Individual Music Therapy Research Articles

A case study of individual music therapy on adolescent with internet addiction

A case study of individual music therapy on adolescent with internet addiction

Quietening the Voices

The article presents a case study of individual music therapy with an elderly Iraqi refugee in a day hospital for the elderly mentally ill. It highlights themes that arise from working with a traumatised client of a different culture and different generation, and the range of ways in which music was used. It draws on psychological theories to shed light on the developing relationship between therapist and client.

Interrater Agreement on the Nordoff-Robbins Evaluation Scale I: Client-Therapist Relationship in Musical Activity

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of interrater agreement on an evaluation scale designed by Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins to track the behavioral responses of autistic children undergoing individual improvisational music therapy and later understood to have application for a wider range of populations. The Client-Therapist Relationship in Musical Activity scale was first published in Nordoff and Robbins’s book Creative Music Therapy in 1977, along with another scale entitled Musical Com- municativeness. Although the scales are widely used, trials involving interobserver agreement have not been undertaken (Wigram, Nygaard, Pedersen, & Bonde, 2002). This study examined the revised version of the first scale, comparing the variance between the ratings of 10 video excerpts of music therapy sessions obtained from a group of certified music therapists (N 1⁄4 34) who have practiced professionally for at least 3 years working with children with developmental delays or autism. Of the 34 participants, 21 had received advanced training and certification in the Nordoff-Robbins (NR) approach to music therapy and 13 had not received this training. The results showed that at a significance level of p < .05, 78 % of the entire group of participants obtained mean scores that were within 1 point of the total group mean, 82 % of the group with NR training obtained mean scores that were within 1 point of the NR group mean, and 74 % of the group without NR training obtained mean scores that were within 1 point of the music therapist group mean. Keywords assessment scales, reliability study, music therapy, Nordoff-Robbins

Music Therapy for Individuals with Dementia: Areas of Interventions and Research Perspectives

This contribution focuses on the definition of music therapy as a specific applicative context to be seen as distinct from the generic use of music in a variety of pathologies. Music therapy is presented as a discipline grounded both upon relationship and upon the theoretical-methodological principles peculiar to each applicative model. The therapeutic nature proper to music therapy is highlighted with specific reference to the domain of the dementias. Music therapy facilitates expression, communication and relationship in the non-verbal context. Such an opportunity allows persons with dementia to establish contact, to express, and even contrive an organisation/regulation of their emotions, through the sonorous-musical relationship with the music therapist. On the basis of a brief analysis of the relevant literature, attention is drawn to the importance of both evidence-based clinical practice and music therapy evaluations, aimed at proving the effectiveness of music therapy, while promoting its correct application.

Effect of whole process music therapy on prognosis and life quality in patients with cardiovascular intervention therapy

Objective To study the effect of whole process music therapy on prognosis and life quality in patients with cardiovascular intervention therapy.Methods 82 cardiovascular intervention therapy patients were randomly divided into two groups.Observation group(44 cases)were treated with whole process individual music therapy,and control group(38 cases)were treated with intervention therapy regular nurse.Results There were significant difference in the heart beat,breath,blood pressure and oxygen saturation between observation group and control group(P＜0.05).The illness stabilization time,ward time and in-hospital time in observation group were lower than those in control group(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the life quality in observation group was more excelled(P＜0.01)and the recurrence rate in observation group was reduced significantly(P＜0.05).Conclusions whole process music therapy can reduce syndrome and improve life quality. Key words: Cardiovascular; Intervention therapy; Music; Life quality

“I've started to move into my own body”: Music therapy with women suffering from eating disorders

This article addresses individual music therapy with two young women suffering from eating disorders, i.e. anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The theoretical approach is psychodynamic inspired, focusing a relating experience through music to promote health. The clinical cases stem from a music therapy practice at a specialized unit for eating disorders. The first example describes Susan's music therapy process towards a renewed self-confidence, elucidated through creative writing, musical exploration and body movements. In the second case, Helen finds it hard to connect body and mind, i.e. relate inner feelings to words. Through music therapy, she explores her inner self by searching for “little Helen”, which eventually leads to a closer connection between inner and outer reality. In the discussion, we suggest relating experience through music to empower the clients' strength, support inner healing resources and contribute to a living bridge between body and mind, which subsequently support healing resources and nourish hope of a normal life, i.e. support life itself.

