Finding Joy In The Journey: January 2014

It has been WAY too long since I updated my blog. A lot has happened in the last 4+ months since my last post!

To recap just a few...

I finished off the year with a move to OREGON!!!
I traveled to the Northeast to visit my good friend and now roommate, Marisa Johnson! We visited some great places in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts
I got a new road bike this summer and I had some pretty awesome long rides with Megan Ronnow :)
I worked 40-60 hours a week between West Ridge Academy and substitute teaching... it was quite hectic but I was able to save a lot of money for the big move!
I turned 25 years old... woot woot!
I am now a music therapy intern at Oregon State Hospital - one step closer to becoming a music therapist!

Well that is about everything in a nutshell. I am in a much better place in my life than I was when I last posted on this blog.
Life seems to do that... go up and down. I think the important thing to remember is that we have to CHOOSE to change our lives and CHOOSE to be happy, even if our situation does not lend itself to that. I feel at peace with my decision to move and do my internship here in Oregon and I am excited to see what this opportunity will bring to my life, and what I can give!

I am almost done with my first month of internship already! After an extremely long orientation, I am finally attending groups for observation and learning all about my role and responsibility as an intern. This internship is very self-directed and I am really looking forward to exploring my areas of passion within music therapy with this population. Speaking of population...
Here's just a little about the type of patients that I work with here at the Oregon State Hospital:

Civil committed patients who come to the OSH to receive further treatment for their mental illness. They are not able to receive the help that they need within the community and are here to gain the skills necessary to be successful when they go home.

.370 patients - These are patients who have been accused of a crime and have been found unable to aid and assist in their own defense because of their unstable mental illness. They will receive therapy here and services to help them become stabilized and gain legal skills to prepare for their trial.

GEI/PSRB (Guilty Except for Insanity, Psychiatric Security Review Board) - Patients who have been found guilty of a crime who fall under the jurisdiction of the PSRB. They must serve out their conviction time along with receiving services for their mental illness.

It is a very interesting experience, working with the patients here at the hospital. It makes me sad to see some of them here, but at the same time I have hope for their recovery and safety.

My schedule is pretty similar everyday - Get to work by 7:30am, morning meetings, treatment groups from 9-11, more meetings and work stuff from 11-1, more treatment groups from 1-3, and then I wrap up everything and leave at 4:00! Along with attending and observing treatment groups, I attend staff and interdisciplinary team meetings, journal, write notes about how each patient is doing in treatment, and just find my way in this large facility haha. I have tried to learn as much as I can in this short training period so that I can hit the ground running when it comes time to lead my own groups in a few weeks!

Life outside of my internship has been really great! I am beginning to train for some upcoming races this spring. I am able to run when I get home before it gets dark. It is so nice to get outside and take that time to clear my head. I attend a YSA ward in the area and there are a lot of great people here! I am becoming better friends with them each time we get together. I live about 10 minutes away from the church as well as the Portland Temple. I am living with Marisa Johnson, a friend from the USU music therapy program. She is doing her internship with Earthtones Music Therapy in Portland. We have somewhat similar schedules so it is nice to be able to go out and do things together. Living together is going well and we are able to talk about the awesome music therapy things we get to do each day. Having such a close friend is such a blessing to me right now.

Well, that is about all I have to say for this post! Hopefully I'll be updating you more frequently as my internship unfolds.

I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and Savior for leading and guiding me to this place in my life.

I am learning so much and growing everyday. Until next time...