The most challenging patient (pt) I've had so far is one who is really interested in drumming but the last few weeks has not been attending school and therefore has been restricted to the unit. Two weeks ago I moved an entire drum set to the unit and used it as motivation for the pt to go to school. Last week we didn't have a session because the pt again didn't go to school. But Monday the pt went, and I got hopeful, and the pt went yesterday also. AND the pt went today!
Today was the first day the pt got to drum, and it was really incredible. The pt has issues with emotional regulation, so I had the pt play different emotions, like happy, sad, and we finally landed on angry. We talked about the things that induced the pt's anger and then talked about what it felt like when the pt was in control of their emotions, then had the pt play that. THEN, I had the pt start on angry and move to in control. Not surprsingly, we had to do this a couple times, but the pt was really starting to get the hang of it.
This session was a nice reminder of why I do what I do. In this instance I was able to give a pt a place to express their feelings freely, and also talk about where the pt would like to go in the future. I introduced the pt to the concept of DCI and we even did some visualizing of what it would be like for the pt to be the center snare of a drumline, then I had the pt play what that would feel like. The pt had this huge grin on their face and said that it would be "totally badass." I think that this kid could totally be famous one day, and the pt is going to request a drumset from their mom when released. I promised to try and find a music therapist in the pt's area because hopefully the pt can keep this in their life as a positive motivator.
The pt even said that when they get famous, that I get free backstage passes to all the band's shows, which is of course, another reason why I do what I do.
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