Music therapy for individuals with Rett syndrome

Music therapy for individuals with Rett syndrome

Goodman, K. (2007). Music therapy groupwork with special needs children. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Ltd. 302 pages. ISBN 978-0-398-07739-6 (hard) ISBN 978-0-398-07740-2 (paper). $69.95; $49.95, respectively

Goodman, K. (2007). Music therapy groupwork with special needs children. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Ltd. 302 pages. ISBN 978-0-398-07739-6 (hard) ISBN 978-0-398-07740-2 (paper). $69.95; $49.95, respectively Get access Goodman K. ( 2007). Music therapy groupwork with special needs children. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Ltd. 302 pages. ISBN 978-0-398-07739-6 (hard) ISBN 978-0-398-07740-2 (paper). $69.95; $49.95, respectively. Leslie L. Hunter, MME, LCAT, MT-BC Leslie L. Hunter, MME, LCAT, MT-BC Monroe #1 - BOCES, Rochester, New York Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Music Therapy Perspectives, Volume 27, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 73–74, https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/27.1.73 Published: 01 January 2009

A pilot study into the effect of vocal exercises and singing on dysarthric speech

This pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of vocal exercises and singing on intelligibility and speech naturalness for subjects with acquired dysarthria following traumatic brain injury or stroke. A multiple case study design was used, involving pre, mid, and post-treatment assessments of intelligibility, rate, naturalness, and pause time for four subjects with dysarthria. Each subject participated in 24 individual music therapy sessions over eight weeks involving oral motor respiratory exercises, rhythmic and melodic articulation exercises, rhythmic speech cuing, vocal intonation therapy, and therapeutic singing using familiar songs. Results were measured using a standardized dysarthric speech assessment--the Sentence Intelligibility Test, waveform analysis, and ratings of speech naturalness. Statistically significant improvements in functional speech intelligibility were achieved but improvements in rate of speech were not significant. Speech naturalness improved post-treatment and a reduction in the number and length of pauses was verified via waveform analysis. Preliminary findings suggest that a program of vocal exercises and singing may facilitate more normative speech production for people with acquired dysarthria and support the need for further research in this area.

Child-Parent Wellbeing in a Paediatric Ward: The Role of Music Therapy in Supporting Children and Their Parents Facing the Challenge of Hospitalisation

This report, based on clinical practice on a children’s ward in New Zealand, examines the role of short-term music therapy in supporting children and their parents[1] facing the difficulties of hospitalisation. It endeavours to explore three questions. How might music therapy support hospitalised children? How can it support parents of hospitalised children? Is it important/valuable for music therapists working in a paediatric ward to involve parent(s) in music therapy sessions? Three hospitalised children (aged 11 months, 5 and 7 years), who were accompanied by a parent, participated in a single individual music therapy session. From the clinical notes, semi-structured interviews with the children’s parents and a staff member, and my own reflective journal it was indicated that music therapy supported the psychosocial needs of the paediatric patients and their parents in many ways. For the children music therapy: 1) promoted normalisation; and 2) provided emotional/psychological support. For parents, it: 1) elicited positive changes in mood; 2) reduced anxiety; and 3) supported parental learning/parenting. Furthermore, the findings suggested that the wellbeing of the parent-child relationship can be supported during music therapy. The importance of parental involvement varied for each case, and highlighted different views between therapist, staff member and parents regarding this. Factors that may determine parental involvement and the benefits of both parental presence and absence during sessions were elicited. The report suggests that music therapy has the potential positively to support paediatric wards in New Zealand to provide an environment that is responsive to the psychosocial needs of hospitalised children and their parents.

