Music Therapy Commons^™

Therapist And Individual Experiences And Perceptions Of Music Therapy For Adolescents Who Stutter: A Qualitative Exploration, Jessica O'Donoghue, Hilary Moss, Amy Clements-Cortés, Carol Freeley

Music Faculty Publications

Introduction

Affective reactions frequently reported by adolescents who stutter include embarrassment, frustration, and feelings of anxiety about further stuttering. It is possible that music therapy may enhance stuttering treatment outcomes; however, little is known about how individuals who stutter, and therapists working with this group, view such therapy. The purpose of this study was to explore individuals who stutter and therapist experiences with, and perceptions of, music and music therapy for stuttering. This work is part of a larger mixed-methods project to explore the effectiveness and potential benefit of music therapy with adolescents who stutter.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted …

Community Music Therapy And Participatory Performance: Case Study Of A Coffee House, Elizabeth Mitchell

Music Faculty Publications

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 …

Are We Doing More Than We Know? Possible Mechanisms Of Response To Music Therapy, Amy Clements-Cortés, Lee Bartel

Music Faculty Publications

Due to advances in medical knowledge the population of older adults struggling with issues of aging like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and stroke is growing. There is a need for therapeutic interventions to provide adaptive strategies to sustain quality of life, decrease neurologic impairment, and maintain or slow cognitive decline and function due to degenerative neurologic diseases. Musical interventions with adults with cognitive impairments have received increased attention over the past few years, such as the value of personalized music listening in the iPod project for AD; music as a tool to decrease agitation and anxiety in dementia; …

‘Self As Instrument’ – Safe And Effective Use Of Self In Music Psychotherapy: Canadian Music Therapists’ Perceptions, Heidi Ahonen

Music Faculty Publications

This article introduces the results of a pilot survey conducted with accredited Canadian music therapists investigating their perceptions of personal psychotherapy and the concept of Safe and Effective Use of Self (SEUS) in the music therapy relationship. An emailed survey questionnaire covered both closed and openended questions on SEUS-related topics. The open-ended questions were analysed using the qualitative data analysis software Nvivo. Simple percentages were calculated to analyse the results of the closed-ended questions. The results suggest that music therapists engaging in psychotherapy seem to work with similar client populations, use similar theoretical approaches and techniques, and hold very similar …

The 4th International Conference Of The International Association For Music And Medicine (Iamm), Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Adding Music Therapy To The Care Plan, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

I have chosen to write a short editorial on a topic not often included at the forefront of palliative care; music therapy. At the launch of an important journal that encourages articles addressing quality of life, while offering an educational forum for healthcare professionals to maintain relevance, it seems fitting to raise a topic that does not receive adequate attention in many palliative care settings.

Soothing Relaxation Journeys: Designing Evidence Based Music And Imagery Opportunities, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

This paper provides information on the creation of an original collection of music and imagery journeys based on the literature in oncology and palliative care. Background evidence is shared about music and relaxation, music relaxation in medical settings, and music and relaxation in oncology/hospice treatment. The development of the resource is illuminated with respect to principles that guided the design. The Journeys collection is a tool that can be used independently by persons experiencing a variety of issues including: anxiety, pain, stress, low self-esteem, and low mood, etcetera; as well as with groups when implemented by a healthcare professional. While …

Sound Stimulation In Patients With Alzheimer’S Disease, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

Sound stimulation is an important approach to consider when working with patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Both music and other forms of sound stimulation can contribute to improved health and well-being and are often easily implemented in the long-term care (LTC) environment. This paper provides an overview of the two basic approaches to the use of sound with persons in LTC (music therapy and music medicine), as well as a discussion of considerations for implementing various types of sound stimulation in the LTC setting.

#Wfmt30rocks: 30 Years And Growing Strong, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

30 Amazing Years Of The Wfmt, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

In this issue of Music Therapy Today, I have chosen to write about the history and contributions the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) has made to grow the global awareness of music therapy as an art and science. This paper will provide readers with a brief history of the WFMT by highlighting its purpose, organization and important events from the past 30 years. Further information on projects undertaken by WFMT officers from 2011 forward will also be highlighted.

Advancing The World Federation Of Music Therapy: Strategic Planning Process, Annie Heiderscheit,, Petra Kern, Amy Clements-Cortés, Anita L. Gadberry, Jeanette Milford, Jen Spivey

Music Faculty Publications

The World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) is a nonprofit organization committed to its mission of developing and promoting music therapy throughout the world as an art and science. Since the organization’s inception in 1985, there have been significant changes in the world and many positive developments within the organization. These are reviewed providing a rationale for the initiation of this executive work. Methods utilized to complete the strategic planning process are outlined, along with the challenges and discoveries encountered throughout. outcomes of the strategic planning process are also highlighted.

The Effect Of Low-Frequency Sound Stimulation On Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Clinical Study, Lili Naghdi, Heidi Ahonen, Pasqualino Macario, Lee Bartel

Music Faculty Publications

Background: The search for effective treatments for fibromyalgia (FM) has continued for years. The present study premises that thalamocortical dysrhythmia is implicated in fibromyalgia and that low-frequency sound stimulation (LFSS) can play a regulatory function by driving neural rhythmic oscillatory activity.

Objective: To assess the effect of LFSS on FM.

