scholarly journals Working With and Within Chaos

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Brenda Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Support Programme ◽  
Group Music Therapy ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Valuable Complement ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
First Time

The Support Programme for Abuse Reactive Children, was initiated by the Teddy Bear Clinic (an NPO established to protect abused children) in South Africa in response to the increase of child-on-child offenders in this country.  This short-term programme aims to offer holistic rehabilitation to first time young sex offenders and incorporates conventional diversion approaches alongside creative programmes, including group music therapy. Based on a review of my session notes, this paper considers challenges and positive developments I experienced over time as the programme’s music therapist from 2006 to 2016. Although I often experienced this work as chaotic, findings suggest that through co-creating a context-specific music therapy programme alongside group members, clinic staff and the broader community, music therapy has offered an increasingly relevant and valuable complement to the diversion programme. Continuing challenges within this work are also highlighted.

‘There is a good spot in my heart’: A story of a music therapy group that enables young sex offenders to reconnect with themselves, their stories, and their communities

2019 ◽  
pp. 197-206
Author(s):  
Helen Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Therapy Group ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Support Programme ◽  
Personal Stories ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Story Writing ◽  
Group Members

The South Africa-based ‘Support Programme for Abuse Reactive Children’ combines psycho-educational and cognitive behavioural diversion approaches with creative programmes, including music therapy, to offer holistic rehabilitation to young sex offenders. This chapter offers a case story describing key moments in the music therapy process for one group of young offenders. From my perspective as the music therapist, I consider how collaborative drumming enabled participants to experience belonging and acceptance and how musical story-writing and improvisation motivated group members to support and challenge one another as they took ownership of their personal stories. I further explore how the experience of creating and performing a group rap offered a means through which group members could reconnect with their home communities as adolescents with potential, hope for the future, and a willingness to take responsibility to make relevant changes in their lives.

scholarly journals Parents’ Perception of Family-Centered Music Therapy with Stable Preterm Infants

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12813
Author(s):  
Susann Kobus ◽  
Marlis Diezel ◽  
Britta Huening ◽  
Monia Vanessa Dewan ◽  
Ursula Felderhoff-Mueser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Premature Birth ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Live Music ◽  
Creative Music ◽  
First Time ◽  
Family Centered

Premature birth places considerable demands on preterm infants and their families. Most of these infants are treated on a neonatal intensive care unit immediately after birth, leading to psychosocial stress for parents and making it more difficult to build a stable parent-child bond. We hypothesized that accompaniment with live music therapy by a music therapist supports the parents to get in contact with their child and to promote the parents’ wellbeing. Preterm infants born at less than 32 gestational weeks received creative music therapy twice a week until discharge. At the time of discharge, the parents were asked to complete a Likert-style questionnaire to evaluate the music therapy. Six items related to socio-demographic characteristics, 4 items to observations on the infant and 10 items to personal perception. Of 40 preterm infants receiving music therapy, 32 (80%) parents completed the questionnaires. Thirty (94%) of these parents were able to relax during the music therapy session. Relaxation in their infants was observed by 29 (91%) during and by 28 (88%) after music therapy. Parents perceived music therapy as a positive change and enrichment during their infant’s hospital stay. All parents were thankful for the music therapy they received. Music therapy supports the parents of preterm infants in the first time after birth until discharge from the hospital.

scholarly journals ‘Journey to musicking’: Resourcing people to music outside the therapy room

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Katie Boom
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Therapy Room ◽  
Neurological Conditions

