The Relationship between Kitwood's Model of Needs and a Student's Music Therapy Practice in an Acute Assessment Unit for People Living with Dementia and Mental Health Issues

<p>This study focused on reviewing a student's music therapy practice at an acute assessment unit for people living with dementia and mental health issues, finding links between the placement philosophy, and new ideas about practice. Kitwood's (1997) book on personhood and the needs of people who are living with dementia and other mental health issues appeared to resonate with the student music therapists' practice. This was supported by the active use of his model of needs by nursing staff at the placement. Investigations looked specifically at Kitwood's model of needs; how music therapy links with his philosophy and how interventions during practice connected to those needs. The data was draw from descriptive clinical notes using secondary analysis. The rich qualitative data was analysed using deductive and inductive methods. Findings are presented under Kitwood's model of needs, forming the five categories for the study. The main themes within these categories were then summarised and explanations given under both Kitwood's model of needs and music therapy interventions used to meet them. Though the findings are qualitative, specific to this study and not necessarily generalisable, several links within music therapy practice, and nursing practice revealed the importance and need for more person-centred individualised care programmes for patients in mental health settings.</p>

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Promoting Self-Determination: Collaboration Between Special Education Teachers and Music Therapists

Self-determination consists of essential skills for students with disabilities because it gives individuals the power to make decisions based on their own needs and desires. Self-determination includes areas such as choice-making, goal setting, and self-directed learning. Music therapy is a service that can be used to enhance self-determination for students within the educational setting. Through intentional collaboration, music therapists and special educators can bring together their expertise to promote self-determination in students with disabilities. As members of students’ Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs), both professionals are working towards the common interest of fulfilling individuals’ goals and needs. The authors of this manuscript outline and describe a three-step process for collaboration between music therapists and special educators to promote self-determination among students while also providing a vignette to demonstrate this practice.

PREFERENCES FOR VIRTUAL MUSIC THERAPY AND THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE PRACTICE OF CZECH MUSIC THERAPISTS – A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

The preventive restrictions imposed at the beginning of March 2020 led to the interruption of the therapeutic practice of most music therapists in the Czech Republic. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to find out what impact this situation had on the music therapy community at the end of May 2020, how many music therapists gained experience with virtual music therapy (VMT) and how ICT and other technologies were used in music therapy practice. A survey with an extended version of a questionnaire created by Gilboa, Weiss and Dassa (not yet published) for the purpose of an international survey in music therapy was used for data collection. Based on the findings, most music therapists at the time had no experience with VMT, but a small number of practitioners were interested in using VMT even after the end of the lockdown. ICT has been used more for receptive music therapy activities and its wider application faces problems such as a lack of knowledge and skills in the use of ICT in the context of music therapy. Based on these findings, a project focused on the implementation of best-evidence concerning VMT into Czech music therapy practice was launched. Also, we recommend creating projects focused on the use of ICT (including applications in music therapy conducted face-to-face) in the near future.

Psychological and Neural Differences of Music Processing in Autistic Individuals: A Scoping Review

Despite abundant research and clinical evidence of the effectiveness of music interventions for people in the autism spectrum, understanding of music processing in this community is limited. We explored whether research evidence of differences in music processing within the autistic community is available. We developed a scoping review to search for literature with the terms “music”, “processing,” and “autism” (and variants). We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, and Music Index databases for a total of 10,857 articles, with 5,236 duplicates. The remaining 5,621 titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility by a team of four undergraduate and graduate students and the PI. Seventy-five studies were included for data extraction. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics regarding author, study, stimulus, and participant information, and a thematic analysis of outcome and findings. Our findings are preliminary given the emerging nature of the literature, the use of mostly non-musical auditory stimuli, passive listening experiences, and underreported demographics. However, the literature shows some evidence of differences in music processing for autistic individuals, including reduced habituation to non-musical and musical stimuli; truncated, delayed, or divergent developmental trajectories; and possible compensatory higher-order mechanisms that yield similar behavioral responses even in the presence of divergent neural correlates. Music therapists are encouraged to adopt a developmental perspective, not only of general skills, but specifically of music skill development in this community, and to extrapolate these findings with caution, given the current limitations in the evidence.

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

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.

Music Therapy Pre-internship Education and Training: Support for a Methods-Based Approach

As music therapists, music is our primary realm of understanding and action and our distinctive way of joining with a client to help them attain optimal health and well-being. As such, we have adopted and advocate for a music-focused, methods-based (M-B) approach to music therapy pre-internship education and training. In an M-B approach, students’ learning is centered on the 4 music therapy methods of composing, improvising, re-creating, and listening to music and how these music experiences can be designed and implemented to address the health needs of the diverse clientele whom they will eventually encounter as practicing clinicians. Learning is highly experiential, with students authentically participating in each of the methods and reflecting on these self-experiences as a basis for their own clinical decision-making. This is differentiated from a population based (P-B) approach, wherein students’ attention is directed at acquiring knowledge about the non-musical problems of specific “clinical populations” and the “best practice” music interventions that are presumed to address these problems. Herein, we discuss both approaches, identifying the limitations of a P-B perspective and outlining the benefits of an M-B curriculum and its relevance to 21st-century music therapy practice.

Professional Identity Formation of Early Career Music Therapists

In this study, 15 early career music therapists were interviewed about their academic, clinical, personal, and early professional experiences to define the key characteristics of their professional identity formation. Subsequent analysis of these data revealed that for these music therapists, early career identity formation was characterized by 3 developmental tasks: (1) formulating a professional identity, (2) identifying and practicing a preferred working style, and (3) moving from a single approach to practice and drawing from a variety of theories and approaches. Furthermore, their early career identity formation was characterized by 4 sequential subphases: (1) openness to change, (2) experiencing complexity, (3) freeing up, and (4) increased confidence. Barriers to healthy identity formation were also discussed. Implications for education and training, along with the importance of facilitating mentorship opportunities for early career professionals, were proposed to connect the findings to academic and professional life.

Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: Music Therapists’ Work with Speech-Language Pathologists

Adolescents on the autism spectrum may experience challenges with multiple domains of communication that impact their quality of life. Both music therapists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) implement activities to address these challenges. Empirical evidence suggests that incorporating music into treatment can be an effective way to improve communication. The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions for music therapists assisting adolescents on the autism spectrum to improve their communication skills and ways to collaborate with SLPs in doing so. In this paper, we discuss interprofessional collaborative models (e.g., interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary) and competencies (e.g., coordination, adaptability), as well as music-based clinical experiences that appeal to adolescents, and target improvement of communication skills for learners with complex communication needs.