Method: The present open-label study with no control group used a repeated-measures design with no noncompleters. Nineteen female volunteers (median age 51 years; median duration of FM 5.76 years) were administered 10 treatments (twice per week for five weeks). Treatments involved 23 min of LFSS at 40 Hz, delivered using …

International Perspectives In Music Therapy Education And Training: Adapting To A Changing World, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

“International perspectives in music therapy education and training: Adapting to a changing world”, is the follow-up text to the widely acclaimed Goodman, 2011 book titled: Music therapy education and training: From theory to practice. This new volume edited by Professor Karen Goodman; music therapy professor at Montclair State University, senior educator and clinician, as well as a widely published author and international lecturer, offers the academic community a current and comprehensive text that includes the perspectives on music therapy training and education from distinguished authors representing the global regions served by the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT).

Preparing Music Educators To Work With Students With Diverse Abilities: An Introduction To Music Therapy, Elizabeth Mitchell

Music Faculty Publications

Music education programs are uniquely situated within Canadian universities as most disciplines do not offer honours education programs at the undergraduate level. Within faculties of music, honours music education students engage in both practical and philosophical preparation for their teaching careers prior to acceptance and enrolment at a Faculty of Education. These students often return to departments of music education to pursue graduate work after having taught music within public or private school systems.

Music teachers regularly teach children with special needs within self-contained as well as integrated or inclusive classrooms. Research indicates that music educators are enthusiastic about the …

-Heroines’ Journey- Emerging Story By Refugee Women During Group Analytic Music Therapy, Heidi Ahonen, Antoinetta Mongillo Desideri

Music Faculty Publications

There has been some evidence of the benefits of participating in group analytic music therapy with traumatized people. This pilot clinical project investigates the impact of a combination of narrative therapy and group analytic music therapy on refugee/newcomer women in Canada. An ongoing therapy group met for a period of 8 sessions, to share stories and feelings of past experiences and of resettlement. The focus of this group was emotional expression (verbal and musical). Musical listening, improvisation, art, writing, clay-work, and relaxation techniques were used. Several consistent themes re-emerged, including feelings around loneliness, fear guilt, and loss.

The analysis of …

Music At The End Of Life: Bringing Comfort And Saying Goodbye Through Song And Story, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

Music has been an important part of the human existence across all continents and cultures since the beginning of recorded time. It is used, for example, in the celebration of happy events, for religious rituals, and to acknowledge the death of loved ones, often as part of spiritual and symbolic rituals. Although the formal and structured use of music as a component of care for individuals in end-of-life palliative care and hospice systems is relatively new in the world of contemporary medicine, its use is growing rapidly and is appreciated by both those providing the music and those receiving the …

Freeing The Voice Within Through Guided Imagery And Music, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

This paper presents the case study of a 38-year-old female, "Joy," and her Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) process. Joy was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada in 2008 to pursue further studies along with her husband. Joy is a music educator who was drawn to GIM to explore issues with her parents, husband, anxiety and stress in order to lead her to improved well-being and healing. This paper provides the relevant background information on GIM, and several important topics in Joy's therapeutic process, including: gender issues being raised in Hong Kong, effects of parental gambling on child …

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.

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.

Music Therapy To Sever The Silence Of A Childhood Holocaust Survivor, Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Change In Arts-Based Research: The Experiences Of Two Music Therapists, Deborah Seabrook, Carolyn Arnason

Music Faculty Publications

The process of engaging in arts-based research is unique; it draws upon the creative essence of the researcher to work with artistic forms which carry intangible information that is perhaps unknowable by other means. In this process, the researcher is engaged wholly; all faculties of the person are drawn into the artistic world. This article explores the experiences of two music therapists conducting arts-based research studies, weaving together distinct narratives with common themes. The reader is taken along the journey of two separate music therapy research projects: one whose participants are a group of music therapists, one whose participant is …

Something In The Air: Journeys Of Self-Actualization In Musical Improvisation, Heidi Ahonen, Marc Houde

Music Faculty Publications

The aim of this qualitative, abductive, and phenomenological inquiry was to develop categories based on participants' perceptions of their improvisation and listening experiences. As using improvised music in clinical music therapy is an important method, this study expanded the knowledge of and language needed to describe this very sensitive and insightful communication process. If there is something in the air—what is it and is it something significant? Research questions included: 1. What kind of process is experienced when one improvises with an unknown person in an unfamiliar musical style? 2. What is in the air during live interactive improvisation? 3. …

Physioacoustic Therapy: Placebo Effect On Recovery From Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage, Peter M. Tiidus, Roula Markoulakis, D. Murray, Pam Bryden Dr., Heidi Ahonen-Eerikäinen

Music Faculty Publications

We evaluated claims that physioacoustic therapy can enhance muscle healing following damaging exercise. Untrained subjects were randomly assigned to control (C), placebo (P) or treatment (T) groups. All groups performed 70 eccentric triceps contractions followed by; no treatment (C), sham physioacoustic treatment (P), or actual physioacoustic therapy (T) on days 1–4 post-exercise. Muscle soreness and isometric and concentric triceps peak torque were determined preexercise and on days 1–4 and 7 post-exercise. The T group received physioacoustic therapy for 30 min/day on the treatment days. The P group believed they received physioacoustic therapy, although the chairs were turned off. Peak torques …

Woman To Woman: A Music Therapist's Experience Of Working With A Physically Challenged And Non-Verbal Woman, Carolyn Arnason

Music Faculty Publications

The phrase "woman to woman" implies that relationships between women have particular qualities and levels of understanding that value the female perspective (Gilbert & Scher 1999). This case study describes my experience as a female music therapist and pianist working for four years with Sarah (pseudonym), a physically challenged, intelligent woman who is non-verbal. Salient aspects of the improvisational music therapy sessions were use ofself as music therapist, building a collaborative relationship, working with subtle and non-verbal responses, interpretive flexibility and musical transparency. There were also dimensions of the therapeutic process that enlarged the musical relationship such as silence, "being …