Over the last (almost) 12 years since becoming a music therapist, I’ve given countless presentations about my profession and work. I love educating people about the field of music therapy, and all of the ways in which I’ve been able to help people through music.
The more experience I’ve gotten doing these presentations, the more confident I’ve become — in fact, I rarely even get nervous anymore, even when speaking to large groups.
But I do have to admit: I’m still a little intimidated when it comes to presenting in front of professionals who work in other therapy fields.
I had the opportunity to provide a continuing education program to the Central Illinois Speech Pathology Association earlier this week, and as excited as I was, I definitely felt a bit of that intimidation standing in front of a room filled with speech pathologists.
But that feeling quickly dissipated as it became clear how interested this group was in learning more about music therapy, and how it can be used to augment communication of all kinds with so many of the populations with whom they also work.
My 1.5 hour presentation flew by, and after it was over, I talked with so many group members who shared how supportive they were of music therapy and how their own students, patients and clients could potentially benefit.
What a huge privilege to advocate for music therapy and continue educating my community. And I have to admit, their feedback was extremely validating, too :)
If you’re interested in seeing the slides from my presentation, you can do so by clicking here. Of course, there was much more to the program than what you see on the slides (including many additional musical examples), so don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to learn more!
