My very first session of the day was way interesting - I've temporarily taken over for an art therapist who resigned so I decided to do some passive music listening with drawing to transition between art and music therapy. In the first 5 minutes two patients got in a fight and one started screaming...I didn't think it was effecting me but I looked down and my hands were shaking as I tried to get markers from my bag. Once things got settled down I asked them if they knew what Friday was (they mostly got it right) and I asked them to draw 4th of July pictures. Then I went to put a CD of Whitney Houston singing the Star Spangled Banner and the CD player wouldn't work. I pushed every button, checked the cords going to the stereo, everything. My supervisor's supervisor, who was there helping me get settled in asked, "Well, is it plugged in?" I nodded yes because I had plugged it in when we first gotten there but it had apparently gotten unplugged in the chaos. Doh.
Everyone participated for the most part...one person drew an eagle, someone else drew hot dogs and watermelon...the patient who usually draws inappropriate stuff was in rare form today and showed me all kinds of um...drawings. The experience was definitely a lesson in boundaries - one of the patients got demoted a level for touching my bum. I hardly noticed because the space is tight and I was scooting through some chairs.
Anyhow - woohoo! First session down. I also did a really cool one-on-one session with an elderly patient who has beautiful, gnarled hands, today who has problems talking but has a fantastic singing voice. It was way inspiring for many reasons. He sometimes has delusions and tries to say he's God or Jesus and the thought that struck me was "well...so what if he is?" Loving the unloved/unlovable is part of the job description, yeah?
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