<p>This action research study investigates resourcing people to engage in musicking outside the therapy room. Both the practice and research took place within a residential hospital for people with neurological conditions, situated in Aotearoa New Zealand. Music-centred music therapy, community music therapy, resource-oriented music therapy and the ecological model of music influenced this research. Following three action cycles, the qualitative data collected throughout was thematically analysed. This analysis revealed a framework referred to as the ‘journey to musicking’, which identifies six resources people needed to engage in music: opportunity; motivation; confidence; skills; practical needs; and a problem-solving toolkit. The role of the music therapist in resourcing people in these areas is framed as the role of a tuakana, drawing on an indigenous Māori model predominantly used in education and mentoring programmes: ‘tuakana-teina’. ‘Tuakana-teina’ in this study is defined as a music therapist-participant relationship that is empowering, collaborative and inclusive of the possibility of reciprocity. The personal resources (kete) needed by the tuakana music therapist are also explored, while empowerment and sustainability are highlighted as foundational principles to resourcing people. These principles, especially empowerment, are linked to the Māori concept of restoring rangatiratanga. This research provides a rich qualitative account of practicing music therapy in an empowering, ecological way in Aotearoa New Zealand.</p>

An Investigation into Short-Term Music Therapy with Mothers and Young Children

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Oldfield ◽  
Malcolm Adams ◽  
Lucy Bunce
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Nursery School ◽  
Therapy Session ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
Group Music Therapy

This paper describes an outcome investigation into two clinical groups of mothers and young children receiving short-term music therapy. The first group was a closed group of mothers and toddlers receiving six-weekly music therapy sessions. The second group was an ongoing group of parents and babies receiving one music therapy session followed by a discussion of videotaped excerpts of this music therapy session a week later. As a point of comparison, a group of children and parents attending a local nursery school receiving six-weekly music sessions run by a music therapist was also investigated. Video analyses, audio analyses and parent's questionnaires were used to measure results. Comparing information collated from the questionnaires to results of the video analyses revealed that parents attending the clinical group viewed their children's behaviours in a less positive light than control group parents. The article is written from the music therapist's viewpoint. This group music therapy work is described and reflected upon in a more qualitative way in a previous article entitled ‘“Mummy can play too…” Short-term music therapy with mothers and young children’ published two years ago in the BJMT.

scholarly journals Community Music Therapy and Participatory Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
New Type ◽  
Participatory Performance ◽  
The Impact

This case study research explores the impact of a musical performance event—the Coffee House—held bi-annually at an adolescent mental health treatment facility in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Any client or staff member is welcomed to perform at this event, which is organized by the facility’s music therapist and framed here as an example of community music therapy. Drawing upon Turino’s (2008) ethnomusicological perspective on performance, I will argue that the Coffee House’s success within this context is due to its participatory ethos, wherein success is primarily defined by the act of participation. Here, performance takes place within an inclusive and supportive atmosphere in which participants can overcome anxiety, engage in the risk-taking of performance, and experience increased self-efficacy and confidence. This ethos also naturally affords a “levelling” of institutional relationship dynamics. Resonant with Aigen’s (2004) vision that “performances as community music therapy can forge a new type of art, one that creates meaning and invites participation” (p. 211), the Coffee House exemplifies the ways in which the values within participatory settings are indeed different and new in comparison to presentational settings that are the norm in Western society.

scholarly journals What Is the Role of A Student Music Therapist in a Community Music Setting?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sidharth Pagad
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Social Equality ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Group Behaviour ◽  
Audio Recordings

<p>This qualitative research project set out to explore my role as a student music therapist within a community music setting. I am a student music therapist, working with a community music company involved in a variety of community music groups and projects. I wanted to understand what I might offer the community music company by bringing a community music therapy perspective to the work.  The research involved an exploration into the literature relating to Community Music Therapy as well as Community Music and required me to regularly question the reasoning and philosophy behind Community Music Work. To answer my question I engaged in secondary analysis of data generated during the first 24 weeks at this community music placement. The data included session notes, audio recordings of supervision sessions, and my reflective journal.  The literature includes examples of collaboration between community music therapists and community musicians, and I sought to experience this at my placement. The hoped for collaboration did take place during the period of data collection, enabling detailed reflections of it. This exploration therefore helped me to develop as a community musician and music therapy student.  The practice was broad and involved regular transitions in role, often within the same session. These included participant, accompanist, song-leader, community music therapist, and drum circle facilitator. Findings suggest that Community Music and Community Music Therapy are disciplines with many similarities in appearance and structure, but tend to diverge when looking at goals and overall objectives and foci.  Social equality seems to be commonly shared value between Community Music and Community Music Therapy. The ways in which this value is acted upon is also explored.  Performance and Performativity as aspects of group behaviour was found to be mentioned in the literature, and again this was mentioned in the data collected as part of the researcher’s placement.</p>

scholarly journals What Is the Role of A Student Music Therapist in a Community Music Setting?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sidharth Pagad
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Social Equality ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Reflective Journal ◽  
Group Behaviour ◽  
Audio Recordings

