Talking about Music Therapy

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Ansdell
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Art Therapy ◽  
Clinical Data ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Meta Theory

This paper is designed as an introduction to a projected series on aspects of the meta-theory of music therapy. In common with pyschoanalysis (Mitchell 1993) and art therapy (Henzell 1995), music therapy inquiry is seeing an evolving reflexive trend which examines in several ways the nature of theory in the discipline — in order to clarify, contextualise and critically evaluate past and current trends (Aldridge 1990, 1993b; Aigen 1991, 1995; Ruud 1988). In the case of music therapy, meta-theory typically seeks to uncover the relationships between three domains: what music therapists do (praxis); what they say (discourse); and what they know (epistemology). This paper takes discourse as the starting-point and makes an introductory study of the nature of talking about music therapy. It centres its investigation on a simple qualitative-style experiment in which a group of listeners (of varying musical and music therapy experience) identify and describe a taped excerpt of music therapy. The results of this experiment are used to form the basis of a discussion about several commonly expressed ‘language problems’ in music therapy: the need for a ‘common language’; the verification of clinical data; describing musical behaviour and the boundary between description and interpretation.

Telehealth music therapy for persons with dementia and/or caregivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-210
Author(s):  
Amy Clements-Cortés ◽  
Melissa Mercadal-Brotons ◽  
Tereza Raquel Alcântara Silva ◽  
Shirlene Vianna Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
And Training ◽  
Practical Recommendations

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed many restrictions on social interaction. Although these restrictions are challenging for everyone, they are particularly difficult for older adults who are often isolated. While telehealth has been around for a number of years, it had not been practiced to any great extent by music therapists until COVID-19. Telehealth will continue to prove valuable even when the pandemic ends, and as a result, it is timely to assess the benefits and recommendations for best practices. This paper provides a starting point of reflection for telehealth for persons with dementia, offering practical recommendations and implications for planning and training.

Are UK music therapists talking past each other? A critical discourse analysis of three book reviews

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
Donald Wetherick
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Shared Practice ◽  
Rich Material ◽  
Meta Theory

Ansdell’s ‘Winds of Change’ paper articulated a distinction in UK music therapy between established ‘consensus’ practice drawing on psychotherapeutic principles and developing or previously hidden ‘community music therapy’ practices based on ecological or social-psychological principles. Writing that addresses different theoretical positions in music therapy (meta-theory) exists from European and American perspectives but far less from a UK perspective. This article considers the view that UK music therapy writing in general has continued along one or other of these paths and that there has been relatively little exchange between them; indeed, that UK music therapists tend to ‘talk past each other’. To explore the matter systematically, this article takes a critical discourse analysis approach to analysing three recent music therapy book reviews. Critical discourse analysis was chosen to identify underlying assumptions (‘ideologies’) that shape thinking and practice, as revealed by language use. Book reviews were identified as texts where reviewers typically engage with authors from different perspectives and in doing so offer potentially rich material for such analysis. The analysis identifies ways in which UK music therapy writing shows signs of stress across a divide between ecological and psychodynamic approaches, with reviewers going to some lengths to reconnect these different positions and so unify a discourse within which ‘fault-lines’ are present. It is suggested that, in the United Kingdom at least, ecological and psychodynamic music therapy writing are becoming more separated as discourses, with a lack of integrated meta-theoretical discussion or examples of shared practice. This inhibits coherent development of the discipline and the effective training of future practitioners. A case is made for greater integration in music therapy writing through both developments in meta-theory and by practitioners sharing examples of cross-theoretical practice.

The Ukrainian language: origin, developmentand present-day situation

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
Olesja Sydorenko ◽  
Lubov Matsko
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Language Origin ◽  
Slavic Languages ◽  
Excellent Opportunity ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Language Problems

The article highlights the milestones in the development of the Ukrainian language and discusses the current trends observed mainly in the lexical sub-system as one of the first to reflect social, economic, and political changes in the life of any society. We also present main distinctives features of Ukrainian as one of the Slavic languages and discuss selected aspects of the sociolinguistic situation in Ukraine, as well as the language problems of the Ukrainian diaspora that tries to find a balance between adaptation, blending in the environment and preserving one’s identity. The study of changes in the lexical sub-system of Ukrainian from the break of the Soviet Union to the present day gives an excellent opportunity to reveal the influence of extralinguistic factors, such as the emergence of new realities and certain looseness of speech caused by a sense of freedom in the new society on the enrichment of the general vocabulary with revived words, borrowings, and derivatives, significant changes in onomastics in connection with decommunization.

