scholarly journals Humanistic Music Therapy in the Child Welfare

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingeborg Nebelung ◽  
Karette Stensæth

Music therapy has for a long time been associated with humanistic values, both among music therapists but more and more also among people outside the field. Do we all have a common understanding of what humanistic music therapy is? The point of departure in this paper is the development of a new Norwegian residential care unit for adolescents in child welfare services. Those responsible for this unit have included a music therapist, because they want to base the enterprise and its activities upon the values they associate with music therapy. This paper asks: What is “humanistic music therapy” and how might its perspectives correlate with the visions and ideas of the leaders of a child welfare institution? A literature review will assess the critical understanding of the concept of humanistic music therapy, in order to understand its unbiased and foundational values. Semi-structured interviews with the unit’s initiators will describe their visions and hopes for the development of the care unit with regard to humanistic music therapy. By correlating the findings from the literature review and the interviews, the paper describes aspects that might contribute to a common ground of understanding for the music therapist and the workers in the unit, which in turn might contribute to personal growth and health promotion among the adolescents and their community.

Author(s):  
Chantise J Hunt ◽  
Michael J Silverman

Abstract Music therapy can decrease illness- and treatment-related symptoms for adults in medical settings. In these environments, service users often decide to accept or decline music therapy after a brief introduction by the music therapist. As there is limited literature exploring the challenges related to these introductions, the purpose of this interpretivist study was to describe how music therapists introduce music therapy in the form of patient-preferred live music (MT-PPLM) in adult medical settings to augment the likelihood of patients accepting treatment. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine participants who had experience providing MT-PPLM in adult medical settings. In this exploratory interpretivist study, we used an inductive approach to thematic analysis and incorporated member-checking to augment trustworthiness and credibility of the results. We identified three themes (supported by eight subthemes depicted in parentheses): (A) Offer patient a unique interaction through verbal and nonverbal techniques (Provide opportunities for patient control; Engage patient through nonmedical dialogue; and Use affect and body language to convey a different demeanor); (B) Clarify expectations related to patient and session (Avoid the word “therapy”; Use the music to explain the intervention; and Mention clinical benefits to describe what the patient can expect from the session); and (C) Respond to patient’s verbal and nonverbal communication (Assess patient and adapt introduction; and Validate patient’s response). The findings offer introductory techniques for music therapists that may increase the likelihood of adults in medical settings accepting MT-PPLM. Implications for clinical practice, ethical considerations, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Wilhelm ◽  
Lindsey Wilhelm

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.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Murow

Music therapy in Mexico is only beginning. Though there is a lot of interest in what it is and on its effect on health and personal growth, there are also a lot of misconceptions about what it really is. I have encountered that one of the obstacles for the growth of music therapy in Mexico is what I call the myths about what it is. I am sure some of them are well known to my colleagues around the world: if you play a music tape the client gets well, or just get some percussion instruments and have the children play and you are doing music therapy. I think one of the worst misconceptions here is that some people believe there is no need for professional training and education to practice music therapy. Being a music therapist has been a real struggle not to mention trying to educate health and education professionals about music therapy, and that it is a real profession in other Countries! On the other hand, there are many musicians and health professionals who are very interested in music therapy and its use.


Author(s):  
Zoe Kalenderidis

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.


Author(s):  
Philippa Reid

Receiving a cancer diagnosis and undergoing the subsequent treatment challenges coping and equilibrium for children and adolescents and their families. This chapter describes how music therapists work with children, adolescents, and family members in cancer care contexts. A range of musical experiences can provide adjunct support to medical treatments to support coping, reduce distress, and provide comfort. The music therapist works as a member of the interdisciplinary team to provide opportunities fornormaland fun musical experiences to support the experience of hospitalization, as well as offering comfort and support for children in pain or distress. Research evidence supports the role of the music therapist in providing effective services with children and adolescents in cancer care.


