scholarly journals Reflections on Change in Arts-based Research: The experience of two music therapists

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Melissa Seabrook ◽  
Carolyn Arnason
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Creative Writing ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Arts Based Research ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Musical Excerpts

The process of engaging in arts-based research is unique; it draws upon the creative essence of the researcher to work with artistic forms which carry intangible information that is perhaps unknowable by other means.  In this process, the researcher is engaged wholly; all faculties of the person are drawn into the artistic world.  This article explores the experiences of two music therapists conducting arts-based research studies, weaving together distinct narratives with common themes.  The reader is taken along the journey of two separate music therapy research projects: one whose participants are a group of music therapists, one whose participant is a child living with mental health challenges.  Thinking retrospectively, the researchers discuss links between their personal artistry and the arts-based research process, exploring issues such as trust, creativity, and the credibility of information carried in artistic media.  Visual art, musical excerpts and creative writing are included.  By exploring the professional and personal journeys as music therapists in the arts-based research process we highlight the strengths and challenges of this approach that shaped our studies and gave light to emergent understandings through the arts.

scholarly journals The great reveal: The experiences of a Registered Music Therapist with a disability: an arts-based research project

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Kalenderidis
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Arts Based Research ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Diverse Workforce ◽  
Intersecting Identities ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Accessible Format

Disability is a human phenomenon experienced not by a small minority but a large percentage of our global population.  Disability is encountered by people of all ethnicities, religions, genders (and non-conforming), sexualities, socio-economic backgrounds, and ages.  Recent music therapy literature has advocated for a diverse workforce and others describe the value in music therapists adopting an intersectional lens, which considers the interconnectedness of social and political identities. However, there is limited dialogue featuring lived experiences of music therapists of underrepresented identities, such as disability.  This research sought to canvass the experiences of Australian Registered Music Therapists who identify as having a disability and to explore how their disability may impact or inform their practice.  One Australian Registered Music Therapist (RMT) who identified as disabled was interviewed.  The student-researcher engaged with arts-based research through music composition to allow an embodied analysis and to present results in an accessible format.  Several themes were revealed, including; hidden disability, disclosure of disability, alliance, positive transference, visibility, and identity.  These findings demonstrate the importance of lived experiences in the music therapy community and calls to amplify diverse voices of those with disabilities and other intersecting identities within our profession. Acknowledging the work of disabled music therapists may further challenge ableist attitudes in our society and provide options to participants who might prefer to work with therapists who have relevant lived experience.

Diana Asbridge — Interviewed by Mary Simmons

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-70
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vice Chair ◽  
State Registration ◽  
Established Role

Diana Asbridge has been APMT Administrator for the past 16 years, and plans to retire in the autumn of 2003. Here she looks back on those years, remembering how the Association has grown from a small group of music therapists struggling to achieve recognition for their profession to its present-day strongly established role working for music therapists. Mary Simmons works freelance within music therapy with both the young and the elderly, with special interest in acute mental health. She is a past APMT Chair, at the time overseeing state registration and the advent of CPD. She is currently Vice-Chair of the BSMT and a member of APMT's Advisory Council.

scholarly journals Preferences for group arts therapies: a cross-sectional survey of mental health patients and the general population

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e051173
Author(s):  
Emma Millard ◽  
Emma Medlicott ◽  
Jessica Cardona ◽  
Stefan Priebe ◽  
Catherine Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
General Population ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Art Therapy ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Mental Health Patients

ObjectivesThe arts therapies include music therapy, dance movement therapy, art therapy and dramatherapy. Preferences for art forms may play an important role in engagement with treatment. This survey was an initial exploration of who is interested in group arts therapies, what they would choose and why.DesignAn online cross-sectional survey of demographics, interest in and preferences for the arts therapies was designed in collaboration with patients. The survey took 10 min to complete, including informed consent and 14 main questions. Summary statistics, multinomial logistic regression and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data.SettingThirteen National Health Service mental health trusts in the UK asked mental health patients and members of the general population to participate.ParticipantsA total of 1541 participants completed the survey; 685 mental health patients and 856 members of the general population. All participants were over 18 years old, had capacity to give informed consent and sufficient understanding of English. Mental health patients had to be using secondary mental health services.ResultsApproximately 60% of participants would be interested in taking part in group arts therapies. Music therapy was the most frequent choice among mental health patients (41%) and art therapy was the most frequent choice in the general population (43%). Past experience of arts therapies was the most important predictor of preference for that same modality. Expectations of enjoyment, helpfulness, feeling capable, impact on mood and social interaction were most often reported as reasons for preferring one form of arts therapy.ConclusionsLarge proportions of the participants expressed an interest in group arts therapies. This may justify the wide provision of arts therapies and the offer of more than one modality to interested patients. It also highlights key considerations for assessment of preferences in the arts therapies as part of shared decision-making.

