Therapeutic Application of The Kokas-Method in Music Therapy for People with Severe Disabilities

Abstract

The method of Klára Kokas facilitates a deep musical understanding through the repeated listening to selected short high-quality classical masterpieces. The Kokas-method offers personality-oriented complex forms of creative, artistic expressions to explore music. Participants share their emotions by the freely improvised movements of their body, which Kokas defines as dances. Kokas started her sessions with young children, but later she extended her approach to many different groups. In order to adapt to adults with severe disabilities, the original structure of the Kokas Sessions were slightly modified and adapted to the abilities and needs of the participants. This approach, which based on the bodily responds for music with spontaneous movements, forming connections between music and bodily expression, opens a new avenue in providing meaningful and enjoyable pathways of communication strengthening the sense of belonging. In addition to fulfilling their frequently forgotten aesthetic needs, these sessions help individuals with severe disabilities to develop an emotional relationship to music, reduce challenging behavior, and encourage social interactions their self-awareness thought the bodily responses to the music. The optimal multisensory environment supports their understanding, promotes their physical and emotional well-being and keeps their motivation at a high level. The close analysis of the body movements responding to music may lead to deeper understanding of their cognitive processing.