Sekeles, C. (2007). Music therapy: Death and grief. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona. 149 pages. ISBN 1-891278-46-0. $34.00

Abstract

Sekeles, C. (2007). Music therapy: Death and grief. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona. 149 pages. ISBN 1-891278-46-0. $34.00 Chava Sekeles' slim, 149-page book, Music Therapy: Death and Grief, will draw the attention of anyone interested in the issues of death and grief in therapy. It consists of 1 0 chapters, 7 of which are case studies and 3 of which address topics relevant to the case studies. On the whole, the book offers multiple opportunities to deepen one's understanding of this universal topic even though it is clearly set in the realm of Israeli music psychotherapy practice. As a writer, Sekeles is patient and caring. She locates herself so that the reader is able to understand the position from which she is speaking, and she explains concepts thoroughly. Although she struggles some with English, Sekeles generally writes with such care that it is not difficult to intuit meaning when needed. As a therapist, Sekeles seems speak two main messages about guiding death and grief processes in music therapy. The first is that through patience and mutual listening, the client-therapist relationship will develop and the client's therapeutic process will unfold. The second is that music is a significant therapeutic tool. In each of her chapters, Sekeles speaks to and demonstrates the therapeutic nature of music experiences. Sekeles' case studies allow a reader to view grief and death from several different perspectives. They describe the therapeutic processes of children and adult clients, male and female clients, clients who are dying, clients who have lost loved ones, terror survivors, terminal cancer patients, clients living with developmental disabilities, and clients living with psychiatric diagnosis. Additionally, the case studies describe processes in which grief and death are the single, major focus of therapy and processes in which grief and death are smaller topics within a larger therapeutic context. Most cases involve one-on-one work with a single client and some work with family members. Only one case involves group work. The case studies are all structured similarly. Sekeles typically provides an introduction to a case and then moves between describing phases of the client's therapeutic process and therapeutic considerations and concepts relevant to a particular phase. Finally, she closes the cases with a summary. This careful weaving of session content and therapist reflection illuminates the inner workings of fascinating therapeutic processes. The case study introductions often include the biopsychosocial history of the client, references to psychosocial processes in which the client becomes engaged, and reasons for the chosen music therapy treatment methods. The introductions provide sufficient and useful background for the following case content. When discussing the therapeutic phases of a case, Sekeles describes specific content from one or more sessions in each phase to epitomize them. She typically explains things such as how she decided which music therapy method to use, the client's experiences in the music, how the client's experiences helped her to understand the client, and how therapeutic work unfolded in that session. These descriptions are often beautifully crafted and patiently detailed. Disappointingly, although Sekeles states more than once that she finds value in using verbal techniques to support clients' music experiences, she does not describe this process. This leaves the reader unable to appreciate the full scope of the music therapy process. Additionally, Sekeles describes client experiences in receptive music therapy methods, describes the musical qualities of the pieces she chose to play, and describes the tremendous therapeutic outcomes of these experiences. …