Music Therapy Commons^™

Safeguarding Curricular Self-Experiences In Undergraduate Music Therapy Education And Training, James Hiller, Courtney Belt, Susan Gardstrom, Joy Willenbrink-Conte

Department of Music Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to put forth a model to support the psychological safety of undergraduate students as they engage in a form of experiential learning called self-experiences. Self-experiences pair active engagement in learning episodes with learner self-inquiry. The need to safeguard curricular self-experiences is grounded in the American Music Therapy Association’s Professional Competencies and Code of Ethics and the Certification Board for Music Therapists’ Board Certification Domains. We first explicate several types and benefits of self-experiences and identify potential risks and contraindications that may compromise learners’ psychological safety and even cause harm. Next, we describe …

Music As A Tool, Kayla Boone

Capstones

My community is focused on individuals who are currently struggling or have struggled with their mental health and are seeking music as an alternative to psychotherapy.

Effects Of Music And Meditative Movement On Affect And Flow: A Feasibility Study, Lai Yiu Yeung

Masters Theses

This study aims to explore the feasibility and the potential effects of adding music to meditative movement on affect and flow. Fifteen participants were recruited and they were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: (1) Meditative movement only; (2) Recorded music and meditative movement; and (3) Live music and meditative movement. Participants from each group engaged individually in a 45-minute online session, practicing three qigong exercise sets. To determine the feasibility, the acceptability and practicality were investigated through the analysis of anecdotal notes, open-ended questionnaires, and video recordings. Potential effects of music and meditative movement were examined by …

Music Therapy: Revitalizing Alzheimer's Disease Patients, Natalie Villalobos

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper explains the different benefits that music therapy has on patients with Alzheimer's disease. It will briefly explain what Alzheimer’s disease is: the causes, some of the symptoms, and the effects it may have. Also, the paper will explore the impact music has on the brain in regards to affecting a specific area, its connection to memory, and to emotions. Although Alzheimer’s does not have a cure, research has shown that music therapy does decrease the rate at which it grows. By looking at results from different research studies, a better understanding of what treatment or a specific session …

Hooked On A Feeling: Influence Of Brief Exposure To Familiar Music On Feelings Of Emotion In Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease, Alaine E. Reschke-Hernández, Amy M. Belfi, Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez, Daniel Tranel

Music Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Research has indicated that individuals with Alzheimer's-type dementia (AD) can experience prolonged emotions, even when they cannot recall the eliciting event. Less is known about whether music can modify the emotional state of individuals with AD and whether emotions evoked by music linger in the absence of a declarative memory for the eliciting event.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of participant-selected recorded music on self-reported feelings of emotion in individuals with AD, and whether these feelings persisted irrespective of declarative memory for the emotion-inducing stimuli.

METHODS: Twenty participants with AD and 19 healthy comparisons (HCs) listened to two 4.5-minute …

Accommodations For Underserved Students In Music Education, William M. Refuss

The Corinthian

This research examines socioeconomic status and its relation to accommodating students with special needs where access to specific technologies and equipment is limited. For students who need costly accommodations where socioeconomic status affects access, other methods of accommodation need to be found. This paper focuses on the specific goals in a music education classroom and how students with disabilities struggle to achieve such goals without accommodations, as well as examining different personnel and technologies in which access is limited when examining the financial impact. Such accommodations include music therapists assigned to the school, inclusion classrooms, modified instruments, and other technologies …

A Pilot Study Of Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy In An Intensive Outpatient Program For Adults With Co-Occurring Mental Health And Substance Use Disorders, Jennifer Rebekah Hicks

Theses and Graduate Projects

This pilot study was designed to explore the use of mindfulness-based music therapy in an intensive outpatient program for adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. All participants completed the Brief Serenity Scale (Kreitzer et al., 2009) as a pre-test prior to their participation in this study. Participants took part in four monthly 50-minute mindfulness-based music therapy groups. At designated points throughout each music therapy session (including the beginning, end, and after each specific experience), the participants marked on a Likert scale where their thoughts were, in relation to the past, present, and future. Post-test measures of the …

Is Singing, Playing, And Studying Music An Effective Treatment For Cognitive Decline? Annotated Bibliography, University Of Denver

