Music Therapy Commons^™

The Experience Of Teamwork In Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy: A Phenomenological Investigation, John Mulcahy

Theses & Dissertations

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) is a unique improvisational approach to music therapy utilizing the model of a two-therapist clinical team to treat clients. In this phenomenological study, four NRMT-trained music therapists were interviewed and asked to reflect upon their past experiences working within a two-therapist team. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for relevant themes. Eight invariant themes common among all participant responses were found demonstrating patterns of interpersonal/musical interaction and shared experiences/understanding between team members, along with demonstrating the influence of outside factors on the overall team dynamic. Participants reported that the qualities of team member interaction encompassing trust and …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Nordoff-Robbins Trainees' Personal And Musical Growth During Certification Training, Matsuri Imura

Theses & Dissertations

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) is an improvisational model of music therapy that involves active music making between a client and therapist. Through this interaction, the therapist may promote communication, self-expression and relatedness (Aigen, 2005). NRMT requires advanced training beyond what is necessary to practice music therapy at an entry level, and it offers certification at three levels. This study examined the experience of three participants who have completed Level I NRMT training. The first level of training focuses on developing musical resources and clinical applications of music while trainees attend classes and conduct individual and group sessions. Improvisational competencies necessary …

Exploring The Impact Of Personal Bereavement On Music Therapists' Work In End-Of-Life Care, Kaitlyn Leann Weeks

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the impact of personal loss on music therapists' work in end-of-life care. Each of the two participants in this study has worked in an end-of-life care setting as a board certified music therapist, has experienced a personal loss within the past ten years, was willing to share their experience of grief openly, and was personally aware as to how their experience has impacted their work.

The participants discussed their loss on a personal and professional level, and shared the positive effects and challenging outcomes of grief in relation to their clinical …

The Experience Of Music Therapists Who Balance The Dual Professions Of Music Therapist And Professional Musician, Colin Turner

Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological research explores the experiences of professionals who balance careers as both music therapists and professional musicians. Interviews with these participants provide new insights into the lives of music therapists who are also music performers outside of clinical work. This study aims to gain a better understanding of how music therapists describe the impacts of balancing the two professions. Four Board-Certified Music Therapists who simultaneously work as professional musicians participated in open-ended interviews regarding their experiences of balancing the two professions and how it has impacted their clinical work. Two main categories emerged during the analysis: (a) Performance had …

Exploring Spiritual Experiences Of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapists, Hyun Jin Hong

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore spiritual dimensions of Creative Music Therapy, also known as Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT). NRMT uses improvisational music therapy with children and adults with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities to encourage deeper and more extensive realization of therapeutic goals. This study examined music therapists’ spiritual experiences by illuminating their personal experiences in the NRMT setting. Research questions and sub-questions included: How do NRMTs define spirituality? How do they experience spirituality in music therapy? Why do they regard the experience as spiritual? How are those experiences reflected in music? How do they view …

Assessing Trauma, Abuse And Loss Via Guided Imagery And Music, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

Holocaust survivors often face many psychological and emotional issues such as fear, and intrusive thoughts and images as a result of the traumatic experiences they endured. Guided Imagery and Music is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy which has proven to be particularly effective for survivors of trauma in addressing such emotional and psychological issues and beginning the healing process. This paper presents the case of Rivka, a child survivor of the Holocaust who experienced numerous losses in her life. As Rivka was approaching her death she chose music therapy to address her current concerns as well as those from her …

Luba’S Theme, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

The following case study is of Luba, a 4 year old girl diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease and her music therapy process. Foundational information on Tay-Sachs disease is provided alongside a discussion of anticipatory grieving, and the death of a child.

The Common Issues In Hospice Music Therapy : A Survey Of Hospice Music Therapists, Wone Juhn

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Hospice patients experience physical, cognitive, psychological, social and spiritual challenges. Literature has suggested the needs of hospice patients, and the goals, methods, techniques and case examples in hospice music therapy. However, the statistical information about the general hospice music therapy practice is not sufficient. Thus, it is necessary to collect data about the common issues in hospice music therapy involving hospice patients, their family caregivers and hospice music therapists. The purpose of this study is to gather experiential information about the common issues in hospice music therapy practices. The quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from a survey of a …

Adjudicated Adolescents, Susan Gardstrom

Department of Music Faculty Publications

This chapter highlights music therapy practice with adjudicated adolescents, also referred to as juvenile offenders or delinquents.

In 2008 alone (the most recent year for which statistics are available), juvenile courts in the U.S. took action on more than 1.6 million petitions of delinquency. Some of these cases were dismissed; some were waived to adult, or criminal, court; still others resulted in adjudication (a determination of guilt) with subsequent dispositions of community service, restitution, fines, probation, and/or mandatory placement in treatment programs of varying levels of security (National Center for Juvenile Justice, 2009).

The Impact Of Group Music Therapy On Negative Affect Of People With Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders And Mental Illnesses, Susan Gardstrom, Jacklyn Bartkowski, Joy Willenbrink, Wiebke S. Diestelkamp

Department of Music Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of group music therapy on levels of self-reported negative affect (NA) among men and women on a residential unit of an integrated dual diagnosis treatment program.

More specifically, we sought to determine if and to what degree engagement in composition, receptive (listening), re-creation (performing), and improvisation experiences would result in a shift—namely, a decrease—in the intensity of self-reported NA.