Author(s):  
Daphne Rickson

Working in music with adolescents who experience disability to support their health and wellbeing involves creating opportunities for their emotional expression and successful interaction with others. Music is a resource that can highlight their capabilities, yet they might need the support of a music therapist to maximize the positive affordances that music can provide. In this chapter, two contrasting examples of music therapy work, with adolescents who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those who have intellectual disability, are offered to demonstrate how young people have engaged with music therapy group processes and in turn developed positive relationships and self-identities. Music making can be a motivating and enjoyable activity for adolescents with disabilities, and a powerful resource to support their personal growth, autonomy, and sense of wellbeing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle Chambers

Clinical Training Guide for the Student Music Therapist (2nd edition), written by Donna Polen, Carol Shultis, and Barbara Wheeler, is an updated resource book for student music therapists with various levels of training.  A multitude of resources, references, and personal and professional insights are organized into an easy-to-read layout and covers areas such as assessments, goals and objectives, documentation, planning and implementing music therapy experiences with groups and individuals, as well as encourages self-reflection and special considerations for the student music therapist and their supervisors.  This book is reviewed with a sociocultural lens.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Daphne Joan Rickson

<p>Music therapy school consultation is positioned to become a significant practice for music therapists. Historically, music therapy work with children who have special education needs in New Zealand has focused on those who attend special schools or units and, according to the published literature, seems to have taken place in clinic settings or withdrawal rooms. The current emphasis on inclusive education demands that music therapists consider other ways of working. Further, a paucity of music therapists and the geographic isolation of many students who attend their local schools suggest that the large majority of students who would benefit are unable to access music therapy services. The aims of the current study therefore were for a music therapist to empower members of special education teams to use music experiences which had been especially planned to assist children to meet individual developmental or academic goals, and to describe how the process was perceived, understood, used, and valued by participants. A further aim was to develop and trial a protocol for music therapists undertaking consultation work. Eight registered music therapists interviewed in stage one of the study, to aid the development of the initial protocol, had differing views and attitudes about consultation, and findings confirmed the need to clearly define the practice. The initial protocol was therefore fragile, based on limited understandings from sparse music therapy consultation literature and the author's previous experience of working with team members in isolated areas. In stage two, four consecutive case studies enabled the protocol to be trialled in the field and, using an action research approach, to be developed further. Accumulated learning outcomes led to the development of a music therapy school consultation protocol based on social learning theory which emphasises the interdependent relationships between the consultant's (music therapist), consultees' (identified team members), and clients' (students) behaviour, their internal personal factors, and environmental factors. The establishment of collaborative relationships, and an ecological assessment which is based on the theory that human development is influenced by environmental systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1989), are critical components of the protocol. Thus the music therapist spends a full week at each student's school. Findings demonstrate that interacting with team members as they went about their daily lives led to deeper understanding of their needs and in turn enabled pragmatic, accessible, and meaningful music activities and strategies to be successfully implemented. A 'clinical' music therapy session remains an important part of the protocol, but findings suggest its primary significance is in highlighting students' strengths so that team members develop fresh understandings and increasingly positive views of students that enhance their mutual relationships. Team members became more motivated, energised, self reflective, and able to support as well as challenge their students' development. They were thus able to continue to use, develop and evaluate their use of music strategies, after the music therapist left the field. Music therapists are currently unprepared for the triadic relationships and the emphasis on adult empowerment that is fundamental to consultation. The findings therefore have significant implications for music therapy practice and training. These implications, including areas for future research, are discussed herein.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Matsumura McKee

Power and privilege is often addressed in social work literature and is taught as a part of social work training in Canada. The purpose of this training is to enhance self-awareness and interpersonal skills, and to promote the practice of critical self-reflection. Critical self-reflection not only includes one's examination of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but also one's understanding of how these are shaped by personal history, social location, attitudes, and values related to diversity and difference (Mandell, 2007). Not all practices in the field of social work can be directly applied to music therapy practice. However, critical self-reflection as introduced in social work may be adapted for music therapists in realizing their own power and privilege in their work. This paper applies theoretical and conceptual ideas of power and privilege in music-centered music therapy practice through the author's personal critical reflection. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Kevin Kirkland ◽  
Shannon Nesbitt

While recording has traditionally been viewed as a practical, adjunctive role of the music therapist, here the authors examine the skillful use of recording devices and software as fertile ground for the development of therapeutic programs with tangible benefits for adult cli­ents in a concurrent disorders recovery setting. The integration and layering of musical composition with musical performance, digital technologies, and production, invite rich and engaging conversations about therapeutic goals, processes, and outcomes. Using methods of action research inquiry, the authors discuss how their interactions with clients through recording have yielded new insights into therapist roles and identities as well as expressions of music therapy. The case for therapy-oriented recording is outlined and a description of the authors’ research setting and data collection methods identified before a literature review on the use of recording in music therapy is provided. The authors then distinguish four types of therapeutic recording illustrated by case examples from work with clients. Their writing culminates with a discussion of challenges and benefits associated with therapeutic recording. The authors conclude that recording offers critical and rewarding yet often unrecognized opportunities for music therapists to be innovators in their field.


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