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Healing The Mind And Soul With Art And Music, Jennifer K. Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Gracie Fisher, an artist and composer based in Santa Barbara, California, provided the cover art for the Fall 2020 edition of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “The Fruit of Spirit” is a 16” x 20” oil painting on canvas. When a rare neurologic condition left Gracie paralyzed from the neck down, art and music helped to heal her mind and soul. Upon returning home from the hospital, Gracie’s wish was to create an inclusive environment where children of all abilities could engage in art and music. She founded the Grace Fisher Foundation so others could experience the healing …

Supporting Coordination Of Children With Asd Using Neurological Music Therapy: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial Comparing An Elastic Touch-Display With Tambourines, Franceli L. Cibrian, Melisa Madrigal, Marina Avelais, Monica Tentori

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) using a traditional and a technological intervention (elastic touch-display) in improving the coordination of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as a primary outcome, and the timing and strength control of their movements as secondary outcomes.

Methods

Twenty-two children with ASD completed 8 NMT sessions, as a part of a 2-month intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to either use an elastic touch-display (experimental group) or tambourines (control group). We conducted pre- and post- assessment evaluations, including the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) and motor assessments related to the control of …

The Imagery Experience Of Korean Gim Therapists' Reactions Toward Their Clients' Resistance, Jung Pyo Moon

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how Korean professional therapists who practice the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) understand their clients’ resistance through the imagery experience.

Participants in this study were six Korean GIM therapists living and working in South Korea. Two more Korean GIM therapists were recruited to take charge of guiding a total of six participants to examine this inquiry. Each GIM guide helped three participants. All six participants and two GIM therapists were regular members of the Association for Music and Imagery and the Korean Association for Music and Imagery. The researcher …

Expressive Arts, Social Circus, And Community Music Therapy: A Literature Review, Tyler Sabourin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis explores the broad ways in which the expressive arts therapies can be applied with a community focus. Particular attention is paid to the community-centered goals and the role of performance in social circus as they relate to the current practice and goals of community music therapy. Through an exploration of social circus models, the connection between social circus and therapeutic theater is described, and emerging literature that links the two is analyzed. The field of community music therapy is explored, as are its theoretical similarities to social circus. The current limitations on research of mixed-modality practices which …

The Role Of Music In Personal Therapy In Advanced Music Therapy Training: A Self-Inquiry, Jan Mark Casco

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of music through the similarities and differences of an Analytical Music Therapy (AMT) and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) trainee. The study employed a first-person research design and thematic analysis to assess three AMT and three NRMT personal therapy sessions. Music as well as the verbal interactions during the music therapy sessions were transcribed and analyzed. Five themes were constructed from the data, three similar themes and two different themes: (1) music as a place of meeting and the foundation of the therapeutic relationship, (2) using the voice to strengthen the …

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 …

The Impact Of Singing Engagement On Food Intake Of Individuals With Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias: A Multi-Site, Repeated Measures Study, James Hiller

Department of Music Faculty Publications

Malnutrition among older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is a serious and long-recognized health concern. Identifying nonpharmacological means for enhancing the volume of nutrition intake is an urgent need. Researchers have explored the use of music and music therapy as nonpharmacological avenues in this regard, but most music-based studies related to food intake focus on receptive interventions wherein participants are exposed to recorded music during meal times. The purpose of the present research is to investigate whether residents with ADRD would significantly increase their volume of food intake during the midday meal immediately following 30 minutes of …

Singing With Strangers: A Feasibility Study Examining The Effect Of Interpersonal Familiarity On Social Bonding During Group Singing, Molly Grettenberger

Masters Theses

Social isolation and loneliness have become major health concerns in today’s world, and the healthcare field needs effective approaches to ameliorating the effects of social isolation and loneliness and increasing opportunities for social bonding. Group singing may be one such approach. This feasibility study focused specifically on interpersonal familiarity during shortterm, small-group singing and its effect on the subjective experience of social bonding. A between-groups design and group interviews were used to examine the subjective experience of social bonding resulting from singing. Two groups of four, including one familiar group and one group of strangers, engaged in a brief group …