scholarly journals Report of the 5th International Symposium for Qualitative Music Therapy Research International Music Therapy Institute Universität der Künste, Berlin

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
International Symposium ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
The Arts

The 5th International Symposium for Qualitative Music Therapy Research of the International Music Therapy Institute of the UdK was held from April 21-26, this year. A group of 23 music therapists from ten different countries met at Gutshof Sauen, in the Brandenberg region. Gutshof Sauen is owned by the UdK and other Berlin colleges of the arts and has been specifically established for use by such meetings.

scholarly journals The Significance of Qualitative Research – Arts-based Research in Special Needs Education and Music Therapy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Knapik-Szweda
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Therapy Process ◽  
Arts Based Research ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Special Needs Education

One of the functions of art is understanding an individual and his or her potential. Art provides an individual with proper conditions and gives new opportunities to function regardless of one’s age and disability. The purpose of this article is to get the reader acquainted with the significance of qualitative research especially in the context of arts-based research in special needs education and music therapy. In theoretical part, the authoress will attempt to answer the question of what benefits this research method brings and why it is useful. What is to be described at the beginning quite extensively is the situation of research in special education and music therapy as a scientific discipline. This presentation will smoothly lead the reader to the essence of article, i.e. the arts-based research method. The definitions of arts-based research will be presented together with differences resulting from defining the notions connected with art. Examples will also be provided of research based on art resulting from the combination of two disciplines such as special needs education and music therapy. Moreover, the authoress will demonstrate her own research based on art with the application of music which emphasizes the significance of changes that occur within the music therapy process. Finally, the arguments which emphasize the significance of artsbased research will be mentioned.

scholarly journals Creating an Apprenticeship Music Therapy Model Through Arts-Based Research

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guylaine Vaillancourt
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Group Supervision ◽  
New Music ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Arts Based Research ◽  
Therapy Model ◽  
Apprenticeship Model

Newly graduated music therapists often feel isolated within their practices. They leave the university’s structured educational environment to be on their own. Some of them miss the time they were improvising together, supporting each other, and sharing their struggles and successes through classes and group supervision. This paper addresses some of these issues by proposing an apprenticeship model using arts-based research to support new music therapists entering the profession. This study reinforces the importance of mentoring apprentice music therapists to assure that the next generation will feel confident and well-prepared to enter into and develop the field. A group of five music therapy interns and I participated in a co-researcher group using phenomenological arts-based research (ABR) and participatory action research (PAR) in order to explore principles and foundations for a future apprenticeship model. The findings show that an immediate need of apprentice music therapists in their direct experiences and lifeworlds is to identify support for their work through meaningful, trusting relationships among peers and with mentors.

Identification with arts-based groups improves mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health conditions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elyse Williams ◽  
Genevieve Dingle ◽  
Jolanda Jetten ◽  
Christian Rowan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Creative Writing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Group Identification ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Writing Group ◽  
The Arts

People experiencing chronic mental health conditions often report feeling socially marginalised. There is emerging evidence that social and mental wellbeing can be enhanced through arts-based programs. In this paper, a social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may improve mental health in a longitudinal study. A one-year prospective study of 34 choir members and 25 creative writing group members (Mage = 46, 51% female) with chronic mental health conditions, involved three assessments of participants’ group identification and mental wellbeing, measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. The programs were community-based and facilitated by arts professionals. Multilevel modelling analyses demonstrated that participants’ mental wellbeing significantly improved over time. Greater identification with their arts based group was significantly related to an increased rate of improvement in mental wellbeing. The trajectory of improvement in mental wellbeing did not differ between participants partaking in the choir or creative writing group. This study demonstrates that participation in arts-based groups can be effective in improving mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health problems, particularly for those who strongly identify with the group. This study supports arts-based group participation as an accessible component of mental health services.