<p>This qualitative research project set out to explore my role as a student music therapist within a community music setting. I am a student music therapist, working with a community music company involved in a variety of community music groups and projects. I wanted to understand what I might offer the community music company by bringing a community music therapy perspective to the work.  The research involved an exploration into the literature relating to Community Music Therapy as well as Community Music and required me to regularly question the reasoning and philosophy behind Community Music Work. To answer my question I engaged in secondary analysis of data generated during the first 24 weeks at this community music placement. The data included session notes, audio recordings of supervision sessions, and my reflective journal.  The literature includes examples of collaboration between community music therapists and community musicians, and I sought to experience this at my placement. The hoped for collaboration did take place during the period of data collection, enabling detailed reflections of it. This exploration therefore helped me to develop as a community musician and music therapy student.  The practice was broad and involved regular transitions in role, often within the same session. These included participant, accompanist, song-leader, community music therapist, and drum circle facilitator. Findings suggest that Community Music and Community Music Therapy are disciplines with many similarities in appearance and structure, but tend to diverge when looking at goals and overall objectives and foci.  Social equality seems to be commonly shared value between Community Music and Community Music Therapy. The ways in which this value is acted upon is also explored.  Performance and Performativity as aspects of group behaviour was found to be mentioned in the literature, and again this was mentioned in the data collected as part of the researcher’s placement.</p>

scholarly journals What Is the Experience of a Community Musician Who Is Also a Music Therapist?

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy O'Grady
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Music Therapist ◽  
Women In Prison ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

he notion of "community music therapy" has received much attention in recent years, provoking a variety of thought processes as to its definition and all that it encompasses. Amidst the "polyphony of voices" (Stige, 2003), the relationship between music and music therapy in community settings has been a point of discussion . I have decided to explore this issue through semi-structured in-depth interviews with both musicians and music therapists working in community settings within Australia. As this is a qualitative study, it is important for me to examine my own biases and to set them aside. One way to do this was to have my supervisor, Dr Katrina McFerran, interview me about my own work as a community musician with women in prison, questioning me about aims, methods, outcomes, roles and relationships with participants. In addition to helping me "bracket" my biases, it was a great way for me to put myself in the shoes of prospective research participants and re-learn that it can be hard to articulate oneself when under pressure, that a certain head-space is preferable in interviews, and that having someone to listen to my reflections can actually help me move forward in my own search for meaning. Transcribing the interview was also an interesting experience, as I was able to rethink my thinking. Now, the transcript is an interesting relic of what I once thought I thought! And yet it still highlights some interesting aspects of the research topic.

scholarly journals Music Therapy with Young People in Schools: After the Black Saturday Fires

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina McFerran ◽  
Kate Teggelove
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Song Writing ◽  
The Impact

The Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 resulted in the largest loss of life as the consequence of a natural disaster recorded in Australian history.  The community music therapy project described in this paper took place in a secondary school affected by the fires six months later.  Three groups of young men and women participated in ten weeks of music therapy groups where they were empowered to choose the content and focus of sessions.  Each young person had been impacted in some way by the fires and this was expressed either through improvisations, song writing or song sharing, resulting in a sense of relief.  Although it was important that other group members understood the impact of the bushfires, the young people were more inclined to focus on positive opportunities for growth within the groups and appreciated the fun and freedom of sessions.  They described how "musicing" opened a door for new experiences, both musically and personally, where they were able to more confidently express themselves once group cohesion had been established.  The relevance of community music therapy theory is considered in light of the emphasis on coping by the young people and compared to the implications of adopting a trauma orientation in the context of a natural disaster.

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