Impact Of Music Therapy On Hospice Patients, Amie M. Tipton

Theses and Graduate Projects

Music therapy is an adjunct healing modality designed to alleviate symptoms of existential pain and suffering hospice patients may experience as they transition into the final stage of life. The complexity of existential pain and suffering in hospice patients is a challenge for a hospice care team to treat and manage and emotionally testing on the patient’s support system. The purpose of this scholarly project is to evaluate a music therapy program at a local community hospice center as an aid to relieve patients’ existential pain and suffering they incur from their terminal illness and to increase hospice care providers’ …

Lyric Analysis And Songwriting With Adolescent’S Processing Complex Trauma, Peyton Mayzel

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This study examines how lyric analysis and songwriting can aid adolescents processing complex developmental traumas. The use of music, lyric analysis, and songwriting can provide a space for adolescents to express themselves and process their struggles they have encountered in their lives. Music, lyric analysis, and songwriting can also be used as a way for adolescents to build their self-identity and help them to make important life decisions. These concepts are all related to the attachment, self-regulation, and competency (ARC) model created by Blaustein & Kinniburgh in 2005. This model is used in treatment with children and adolescents who have …

Argo Ergo Sum - I Perform, Therefore I Am: An Art-Based Community Engagement Project, Emily Eckel

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This community engagement project set out to explore how the musicianship identity impacts a musician’s overall sense of self through participation in a mental health focused community orchestra. Currently, in the field of music therapy there is little emphasis on using orchestral music in active music making or connections between music and musicianship identity. This researcher combined the theories of community music therapy and resource-oriented music therapy to develop approaches to this investigation. Phase one consisted of researcher journaling and visual art making prior to and following orchestra rehearsals and one concert. Phase two consisted of a group mandala with …

Lived Experience Of Music Therapists As Musician-Therapists, Kotoe Suzuki

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The dissertation research explored the lived experiences of music therapists who are performing musicians. A conceptual foundation of music therapists as musicians, a “musician-therapist” who is deeply versed in the unique properties of music can be identified in the literature (Ansdell & Verney, 2008; Nordoff & Robbins, 1973). The objectives of this study were to explore three topics: 1) deeper understandings of music therapists’ musical improvisation both in clinical and nonclinical settings, 2) the connection between music therapists’ personal and professional musical growth, and 3) identity formation. A qualitative method was chosen for this research including reflexive/embodied/interpretative phenomenology, and arts-based …

How Dance And Music Stimulate Therapeutic Change In A Personal Movement Ritual, Cassidy Bingham

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis investigates the therapeutic effects of the researcher’s own arts practice or personal movement ritual, which is based in her tacit knowledge and intuition. The researcher is also the participant of this study. Her personal movement ritual, which was formalized as the method, was conducted before the literature review in order to prioritize tacit knowledge before introducing the influence of other scholars. In the literature review, Ellen Dissanayake’s and other scholars’ rationale for the emotional and cognitive changes that take place during rituals through music and dance are explained. These rationales, or the five constructs of entrainment, “ …

The Effect Of Melody And Rhythm In Music-Based Therapy For Nonfluent Aphasics: A Literature Review, M. Abraham Kimball

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The aim of this review is to examine studies which explored whether melody or rhythm played a more integral role in the facilitation of music-based speech and language rehabilitation for the population of individuals with nonfluent aphasia. This paper is intended to serve as a succinct synthesis of the myriad articles covering the efficacy of the treatment program called Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) and the impact of its primary musical mechanisms. Secondarily, it may assist in a deeper examination into speech and language-based music cognition and neurologic music therapy research. The speech and language disorder of aphasia; the relationships between …

Mental Associations And Music Therapy: Including The History Of Associationism And The Neurology Of Associations, Dianna Rose

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Associations are formed in our minds based upon three elements: sensory experience, emotions, and memories. These associations, unique to each individual, dictate thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and actions. Some are necessary and supportive, while others can be maladaptive. Established associations can be changed, and new associations can be formed, to align with a client’s goals. The literature presents a strong history of associationism, as well as a body of research that demonstrates the neurological processes of how mental associations are formed. There are also studies showing how music activates the brain. However, there is a lack of research which draws direct …

