Yes, I'm now officially a Dancing Fool

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Specializes in Quality Management.

Midway through my second-year Geri-Psych rotation, we had Group Movement Therapy on the floor this morning. It's a dance-therapy class usually with patients confined to their chairs, though the OT tries to get the elderly patients on their feet.

Today the therapist put on Aretha Franklin and I started out my typical "white dude can't dance" self. But somewhere in the process I lost my inhibitions and suddenly started shakin' my stuff like I knew what I was doing. This was music from my childhood in the 1960's. Seriously, I hadn't danced with women like this since my senior prom.

You should have seen the patients cut loose! Even the therapist said it was the best Group ever. The patients, students, and staff were all laughing and singing and most of the reclusive patients stayed on after Group chatting in the dayroom until the lunch trays arrived. Very unusual.

As a child I once heard an evangelical tent preacher cry out, "I'm a fool for Jesus! Whose fool are you?" I now have the answer: I'm a fool for psych patients. I'm still euphoric when I think about it.

PS: I suppose the punchline is that I was listening to my iPod yesterday before class started to clear my head for the exam. What I didn't know is that it was turned up so loud everyone in the class could hear it too, even the teacher. Guess what was playing? "Dancing Queen" from the Mamma Mia soundtrack.