Music therapy and spiritual care: Music as spiritual support in a hospital environment

Abstract

This paper is a personal essay that offers reflection on professional experiences of music therapy practice with a focus on emotional and spiritual care in the hospital context in Australia. There is a growing need to map the terrain of music therapy in relation to spirituality. Music can deepen spiritual experiences and holds broad potential for addressing ‘the spiritual’ across contexts. Music therapy within a pastoral care context is considered, with spiritual and emotional support as the primary focus. After a brief discussion of spirituality in the music therapy literature, a context and background is provided for the establishment of a music therapy program within the pastoral care department of a regional hospital. Examples of ‘the spiritual’ in patient responses to music therapy are discussed. Professional challenges surrounding a more direct recognition of a spiritual aspect to music therapy are explored. Vignettes from clinical experiences across two different hospital settings are shared with reflection on the place of spirituality in the author’s practice. Practice-based experiences are considered against existing notions of spirituality in the music therapy literature, to see what they may offer in mapping this field. The relationship between body, mind and spirit is briefly explored, with a reflection on the position of spirituality in relation to health and culture.