Music And Six-Minute Walk-Distance- One Step At A Time: Commentary On “Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation Increases 6-Minute Walk Distance In Individuals With Copd: A Repeated Measures Study, Annie Heiderscheit, Sikandar Khan, Babar Khan, Linda Chlan

Faculty Authored Articles

The article by Hernandez and colleagues published in this edition of Heart & Lung, reports on original research exploring the use of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) to increase the 6-minute distance walk with individuals diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The authors provide clear rationale regarding the use of music to stimulate movement, increase exercise tolerance, and to distract participants from the perception of dyspnea. Through this report, we offer further insights specifically focused on the RAS process, including vital considerations when implementing a music-based intervention in clinical practice settings.

The Art Of Forgiveness: How The Arts Helped Facilitate Forgiveness, Darlene Kuehn

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This research explored how the arts can help facilitate the process of forgiveness using a diverse methods research design. The first part of the research was a qualitative phenomenological inquiry examining the experiences of eight people who identified as having worked through a substantial process of forgiving in which the arts was an informative part of their process. The second part involved arts-based research to further investigate how art helped facilitate the participants forgiveness process. The primary investigation of the inquiry was: How did involving art effect the participants’ process of forgiving, and, did art facilitate or enrich the forgiveness …

Navigating The Experience Of Burnout Of Immigrant Music Therapists In The United States, Naeun Lee

Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of burnout of immigrant music therapists who currently live and work in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine how immigrant music therapists’ cultural adjustment may influence their experience with burnout and to guide participants articulate their burnout experiences through the use of musical improvisation as a method. Qualitative phenomenological inquiry and Arts-Based Research as a method were used in this study. Musical improvisation and open-ended interviews were conducted with three female participants possessing various years of clinical experience. Music as well as interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes. Three …

The Role Of Personal Therapy For Chinese-Speaking Music Therapy Students: A Survey, Xinrui Liu

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand the perceptions of Chinese-speaking music therapy students on cultural transition and personal therapy and to determine what impact these have on their learning process. An online questionnaire surveyed 13 Chinese-speaking music therapy students. Nine completed responses were analyzed by using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The questions focused on their demographic information, their attitudes toward personal therapy, and their attitudes toward the cultural transition process. The study found that 78% of participants sought any type of therapy and 55% of participants believe that personal therapy is extremely important for music therapy students. …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Therapeutic Relationship In Tele-Music Therapy In The Us, Kiyomi Kamiya Glover

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand the therapist–client therapeutic relationship in music therapy practice that utilizes an Internet video conference system (tele-music therapy). The subordinate questions were as follows: • How can music therapists establish a therapeutic relationship in tele-music therapy? • How can music therapists be present in the tele-music therapy sessions? • What are the strengths and challenges of tele-music therapy? This study was conducted using a qualitative, phenomenological open-ended interview method. The sample consisted of three experienced music therapists who have practiced telemusic therapy for at least seven years. Two of them were analytical music …

Adapting Instruments, Not Students: A Study Of Adaptive Musical Instruments, Cheyanne Maria Chapin

Honors Program Theses

The purposes of this study were to (1) create a categorized listing of adaptive instruments divided into categories that can help music therapists decide which clients can utilize them and for what purposes and (2) evaluate the anticipated enjoyment and sound rating of a select number of adaptive electronic instruments. For Part 1 of this study, children with special needs, with the help of their parents, were invited to take part in a questionnaire related to the impression of four select adaptive instruments (Light Block, Skoog, JamBoxx, SpecDrums). Participants were asked to watch videos of the four instruments and rate …

Inclusive Ensembles: Differentiating For The Singer On The Autism Spectrum, Natalie Wilkins, Natalie A. Wilkins

Honors College Theses

Exceptional children belong in music classrooms. Music ensemble directors need to overcome complex challenges to meet the goal of inclusion, because ensembles often include a mixture of ages, grades, social and intellectual development stages, musical skills, and a wide variety of diverse learning needs. This study focuses on how a choral ensemble director may create an inclusive environment for students on the Autism Spectrum.

This study reviewed the current research on inclusive rehearsal environments. Analysis revealed varied methods for differentiation that allows students with special needs to thrive in a music classroom and also revealed that music can be a …