An Intersubjective Approach to Music Therapy: Identification and Processing of Musical Countertransference in a Music Psychotherapeutic Context

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The role of music therapist is to be there for and with client in and outside music. This article describes how music therapist in musical interaction can be there for and with client at same time as he/she is there for him/herself. This is demonstrated through clinical examples that focus on defining, identification and effective work with musical countertransference as a tool of insight and assessment. The clinical settings include private practice, postgraduate training, internship training, and a short and long term rehabilitation facility. My hope is to reach graduate and postgraduate music therapy clinicians and educators. The educational basis for my work is a Master's degree in Music Therapy, a training in Analytical Music Therapy by lhe founder of AMT Mary Priestley, a Master's degree in Music Education, and 20 years of providing Analytical Music Therapy supervision. What is role of music therapist?'The answer is simple: Being there musically and, if needed, verbally for and with client. What could this mean? We will begin with a music example from work in private practice-a piece of music from end of second session with an adult client, Erik, a 29-year-old man, who was depressed, lonely and grieving. He is vocalizing and am accompanying him on piano. am being there for and with him? Make a judgment yourself. Scheiby excerpt #1, music therapist is playing improvised version of J. S. Bach: in B minor on piano. Client is crying during music. Before music asked Erik: How would you like to end session? He answered, I was thinking that perhaps you could play something for me-something lonely, Bach perhaps. chose to play J.S. Bach's Prelude in B Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier. My initial reason for choosing that piece by Bach was my perception of its color of sadness that could possibly match client's feelings. Equally important was that it could perform a strong holding function that he needed at that point. Soon after music started Erik began crying and crying became more intense. He had been holding back his tears after first improvisation that we had played together in session. was surprised by intensity of his crying, and it affected me in a countertransferential way. As one can hear, there is a certain heaviness in way articulated tones. When played second part of piece and Erik cried again, this time more intensely, played in a faster tempo, as if wanted it to end quickly because intensity of his expression was too much for me. Erik was grieving because his father was dying. His father had left home due to a divorce and moved to another country when Erik was very young. As a result, he also tapped into his sadness about having had so little time with his father as a child. Moreover, he was depressed because his situation at that time was one of loneliness and isolation. He was also recovering from a liver dis ease that had left him feeling depleted. The concept of countertransference was originally identified by Freud (1910): Countertransference can be regarded as a result of client's influence on his {the analyst's} unconscious (p. 145). Analytical music therapist Mary Priestley (1975) defines countertransference as the therapist's identification with unconscious feelings, self-parts (instinctive self, rational self or conscience) or internal objects of client, which, being conscious in therapist, can serve him as a guide to client's hidden life (p. 240). In above example, my countertransference, that manifested itself in music by a heavy articulation and a sudden faster tempo, was elicited by my unconscious identification with client's strong emotional expression. My own father died when was three months old, and 1 had experienced feelings of loss and sadness that were related to missing strong masculine holding at an early age. …