[humanser] Self-disclosure of blindness with a specific population

Tue Mar 24 19:09:44 UTC 2015

I should be more careful to follow the subject lines of the emails I'm reading! I was going from one email to the next in my inbox and I thought that the conversation was still on computers and mainframes! Certainly made for some funny thoughts when you started talking about music.  LOL have a nice day!

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 23, 2015, at 7:26 PM, JD Townsend via humanser <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hello:
> 
> A great question.  Clearly one you've thought about quite a bit.
> 
> As you know as a Music Therapist a large piece of any therapy is in the art of the therapist.  And, any self disclosure is informed by theory, but executed by art.
> 
> I often ask my clients if they know why I use a long white cane, in the past, my dog guide.  It allows them to identify my blindness, putting some of the power in their hands.  In my work with folks with dementia the act of asking them for help is, also, empowering.  I will sometimes follow an elbow if I can see that it might be a positive for a client.  However, I would not do this with a more cognitively able population.  Always focus on the higest level of functioning of the client and do what it takes to strengthen that.
> 
> And, I have seen such wonderful work with music and your population - let them sing out!  Perhaps I'll tell you about having 4 schizophrenic Elvis Presley imitators on stage together belting out one of his tunes.
> 
> JD
> -----Original Message----- From: Kaiti Shelton via humanser
> Sent: Monday, March 23, 2015 11:55 AM
> To: humanser at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [humanser] Self-disclosure of blindness with a specific population
> 
> Hi, all,
> 
> I'm wondering if I could get some advice here.  I'm a music therapy
> student, working in an assisted living facility for one of my
> practicum courses.  The population I am specifically working with is
> residents on a memory support unit with mild-moderate Alzheimer's and
> dementia, although it is a locked unit.  This is the second time I've
> worked with some of these residents, and I'm very pleased with their
> progress and their responses to the music therapy.
> 
> Last year my supervisor advised me not to disclose information about
> my blindness, but this time the supervisor after talking to a blind
> music therapist agrees that it is important.  Especially since these
> residents can feel very vulnerable at times, disclosure can help with
> the therapeutic relationship-as I'm sure those of you who are
> practicing other human service fields know.
> 
> Some of the residents show glimpses of recognition from time to time,
> though I can't be certain that they really understand that I'm blind
> because of their confusion.  One resident, who was more mischevious,
> would move things on me and always told me not to run into stuff, so
> I'm pretty sure she knew.  Another resident who is a little more high
> functioning may know because until I greeted her with her name, to
> which she responded, "You've got it now," she would tell me her name.
> She recognized that I learned her voice and then stopped telling me
> her name every session.  One resident noticed my glasses had slid a
> little down my nose the other day and told me to push them up.  She
> started saying, "You should get some new glasses so you can see better
> (my lenses are quite scratched from trying to get close to read print
> things) and she said, "I'll be happy for you when you get new ones and
> can see a little better."
> 
> It's remarkable that some of these things have happened because some
> residents who have said things are quite confused most of the time.  I
> haven't felt right in self-disclosing to them yet.  There has always
> been something that happened in the session that made me hold back
> when I've thought, "This session might be good for self-disclosure."
> My partner in the class has also tried to facilitate opportunities for
> me to self-disclose in sessions she has planned, but it has just never
> felt right yet.
> 
> My supervisor agrees that I need to go when the time is right, but I
> don't know why it has taken this long.  I'm usually not uncomfortable
> telling complete strangers that I'm blind when I need help or want to
> ask a question, so why am I struggling here with these clients who may
> not even remember it later on?
> 
> Any tips or advice would be appreciated.  I'm using "Hit the Road,
> Jack" in my session on Tuesday and thought I could use Ray Charles as
> a gateway into the self-disclosure conversation, but I want to do it
> soon since we're terminating services at the end of the month.  My
> partner has already self-disclosed that she was a diver and that was a
> big part of her life before college, and that has resonated with a
> resident of our's who also dived as a teenager.  I know some of the
> residents have eye problems as well, so I'd like to make that
> connection if possible.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> -- 
> Kaiti
> 
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> JD Townsend LCSW
> Helping the light dependent to see.
> Daytona Beach, Earth, Sol System 
> 
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