An individual music therapy assessment procedure for emotionally disturbed young adolescents

Abstract

The use of the assessment procedure described can be of value to other music therapists within psychiatric settings. It can provide useful projective, diagnostic data and help to determine the suitability of music therapy as a treatment modality. Although this assessment was designed for young adolescents in particular, it has also been varied to suit other populations. The validity of this procedure would be determined by the systematic implementation of all tasks. This writter suggests changes in song lists or listening lists to realistically accommodate different age groups. It would necessitate careful documentation of musical/behavioral criteria indicators, as well as areas of assessment. When assessing a more disturbed or psychotic patient, the music therapist may choose to vary the order of tasks or do the assessment over a longer period of time.