positive effects of music therapy with teachers and administrators. Also I have encouraged many highschoolers to consider studying music therapy.  Lastly,  since I jumped into the private practice world in May of 2010, I advocate with each referral call that comes in and when I talk to the parents of my clients.

During the past few years I have made the word advocate out to be too elusive. There are so many different ways to advocate for music therapy, and we all do not have to do it in the same way. Just because I am not the one continually contacting my representative (yet), I am still working to advance the field of music therapy with every time I answer “What is music therapy?” and with every musical interaction I have. I am an advocate for music therapy, and I try my best daily to be the best example of what a music therapist should be.

How appropriate is it that January marks the second annual music therapy social media advocacy month, and  that I have launched this blog and come to a realization that advocacy means more than sending a letter to a legislator.Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that it is extremely important for those in power to hear about our profession. This insight into the importance my of the advocacy efforts I do on a daily basis has strengthened my confidence to advocate to a bigger audience. In the next month, I plan to write and make my first contact with an elected representative. You all are holding me accountable!