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

Wed Mar 25 03:16:36 UTC 2015

Hi, all,

Thank you so much for your thoughts.  I should clarify a few things
that I forgot to mention earlier.  I do use a cane, but as music
therapy does require me to use both hands most of the time for playing
instruments and working hands-on with the residents I do not walk
around with it in hand.  I do leave it unfolded and propped up against
the wall in the front of our room so that residents can see it, but
from what I can tell they don't seem to pick up on it or if they do
they feel that it would be an imposition to ask (some fel like they
need permission to play the instruments we give them in the sessions
and we have to frame our encouragement as a favor they would be doing
for us in order for them to feel like they would be useful to the
group.

My prof advised me to hold off early in practicum because a resident I
mentioned briefly in a previous email picked up on it and was doing
things like moving the stool I use in sessions when I wasn't using it,
and trying to wrap scarves we use in movement around my neck or
ankles.  I always did manage to move before she snagged me with a
scarf and never did sit down on thin air, but part of that was due to
my co-leader giving me warnings verbally or swooping in to move the
stool back if I was in the middle of leading something.  My fear was
that if I tripped or fell I might break an instrument or worse, fall
on one of the residents.  I understand some psychiatric issues are at
play there, but we didn't want to agrevate anything by going in depth
with the self-disclosure in that case.

I did self-disclose today, and was very satisfied with how it went.  I
led "Hit the Road, Jack," and the residents improvised with shakers.
At the end I asked if anyone knew anything about Ray Charles, and they
did not so I told them he was blind.  Once they recognized that I told
them how he used to mandate that he be payed only in one dollar bills
so he could make sure he wasn't being cheated out of money, which led
me to saying, "I'm blind too, but thankfully now there are methods for
handling money and other things that work better."  I also disclosed
that I used to be a music therapy client, which was not planned at all
but was right in the moment.

A music therapist who has been a mentor figure for me has suggested
that this could possibly make its way into a research study of music
therapists with disabilities and client perceptions.  After today I am
even more interested in this possibility.  I felt so much better at
the end of the session having done that, but I'm wondering if I should
talk with my supervisor about possibly doing it again so that some of
the residents might better understand it after hearing the information
a second time.

The good thing about this is that I'm learning in a practicum setting
so that I'll have this skill honed by the time I move on to
upper-level practicums, my internship after graduation, etc.  My
supervisor is not blind himself but he has been great about talking
through this stuff with me and seeking advice from a blind music
therapist at times.

On 3/24/15, jonathan alpert via humanser <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi, I have a bit of a different  opinion.
> A professor told me very early that people either can see that you have a
> visual impairment or can tell in some way and if not, they will find out at
> some point. So during your introduction, just briefly mention it. They may
> be a bit curious, or not. Then with that out of the way, there is no
> wondering or elephants in the room. With the hundreds of clients I have had
> in front of me, I only had one client that had an issue. He was very
> focused
> on it. I talked to my supervisor about the situation and agreed it would be
> best if someone else worked with the client. Besides that one, I have had
> many clients tell me that it's a positive because they see I have an
> "issue"
> and I can still do function well so they can too. It's very rewarding to
> hear that. A lot of times I find blindness to be an issue in the "real
> world" but in this field, with the clients, it's been a blessing.
>
> I close this by saying, do whatever you think will work for you.
> Best of Luck
> Jonathan
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of philip
> blackmer via humanser
> Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 3:10 PM
> To: JD Townsend; Human Services Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Self-disclosure of blindness with a specific
> population
>
> 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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-- 
Kaiti