Guest Editorial: The Role of the Music Therapist in Music Therapy

Abstract

Role of the Music Therapist in Music How do music therapists determine their interventions? What are the essential aspects of music therapy foundations and therapeutic beliefs that guide how we treat patients? How clear are we as clinicians in understanding our rationale, model of practice, choice of music or words, with consideration age, culture and basic personality structure of the individual/s we are treating? Certainly we are influenced by our training, musical background, cultural orientation, and use of transference and countertransference. Yet, much of our focus has been study particular interventions in terms of efficacy with regard the patient and type of music implemented, and less attention on the role of music therapist and how this role might affect the intervention and treatment. This is a complicated topic that warrants both personal and professional analyses. Historically, our competencies have served as a guideline for practice. Within the initial Essential Competencies for Music Therapy (Bruscia, Hesser, Boxill, 1981) under the heading of Therapy Implementation, were specific qualifiers that related how music therapists most effectively could aim implement music therapy treatment. These competencies have been expanded through the years, and along with our Standards of Education and Clinical Training (AMTA, 2004) serve as an important foundation our work as music therapists. It may useful review the original fundamentals of therapy implementation as we come into the current journal in which the theme is concerned with The Role of the Music Therapist in Music Therapy. The therapy implementation areas include: * The ability create a physical environment, select, design or adapt music, provide musical experiences that motivate client participation, providing verbal cues and non-verbal directions for successful client participation, * The ability improvise music spontaneously reflecting client attitudes, feelings and behaviors, the ability engage through improvisation and composed materials, sequencing and pacing according needs and situational factors, and * The ability recognize, interpret and respond significant events moment by moment. Therapeutic implementation assumes an integral relationship between the music, the client, and the role the therapist takes within the implementation. Through the years, have been several music therapists who have sought explore their role in the music therapy process. This began with a stepping back, of sorts. Our first instinct is concerned with the client, and then, the music therapy process. What kind of techniques and experiences will satisfying for the client? A further emphasis has been the analysis of the music itself. How do the elements of music infiltrate into the clients' life-world? A developing quest within the past twenty years has been the music therapists' desire understand their relationship with music and how that relationship might move us into a stance of open and more complete accessibility in forming relationships with our clients. Wheeler (1985) was among the first study the relationship between musical and activity elements of music therapy sessions and client responses. She noted the need to integrate research on the effects of music with music therapy clinical (p. 53) Wheeler later (1999) examined her own music therapy experience from a therapist's perspective in examining the experience of pleasure in working with disabled children. Bruscia (1995) studied his own consciousness and intentions within his GIM work. He sought understand how aspects of experiential space and levels of experience provided insight about what it meant for him be there with a client. Aigen (1 993) addressed the therapist's stance in providing music therapy including, among other aspects: . . . be(ing) comfortable with the level of self-revelation that occurs when one plays music with a client and the challenges of which affect both clients and therapists. …