Five Ways Music Therapy is Like Soccer
I hope you enjoyed the World Cup as much as I have–it’s been full of moments that shed light on why “The Beautiful Game” is such a well-deserved description. While considering the multi-faceted nature of that beauty (the amalgamation of histories, skills, strategies, joy) I noticed a number of parallels with another endeavor I’ve come to know the beauty of. Here are five ways music therapy is like soccer.
The Vitality of Teamwork: The relationship of client and therapist is best understood as a team, each bringing unique expertise to the process. Success relies on one other’s trust, communication, and commitment in service of a shared goal. The therapist also coordinates with a broader care team when appropriate, marshalling the perspectives and assistance of the client’s family, staff, and case managers, whose efforts are more than the sum of our parts when running in the same direction.
Creative Improvisation: Soccer players and music therapists are constantly assessing the proper balance between executing a plan and reacting to the immediate situation. When something unexpected happens, we have to immediately decide whether to invest our efforts in molding the situation toward the planned direction, or adapting the plan to shift in a different direction for the moment.
Perspective Switching: Making wise choices in music therapy and soccer depend upon the ability to keep in mind multiple levels of perspective:
Big Picture: How do the past weeks and months inform the context of today? How will the events of today impact our progress toward long-term goals?
Game/Session: Where are we in the arc of today’s action? How can the present moment inform where our efforts should be placed to make today a success given the outcomes available?
Minute-by-minute: How can we make the most of this moment, treating it with the honor it deserves without judging it only in reference to future events? Soccer players must treat each pass as precious despite there being roughly 1,000 passes for each goal assisted!
Cultural Learning: The best soccer teams understand the value of diversity in experiences, skillsets, and methods of facing challenges, which build resilience and the conditions for innovative improvement. Music therapists are trained to understand and learn from the wealth of cultural ways of relating to music, so that we can utilize the most authentic form of therapy for a given client and goal.
High Effort, High Reward: Practicing music therapy and playing soccer are each exhausting (requiring intense mental preparation, short-term exertions of energy and the stamina for marathon-like days and seasons), but thankfully all of that effort is directly correlated to the reward of a job well done. Not every day ends the way you exactly hoped it would, but there’s no greater reward than seeing the fruits of our collective labor pay off as we celebrate the moments (in each level of perspective) where our clients, teams, and communities make progress in learning, connecting, and thriving.
