Themes and Metaphors in Songwriting with Clients Participating in a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT: use of metaphor in clinical settings has taken on an assortment of forms and received prominence within the growing body of music therapy literature. This paper will explore the role of metaphor as discussed in the general therapy literature and, specifically, in the music therapy literature and the literature on songwriting within music therapy. Two case examples from clinical work will be provided illustrating the themes and metaphors of two short songs written during two separate open music therapy groups in a psychiatric rehabilitation center. Stories have been used for centuries to entertain and educate children and adults of all ages. Every culture has its own anthology of stories, which serve to pass on to new generations the morals, values, and rituals of the culture through simple but profound wisdom. Many stories, which are often centuries old, offer valuable insight about philosophies and values. These stories or teaching (Rossi, 1982) have been recognized by psychotherapists and counselors as useful metaphorical tools for therapeutic change, including acceptance, empowerment, developing wisdom, and healing (Burns, 2001). Metaphor Lakoff and Johnson (1980) have defined metaphor as one thing in terms of (p. 3). It originates from the Greek word metapherein to transfer (Esparza, 2001). When metaphors are used therapeutically, feelings, thoughts, relationships and beliefs are transferred from one area of experience to another (Burns, 2001 ). Esparza (2001) has stated that a therapeutic metaphor is a symbolic container of and a tool of transformation. It is another means of communication and may take the form of a word, turn of phrase, object, symbol, anecdote, or story that represents complex emotions or situations. Levitt, Korman, and Angus (2000) believe that the power of the metaphor lies in its ability to describe the essence of an emotion more clearly and accurately than a descriptive, emotional label or adjective. Metaphors in therapy are used to encourage people to look more deeply at the relationship between the reality of their actual life experience and the manner in which they describe their life. They can represent the unconscious and amplify understanding and meaning. According to Zuniga (1992), The impetus for the use of metaphor is the knowledge that a person may take a metaphor literally on the conscious plane yet unconsciously perceive its symbolic meaning (p. 56). indirect and descriptive nature of metaphors has allowed a strongly defended affective part of the personal ity to be reached that would otherwise be unreachable in more direct ways (Leetz, 1997; Liftman, 1985). Carl Jung used the term symbol rather than metaphor, yet his definition of symbols is also the essence of metaphor (Bums, 2001). As Jung (1964) has explained, A word or an image is symbolic when it implies something more than its obvious and immediate meaning. It has a wider 'unconscious' aspect that is never precisely defined or fully explained. Nor can one hope to define or explain it. As the mind explores the symbol, it is led to ideas beyond the grasp of reason, (p. 21) Metaphor in the Therapy Literature diversity and usefulness of metaphor has become recognized in the counseling and psychotherapy arena. Bruno Bettleheim's (1977) text Uses of Enchantment: Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales describes how children benefit from metaphorical tales. It has been recognized that these tales not only entertain but also offer moral education, insight, awareness of the possibility of human frailty, and they teach adaptive behavior (Barker; 1985; Burns, 2001 ; Zuniga, 1992). For instance Burns (2001) has written of the use of Zen stories in order to teach wisdom and encourage the focus on the present, rather than on the future. use of metaphor has been incorporated into many therapeutic models such as cognitive therapy (Kopp & Gaw, 1998) where propositional cognition is combined with imaginai and metaphoric cognition modalities, providing insight and change. …