MHTP Training Module #2

This past weekend (May 5-6) I attended Module 2 training at the UMKC School of Nursing in downtown Kansas City. It was fun to see my Module 1 classmates again. Funny how relaxed we all were this time ...

Our teacher was Mona Peck, president of the MHTP Board of Directors. Mona is from Westchester County in New York and is also my advisor. It was nice to meet her face-to-face after communicating only by phone or via email.

This module was very different than the first in that it was primarily experiential. If you read my previous post (Improvisation ... gulp), you will find it interesting to note that I had to face my fears head-on over the weekend. The first thing we did was sit in a circle and improvise for each other on our instruments. After silently feeling my brain implode and dealing with some faint nausea, I found that (much to my surprise) I am indeed capable of improvisation! It appears that the key was to have someone actually push me off that proverbial cliff.

Let's face it, I have a lot of conditioning to overcome. There were moments I could stand outside myself and see this "conditioning" as so completely useless in my life and wanted to just flick it away. Then I would be confronted by just how deep that reservoir is inside me. So, I will dip and toss ... one ladle of it at a time.

Then we spent much of the afternoon composing music in teams of three. After identifying the different moods that patients experience, our objective was to convey one of those moods in a composition. My team chose depression. A gentleman who plays Native American flute was in my group; with the haunting sounds of his flute, we were able to generate some beautiful sounds. None of us are composers (YET). It felt a bit like the blind leading the blind. At the same time, it was the most incredible learning experience. Again, it took having someone push us off that cliff.

I told you in my last post there would be screaming ... did you hear it?

Why convey moods in the music? One of the ways to connect to a patient while doing this work is to match their mood in the music they are playing. Let's say the individual is depressed or resigned. The CMP finds a song or improvises a melody/chord progression that matches how that person is feeling. It is then that the CMP can gradually change the feel of the music to raise that person's spirits a bit. Or the opposite is true in matching the mood of an agitated or angry person and gradually changing the feel of the music to something more peaceful and calming. The overarching goal is to bring peace and relaxation.

SIDE NOTE: For those of you in the KC area, you must try this great new deli on 28th & Holmes called You Say Tomato. Charming little place built inside an old corner grocery store. I had the best BLT I've ever eaten!

Another subject we tackled in class was that of modes. Modes are the scales which preceded modern-day major and minor keys. If you think of Renaissance music or Gregorian Chant, these are the sounds made by playing in a mode. MHTP focuses on modes because of the way they lend themselves to improvisation. You know, I studied modes in college music theory and never really got them. It was probably because the professor didn't give us a practical use for them -- they were this "idea" that we had to get our head around. Mona did a great job of making the whole subject quite user-friendly.

Personal reflection: I have an strong desire to pursue this type of training and work. However, there was never a guarantee that I would fit into or succeed in this program. After going through Module 2, I have more confidence that I'm in the right place. How things actually play out in terms of formal work after completing my internship ... well, who knows? But I'm ready to stay on the ride and see where things end up.

THANK YOU, once again, to all my friends and family who made this possible!