Arts therapy and healing

Abstract

In this issue, three related papers are presented, each written by an experienced practitioner in music, dance, or art therapy. As a drama therapist, I have been asked to comment, adding my own thoughts on the topic of shamanism and its relationship to the arts therapies. At the heart of these papers is the issue of professional identity: as arts therapists, who are we, and what theoretical model(s) do we follow? Following close are questions pertaining to goals, techniques, and training. That is, what do we try to accomplish in our sessions; what kind of help do we give and toward what end? What kind of training will enable us to perform our work sensitively, intelligently, and effectively? Beyond this is the still-larger question of healing; i.e., what is it, after all, that helps people feel better, more in charge of their lives? These are the issues that underlie these contributions. This series of papers began with Joseph J. Moreno’s cont~bution-“The Music Therapist: Creative Arts Therapist and Contemporary Shaman.” Responding to his paper are Claire Schmais and Shaun McNiff, each adding ideas from dance and art therapy, respectively, as well as from her and his own theoretical perspective. To chart a path through this terrain, let us briefly review the positions taken by each. Moreno’s premise, boldly stated, is that the “modem” music therapist functions in many essential ways like the shaman of old. The roots of music therapy are in a 30,000 year-old tradition of shamanic practices that link music, art, dance, drama, and holistic healing rites. Decrying the overspecialization and “single focus” that marks both Western medicine and arts therapy training, Moreno makes a plea for a holistic, integrated approach, one similar to that used by the shaman who integrates dimming, chanting, dance, and drama in community healing rituals. In this multi-arts process, Moreno sees the music therapist as central, “the binding force,” as he or she works to synthesize these diverse modalities. In direct and indirect ways, Moreno comments on the implications of this approach for training and practice. In order to work in an integrated way, students should be given at least an introductory course in other arts modalities. Additionally, Moreno stresses the importance of in-depth training in ethnomusicology, training that is necessary to work effectively with diverse cultures. Indirectly, via the examples he cites, he makes a case for in-depth training in both group and verbal psychotherapy. For example, he speaks of enabling patients to focus on “unconscious feelings rather than on the superficial realities of ordinary daily life” (p. 277). Similarly, in talking about guided imagery and music he makes a distinction between shamanic practices and music therapy practices. The music therapist, he says, may not find it necessary to enter the trance as the shaman does, but may invite the patient to do so. The material that emerges from such a session can be talked about later in group therapy. Here Moreno seems to stress the necessity of in-depth training in both group and verbal psychotherapy for he says that it “is still necessary to help patients to verbally process their experiences and gain insight into their feelings” (p. 277). Apparently he assumes that