Meet Megan, Part 3: A Brief History of My Journey

Now that I have shared with you a little about why I wanted to become a music therapist, this month I wanted to share my journey to this point. A brief history of Megan Dewing, MT-BC, if you will.

I started my music therapy journey and experiences at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. As I shared in my last post, I didn’t really know much about music therapy when I walked into Intro to Music Therapy on my second day of classes freshman year, 2009. Sitting in the room was a group of strangers, all of which I was sure knew more about music therapy then I did. I had never shadowed a music therapist (as some had) and I didn’t even know someone who knew a music therapist. To say I was nervous on that day is an understatement, but as I shared in my last post, the growing I did at Marywood really shaped who I am as a therapist, as cheesy as it sounds. Freshmen year I started going to clinical placements with members of that group, now not quite strangers anymore. It was not until sophomore year that we really started to lead sessions, and as I shared in last months post it was one of these placements that helped me to understand I picked the right major. As those four college years went by, those strangers in class became some of my best friends, supporters, and now colleagues in the profession.

When it came to think about internships in senior year, I will admit that I was a little behind the 8 ball. I knew where I wanted to apply, for the most part, but I was nervous about sending in my application. I was unsure exactly what I wanted to do for 6 months to continue my growth, but I did know I enjoyed worked with individuals with developmental disabilities and that I wanted to know more about working in rehab, so I applied to sites that fit those categories. One day, I received an email from my professor about an opportunity in Colorado working with mostly children with developmental disabilities that also integrated a form of music therapy called Neurologic Music Therapy (or NMT, for short). I had been very interested in this technique since we had talked about it in our senior music therapy class. I applied, not really expecting much to come from it. When I got a call for an interview and asking for a sample of my work, I was surprised and excited. When I got a call saying that I had gotten the internship, I was even more excited. Although it was hard to move so far away from my family and friends I learned a lot about myself, music therapy, and how to be an effective therapist during my time in Colorado. I would love one day to go to the NMT training in Colorado.

I wanted to share some of my history so you knew a little bit more about me. In college, I always thought my dream job would be working with children and adults with developmental disabilities, and I always saw myself at a day program as a staff music therapist. Not that I do not still love this population, but I realized that I enjoy working with just about everyone. What I love about my job now is that I am able to work with just about everyone. This has been great for me, being able to continue my growth and work toward new professional goals. I love that I also get to be part of the growth of Noteable Progressions and that it will be a big part of my now, not so brief, music therapy history.