Musical Ripples and Reflections

Karyn Stuart

doi:10.15845/voices.v18i4.2604

Abstract

Music therapy is a valuable tool for working with vulnerable children who have experienced trauma and neglect, working intimately to draw out their playfulness and resilience, and create an experience of a safe and trusting relationship. In South Africa, with its overburdened social welfare systems and under-resourced communities who remain affected by poverty and unemployment, there is limited access to medical and psychological services. The South African foster care system aims to provide safety and security for vulnerable and at-risk children and youth, but it is often overwhelmed with the extent of the needs. This anecdotal story features professional and personal reflections and vignettes on the music therapy journey with a very withdrawn and isolated young boy at a place of safety in Cape Town. I, as music therapist, and his favourite red drum, accompanied Charlie through four months of weekly individual sessions, unlocking his Music Child (Nordoff-Robbins 1977). Sessions shifted from isolated to interactive; from silent to communicative; from tentative to confident. Our music therapy journey continued, moving beyond the safe music therapy room to the unknown space of a new foster family through a home visit - an unusual occurrence in the context of community work in South Africa due to the limited psychological services available and the vast number of children in the social services systems. Collaborating with the social workers and the foster mother, I was able to visit Charlie at his new foster family’s house. The known and safe music therapy space expanded to include his foster mother and new foster siblings with whom he could share his newfound independence and confidence. The article describes music therapy’s role in ‘introducing’ Charlie to his new foster family and how it created musical connections, shared enjoyment and a sense of togetherness between them. I, as his music therapist, followed where he, the music and the context led, as reflected in the notion of community music therapy described by Ansdell (2002b). Although the focus is on the story of Charlie’s music therapy journey, it highlights the benefit of the music therapy’s role in all aspects of foster care and the need for collaboration with social welfare systems in under-resourced communities in South Africa.

Highlights

After several years of working in various marginalised communities in Cape Town, South Africa, I am constantly reminded of the power and potential of engaging with children in music therapy; especially those who have experienced trauma
It was whilst working for the organisation MusicWorks1, as a newly qualified music therapist, that I first witnessed music therapy’s ability to support a child expressing his sadness about losing a parent, offer children a distraction from a terminal illness for a brief moment and play vibrantly together in a band, and help a child realise he’s not alone in feeling alone as his music therapy group writes a song about loneliness
I became increasingly aware of how music therapy is shaped by and shapes the communities in which I worked: the youth marimba group from the township2 planning and performing a concert for their friends and families outside the run-down block of flats in which they live creates a sense of mastery, belonging and pride in their achievements; empowering them to think about the positive impact they can have in their community which, in Cape Town, has become synonymous with high levels of violence, poverty and unemployment

Summary

Introduction

After several years of working in various marginalised communities in Cape Town, South Africa, I am constantly reminded of the power and potential of engaging with children in music therapy; especially those who have experienced trauma. We made up funny games and engaged in little musical conversations on the instruments, which extended in soft vocal play from whispers to audible sounds This provided a sense of mastery and pleasure, which van der Kolk (2003) deemed to be vital to the treatment of children who’ve experienced trauma. I unpacked some instruments, got out my guitar, sat on the edge of the beige couch and waited When he emerged through the door of the lounge and saw me, he smiled and immediately ran towards the red drum, which had been his favourite instrument during our music therapy sessions. Modelling to his new younger foster brother how to play the instrument, Charlie was flexing his leadership muscles It was a meaningful opportunity for Charlie to bring and share something of his experiences and life to the new family.

Discussion

Conclusion