Ethical Issues in Private Practice: A Phenomenological Investigation of Music Therapy Business Owners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Wilhelm ◽  
Lindsey Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Music Therapists

Abstract As a music therapy private practice is both a business and a healthcare service, it should adhere to ethical standards from both disciplines. However, this topic has rarely been examined in the music therapy literature. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore ethical dilemmas experienced by music therapy business owners (MTBOs) in their private practice and how MTBOs avoid or address ethical dilemmas. Utilizing convenience and snowball sampling techniques, 21 MTBOs in the United States were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. To answer the two areas of inquiry, we identified three themes and 12 subthemes: (1) Ethical issues related to client welfare, (2) Ethical issues related to business relationships and operation, and (3) Strategies to address or avoid ethical dilemmas. MTBOs also shared how they ensure ethical behavior in themselves, with their employees or independent contractors, and when interacting with professionals outside the private practice. These findings provide a better understanding of MTBOs’ lived experiences of ethics in their private practice and may benefit other music therapists who are in private practice or are wanting to go into private practice. Limitations and recommendations for further research are provided.

A Descriptive Analysis of Music Therapy Employment from 2013 to 2019

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon Oden
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
American Music ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Therapy Services

Abstract The purpose of this study was to descriptively analyze music therapy employment data from 2013 to 2019, including years in the field, gender, age, ethnicity, hours worked, jobs created, number of new board-certified music therapists (MT-BCs), funding sources, and wages. A database was created to analyze descriptive data from the 2013–2019 American Music Therapy Association Workforce Analysis Surveys as well as data from the Certification Board for Music Therapists. Results indicate a large portion of music therapists (MTs) have been in the field for five years or less. Though the majority of MTs work full time, there is a high rate of part-time employment. An estimate of the total number of new full-time jobs represented a ratio of 57% of new MT-BCs during the period. Private pay was the most reported funding source for music therapy services. Music therapy wages tended to be higher for those with higher levels of education. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are provided.

scholarly journals Adaptation of Music Therapists’ Practice to the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Going Virtual: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5138
Author(s):  
Lucia Kantorova ◽  
Jiří Kantor ◽  
Barbora Hořejší ◽  
Avi Gilboa ◽  
Zuzana Svobodova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Residential Home ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Therapeutic Goals ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Online Music ◽  
The Hours ◽  
Online Therapies

Background: In the midst of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, music therapists previously not involved in telehealth had to develop effective remote forms of music therapy. The objective of this review was to systematically explore how music therapists previously working in-person adapted to the transfer to remote forms of therapy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. Methods: We searched Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL, Medline, ProQuest Central, PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and PsyARTICLES, grey literature (to October 2020), and websites of professional organizations. We followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Results: Out of the 194 screened texts, we included ten very heterogeneous articles with an overall very low quality. Most texts described remote therapy in the form of synchronous video calls using the Internet, one paper described a concert in a patio of a residential home. We report the authors’ experience with the adaptation and activities, challenges and benefits of remote forms of therapy, recommendations of organizations, and examples and tips for online therapies. Conclusions: Music therapists have adapted the musical instruments, the hours, the technology used, the therapeutic goals, the way they prepared their clients for sessions, and other aspects. They needed to be more flexible, consult with colleagues more often, and mind the client-therapist relationship’s boundaries. It seems, when taken as a necessary short-term measure, online music therapy works sufficiently well. The majority of papers stated that benefits outweighed the challenges, although many benefits were directly linked with the pandemic context.

Reopening the Conversation Between Music Psychology and Music Therapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Emily Carlson ◽  
Ian Cross
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Music Psychology ◽  
Analysis Of Results ◽  
Common Interests

Although the fields of music psychology and music therapy share many common interests, research collaboration between the two fields is still somewhat rare. Previous work has identified that disciplinary identities and attitudes towards those in other disciplines are challenges to effective interdisciplinary research. The current study explores such attitudes in music therapy and music psychology. A sample of 123 music therapists and music psychologists answered an online survey regarding their attitudes towards potential interdisciplinary work between the two fields. Analysis of results suggested that participants’ judgements of the attitudes of members of the other discipline were not always accurate. Music therapists indicated a high degree of interest in interdisciplinary research, although in free text answers, both music psychologists and music therapists frequently characterized music therapists as disinterested in science. Music therapists reported seeing significantly greater relevance of music psychology to their own work than did music psychologists of music therapists. Participants’ attitudes were modestly related to their reported personality traits and held values. Results overall indicated interest in, and positive expectations of, interdisciplinary attitudes in both groups, and should be explored in future research.

Telehealth Music Therapy Services in the United States With Older Adults: A Descriptive Study

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Wilhelm ◽  
Kyle Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Therapy Services ◽  
Therapy Sessions

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many music therapists in the United States turned to telehealth music therapy sessions as a strategy to continue services with older adults. However, the nature and perception of telehealth music therapy services for this age group are unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe music therapy telehealth practices with older adults in the United States including information related to session implementation, strengths and challenges, and adaptations to clinical practice. Of the 110 participants in the United States who responded to the survey (25.2% response rate), 69 reported implementing telehealth music therapy services with older adults and responded to a 32-item survey. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. Results indicated that while all participants had provided telehealth music therapy for no more than 6 months, their experiences with telehealth varied. Based on participant responses, telehealth session structure, strengths, challenges, and implemented changes are presented. Overall, 48% of music therapists reported that they planned to continue telehealth music therapy with older adults once pandemic restrictions are lifted. Further study on the quality, suitability, and acceptability of telehealth services with older adults is recommended.

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