scholarly journals The Sound of Lost Homes – Introducing the COVER Model – Theoretical Framework and Practical Insight into Music Therapy With Refugees and Asylum Seekers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Mallon ◽  
Monika Hoog Antink

Due to the difficult situation of refugees, working with this group is challenging. Yet, music therapy is a suitable method for early therapeutic intervention. The authors introduce the context-sensitive classification model for music therapeutic interventions with refugees—COVER model— which is based on practical music therapeutic experiences using a trauma-informed approach with refugees in Germany. The COVER model can serve as a guideline for music therapists who work with refugees in insecure circumstances. The COVER model applies music therapeutic interventions to the natural living environment of refugees and allows for early interventions which may be a crucial benefit to the psychological health of refugees and music therapists working in this area.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salih Gulbay

There are numerous young asylum seekers and unaccompanied migrant minors around the globe. A comprehensive literature review revealed that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common disorder that affects the asylum seeker youth and migrant minor populations. Many of these individuals struggle with PTSD and show resilience in their daily lives while also learning, discovering, and surviving. Accordingly, therapeutic interventions directed to them must be trauma-informed, phased, engaging, empowering, and impactful to support the needs of these young people. A seven-month-long music therapy intervention experience that was applied to young asylum seekers in Spain, and found that the most effective intervention tools were Hip Hop Therapy-related interventions. This study resulted in a new intervention model, The Integral Hip Hop Methodology. This paper highlights the importance that intervention models be engaging and considerate to the necessities and preferences of the addressed population and presents The Integral Hip Hop Methodology as an example.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Reid ◽  
Alex Kresovich

BACKGROUND Music therapy is a multifaceted discipline that harnesses the power of music to treat a wide range of patient populations. A therapist who plays music in a private room for a patient is not subject to copyright restrictions. However, in the wake up of the COVID-19 pandemic, music therapy is no longer strictly confined to the face-to-face setting. The present study explores music therapists’ perceptions of copyright law with respect to their ability to provide mediated services to their clients. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to investigate whether concerns about copyright law are hampering the diffusion of telehealth innovations or causing music therapists to deviate from preferred treatments. METHODS Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with credentialed music therapists in the United States between May and June of 2020, using video conference technology. Credentialed music therapists were recruited from a list of music therapists provided to the lead author by the American Music Therapy Association. The researchers used referrals from these initial interviewees’ networks and then recruited more interviewees via snowball sampling. Finally, some interviewees were recruited using contact information obtained using Internet searches for qualified participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. RESULTS The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of therapeutic interventions outside of private face-to-face environments: Environments where music therapy practices are largely shielded from copyright infringement concerns. Six main themes emerged, including therapists’ uncertainty about permissible uses of music and therapists’ erring on the side of caution causing lost opportunities for care. Our interview data suggests music therapists have altered therapeutic interventions in suboptimal ways to avoid copyright liability in a physically distanced environment. CONCLUSIONS Music therapists “drag their feet” on offering therapeutically appropriate activities to clients because of copyright concerns. Innovative mediated therapies are shied away from or abandoned. These findings offer a novel contribution to the public health literature by highlighting copyright law as an unexpected and unwelcomed barrier to the diffusion of music therapy practices in technologically-mediated settings.


Author(s):  
Jaap Orth

As music therapists now deal more often with traumatized refugees, and the demand for documentation, research, and a methodical description has grown, in this article I would like to make a contribution to the development of a methodology in music therapy with traumatized refugees. Various methods used by music therapists in trauma treatment will be described. An overview of the development of a set of methods at Phoenix, a highly specialized inpatient treatment facility for refugees and asylum seekers, will be presented and I will focus on four approaches I developed in my work with traumatized refugees.


Author(s):  
Annie Heiderscheit ◽  
Kathleen M Murphy

Abstract The 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that 9.5 million Americans aged 18 and older have been diagnosed with more than one mental disorder. Music therapists working in mental health treatment settings are likely to work with individuals who have a complex diagnosis defined here as 2 or more of the following: depression, eating disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, substance use disorder, and severe mental illness. Additionally, adverse childhood events or posttraumatic stress disorder often complicate the clinical profile. Given this, a trauma-informed approach to music therapy treatment is necessary to improve outcomes and minimize harm. The risks, contraindications, and ethical considerations necessary to effectively treat and care for these clients in music therapy will be reviewed. Methods of identifying, assessing, and treating these complex clinical issues in music therapy are discussed with the goal of helping clinicians understand: (1) where treatment needs to begin to ensure therapeutic goals addressing primary issues prior to addressing secondary issues and (2) the appropriate use of music therapy methods. The necessity for music therapists to understand the power of the music in the music therapy process is explored, to ensure that clinicians are meeting client needs, not triggering symptomatology, traumatic memories, or experiences. The importance of a clinician knowing their scope of practice, when they are adequately trained and prepared to work with clients with complex disorders, and how to utilize support such as consultation and supervision to support their effective treatment with client(s) is presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Andrew Rossetti

 AbstractThere are a myriad of sensory elements that contribute to the hospital sensory experience.Environmental Music Therapy is a human-centered, trauma informed strategy that encompasses a process using the metaphoric and associative properties of live music that seeks to modulate patients’ and staff’s perception of the hospital milieu as hostile. While there have been a few studies that have measured EMT’s actual impact quantifiably [1-5], this is the first article to outline the steps and provide orientation, theoretical grounding, and training guidelines for its actual implementation. It is hoped that EMT can be instituted in hospital ICUs as a viable, accessible practice for music therapists whereby its institution will address the sound environment, and perhaps most particularly in those ICUs that are extremely noisy or eerily quiet. Keywords:  Environmental Music Therapy, soundscape, soundtrack, ICU, milieu perception


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.


Author(s):  
Jonathon Oden

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.


Author(s):  
Lucia Kantorova ◽  
Jiří Kantor ◽  
Barbora Hořejší ◽  
Avi Gilboa ◽  
Zuzana Svobodova ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-210
Author(s):  
Amy Clements-Cortés ◽  
Melissa Mercadal-Brotons ◽  
Tereza Raquel Alcântara Silva ◽  
Shirlene Vianna Moreira

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.


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