scholarly journals Difference-attuned witnessing: Risks and potentialities of arts-based research

2020 ◽  
pp. 095935352095514
Author(s):  
Carla Rice ◽  
Katie Cook ◽  
K. Alysse Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Arts Based Research ◽  
Bearing Witness ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Barriers To Healthcare ◽  
Multi Media ◽  
Process Oriented

In this paper, we interrogate notions of affect, vulnerability and difference-attuned empathy, and how they relate to bearing witness across difference—specifically, connecting through creativity, experiencing the risks and rewards of vulnerability, and witnessing the expression of difficult emotions and the recounting of affect-imbued events within an arts-based process called digital/multi-media storytelling (DST). Data for this paper consists of 63 process-oriented interviews conducted before and after participants engaged with DST in a research project focused on interrogating negative concepts of disability that create barriers to healthcare. These retrospective reflections on DST coalesce around experiences of vulnerability, relationality, and the risks associated with witnessing one’s own and others’ selective disclosures of difficult emotions and affect-laden aspects of experiences of difference. Through analysing findings from our process-oriented interviews, we offer a framework for understanding witnessing as a necessarily affective, difference-attuned act that carries both risk and transformative potential. Our analysis draws on feminist Indigenous (Maracle), Black (Nash) and affect (Ahmed) theories to frame emerging concepts of affective witnessing across difference, difference-attuned empathy, and asymmetrical vulnerability within the arts-based research process.

Playing With Chaos: Broadening Possibilities for How Music Therapist’s Consider Chaos in Group Work With Young People

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Oosthuizen ◽  
Katrina McFerran
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
South African ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Group Process ◽  
Therapy Group ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
The Arts ◽  
African Context

Abstract Many music therapists have alluded to challenges in their work with groups of young people. However, chaos, incorporating experiences of disintegration and destruction, is a construct often overlooked in music therapy literature. Some music therapy authors have related experiences of chaos to the struggles faced by young people referred for therapy. These experiences require management, modification, or resolution. The authors of this article synthesized broader understandings and approaches towards chaos described in literature from fields including music therapy group work, drama therapy, the arts, psychoanalysis, organizational studies, and philosophy. Chaos is positioned as an inherent and necessary aspect of music therapy groups with young people, situated within a mutually potentiating relationship with more ordered features of a group process. From this paradoxical perspective, therapeutic transformation is enabled through creativity that holds the tension between order and the destructiveness of chaos. When chaos is welcomed in music therapy groups and framed within appropriate boundaries, the authors argue that experiences of chaos can be harnessed to support engagement with the paradoxes of creativity and destructiveness. The provision of a space to play with chaos supports young people who are required to flourish within adverse, chaotic life circumstances. The significance of this position for a group of young people who have committed offences in the South African context is highlighted.

Music Therapy References Relating to Cancer and Palliative Care

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Aldridge
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Support System ◽  
World Health ◽  
Creative Arts ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Family ◽  
Life Threatening

Hospitals and clinics worldwide have incorporated music therapy in their work with cancer patients and in palliative care. As the music therapy profession has developed internationally, so has its role in palliative care. The arts and creative arts therapies are being seen as a form of spiritual care in healthcare settings, particularly where individuals are confronting life-threatening illnesses. By offering opportunities to engage in the arts and develop creative expression, people with cancer can be enabled to mourn, grieve, celebrate life, be empowered to endure their situation, and find healing and meaning. In many studies we find that music therapy is not simply used with the identified patients but also with their families and carers. As well as noting the importance of work with patients and their families, music therapists also emphasise the importance of music for their own healing. This is necessary to meet personal needs when working with the dying and in the context of a broader hospital milieu of colleagues and friends. The World Health Organisation's recommendations for cancer relief and palliative care are to affirm life and regard dying as a normal process, to provide relief from pain and distressing symptoms, to integrate the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care, to offer a support system to help patients as actively as possible until death, and to offer a support system to help the family cope during the illness and in their own bereavement. Music therapy has the potential to meet all of these recommendations.

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