Participants were adults in residential treatment who had been diagnosed with co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental illnesses (MIs), predominantly mood and anxiety disorders. Twenty group-music-therapy sessions were held on …

Women With Addictions: Music Therapy Clinical Postures And Interventions, Susan Gardstrom, Maria Carlini, Jessica Josefczyk, Amy Love

Department of Music Faculty Publications

Like men, women have been using alcohol and drugs since ancient times; yet we are just beginning to uncover important information about women's unique trajectory to and through addiction. Straussner and Brown (2002) write, “There is little or no denial left today: Women can be and are addicts at alarming rates” (p. 34). Close to 15% of the members of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) report working with clients who have addictions (AMTA, 2011). It is likely that some of these members work with women who struggle with addictions, and it seems feasible that some would work predominantly or …

The Call For Bravery: The Use Of Improvised Story Songs With A Preschooler With Developmental Delays, Emily Mcclure

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how improvised story songs reflect the lived experience of a preschool-age child with developmental delays, exploring what these musical experiences indicate about the child's development and therapeutic process. The researcher developed this area of study based on the participant's unique clinical experience with improvised story songs during his 10 months in music therapy. Archive video recordings of past sessions with the participant were thoroughly reviewed, and three to four improvised story songs were selected as the primary source of data for this study. These songs, as well as the therapeutic …

A Historical Review Of Music Therapy And The Department Of Veterans Affairs, Jenna Spencer

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the history and development of music therapy within the veteran population, specifically in regards to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This research will be conducted qualitatively utilizing narrative inquiry and historical review. Using numerous sources of literature, the researcher will conduct a thorough historical review in order to fully portray the development of music therapy practice within the veteran population. The researcher will explore various sources of relevant literature in order to discover when and how music therapy was first used to treat the veteran population and how music therapy programs …

Memories From Vii World Congress Of Music Therapy, Vitoria Gasteiz, 1993, Heidi Ahonen, Diane Austin, Ruth Bright, Leslie Bunt, Ginger Clarkson, Janice Dvorkin, Jane Eisler, Suzanne B. Hanser, Sarah Hoskyns, Joanne Loewy, Joseph Moreno, Helen Odell-Miller, Serafina Poch, Jackie Robarts, Clive Robbins, Patricia L. Sabbatella, Marilyn Sandness, Alan Turry, Gabriela Wagner, Auriel Warwick, Barbara L. Wheeler

Music Faculty Publications

Some of the participants share their memories and photos from the VII World Congress of Music Therapy, held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain in 1993.

Parallel Process In Music Therapy Supervision, Gabriela S. Ortiz

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand parallel process in individual music therapy sessions with a child with Williams Syndrome and the subsequent supervisory relationship. This study consisted of an exploration of parallel process employing the qualitative analysis of first-person research and reflexive phenomenology. Data was collected through video- and audio-recordings from a total of three sessions (two clinical and 1 supervision). The method included analyses of personal journal entries, interpretive coding, and musical and verbal transcriptions. Musical and interpersonal themes were then identified within the therapeutic and supervisory relationships using retrospection and holistic listening. The findings from …

Interpretations Of Student Engagement In The Context Of The Orff Schulwerk Music Classroom At The Dubard School For Language Disorders, Anna Rebecca Bondurant Halliday

Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the lived experiences of four students with language disorders within the context of their Orff Schulwerk music class at the DuBard School for Language Disorders. In addition, the observational insights of their classroom teachers and the practitioner researcher were compared with the responses of the students in order to determine any discrepancies between the child’s awareness of his or her musical engagement and that of the observer. Using data collected from interviews, stimulated recall (Dempsey, 2010), and student generated artwork (Freeman & Mathison, 2009), I explored the lived experiences of …

The Experiences Of Music Therapists With Mental Illness Working With Clients With Similar Diagnoses, Adam Makofske

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This phenomenological research study examined music therapists’ experiences of working with clients when both are diagnosed with a mental illness. The following research questions were addressed:

What is the experience like for music therapists with psychiatric illnesses to treat clients who have the same or similar diagnoses? What are the specific challenges regarding the therapeutic dynamics in this unique situation?

How is the countertransference defined, experienced and handled by the music therapist, including the specific role of the music and its impact on the therapy process?

In person, phenomenological interviews were conducted with three participants, each self-identified as having been …

The Efficacy Of Melodic Based Communication Therapy For Eliciting Speech In Nonverbal Children With Autism, Givona A. Sandiford

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this dissertation is to compare the efficacy of Melodic Based Communication Therapy (MBCT) to traditional speech and language therapy for eliciting speech in nonverbal children with autism. Efficacy was assessed by number of: verbalizations, correct words, words reported by parent, and imitative attempts. Additionally it examines the effect of exposure to MBCT on social language abilities as measured by score on the Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (PLSI); the effect of age on the response to treatment, and the predictors of overall effectiveness of treatment.

Participants were 12 nonverbal children with autism ages 5 through 7 randomly assigned …

An Exploration Of Perceived Stress Among Music Therapy Interns, Ayelet Walker

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the prevalence, possible sources, and effects of perceived stress on music therapy interns. An online survey was conducted with a sample of music therapy interns from all seven regions of the U.S. Of the 71 participants who replied to the survey, 61 participants (2 males and 59 females) completed the entire survey and were included in the data analysis. Results showed this sample had moderately low prevalence of perceived stress (M=15.54, SD=6.38). The five sources of stress with the highest frequency were "Other sources of stress NOT related to …

I Am Surrounded By Love: An Inquiry Into The Use Of Songs With A Woman With Traumatic Brain Injury, 11 Years Post-Injury, Pamela J. Carlton

Theses & Dissertations

The use of songs in music therapy with persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) has many facets and applications in rehabilitation. Analyses of lyrics, song construct, and song choice have been examined with persons with TBI in coma states and early post-coma recovery, but more research is needed that focuses on what occurs when songs in therapy are introduced at a later point in TBI recovery. This narrative inquiry examined the therapeutic relevance of melody, rhythm, and song structure in songs for a woman with TBI from a 3-year period of weekly music therapy sessions. The participants in this study …