Mapping Progress within an Individual Music Therapy Session with Full-Term Hospitalized Infants

This discussion paper presents Phases of Interplay as a framework to facilitate reflection on progress within individual music therapy sessions with full-term hospitalized infants. Drawing on a nursing protocol for premature infants and principles from psychotherapy, this diagrammatic representation of session progress offers a tool for explicating the more implicit elements of interplay and the relationship between therapist and infant client. This is a framework for use by clinicians in daily practice.

Predictors of change in music therapy with children and adolescents: The role of therapeutic techniques

Music therapy has been shown to be efficacious in experimental studies. However, there is little empirical research knowledge about what elements of music therapy influence its effectiveness in clinical practice. Children and adolescents with psychopathology (N=75) were assessed before and after participating in individual music therapy with 1 out of 15 music therapists in the Vienna region. Relationships between outcomes (as evaluated by parents) and therapy contents (as reported by therapists) were examined using general linear modelling. Results indicated that clients' symptoms and burdens on their social environment showed greater improvement when music therapy was limited to discipline-specific music therapy techniques and did not include other media such as play therapy elements. The findings indicate the importance of being aware of a therapy method's specific strengths and limitations. More research on the indicated specific ingredients of music therapy intervention is needed.

Effectiveness of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: A quasi-experimental study

Music therapy has been found to be effective for children and adolescents with psychopathology, but its effectiveness in routine practice is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine whether individual music therapy as provided in outpatient services is an effective treatment for this group of clients and to examine potential predictors of its effectiveness. The authors assessed symptoms, competencies, and quality of life in children and adolescents with psychopathology (N=136) before and after up to 25 weekly sessions of individual music therapy or corresponding waiting time. No significant interaction effects were identified, although quality of life showed a tendency in favor of music therapy. Effect sizes were smaller than in previous experimental research. Effects on symptoms depended on the presence and severity of comorbid medical conditions. The results suggest that music therapy as provided in routine practice is effective for some but not all groups of clients.

Pavlicevik, M. &amp; Ansdell, G. (Eds.). (2004). Community Music Therapy. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 320 pages. ISBN 1-84310-124-6

Pavlicevik, M. & Ansdell, G. (Eds.). (2004). Community Music Therapy. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 320 pages. ISBN 1-84310-124-6. Community Music Therapy, edited by Mercedes Ravlicevik and Gary Ansdell, an essential book for our time. As the music therapy profession continues to grow in awareness and acceptance, more and more persons are interested in music as therapeutic modality. As result, music therapists are often called upon to facilitate events such as drum circles for corporate team-building, active music-making for community outreach, healing music for support groups, and so on. These events take place outside the framework of traditional clinical context and thus leave us to question what my role in this situation and is this music therapy, and if not, then what? This book illuminates the current climate of Community Music Therapy (CoMT), providing the reader with thorough background of its evolution as well as provoking critical thought about professional implications. In dividing Community Music Therapy into six equally proportionate parts, Ravlicevik and Ansdell have deftly anticipated the needs of the reader who grapples with the questions posed above. Titles for parts I through Vl are in question form (as will be delineated throughout this review) and mirror the editors' claim that the reader of this text will not find authoritative definitions but a wide and colourful range of examples, alongside stimulating thinking, discussion and speculation (p. 17). Community Music Therapy delivers on this promise. An engaging foreword by Even Ruud, entitled Reclaiming Music, provides the reader with encouragement to explore music therapy's potential to bridge the gap between individuals and communities, thereby reclaiming some of the original functions of music in our (p. 12). challenge here to examine the philosophies which underpin our music therapy practice. The Ripple Effect, an introduction by Ravlicevik and Ansdell, begins the dialogue necessary for such exploration to occur and provides cogent foundation for synthesis with the divisionary parts and accompanying chapters. In order to strengthen this connection, suggestion would be to order the parts of the book in the same order they are addressed in the introduction, or vice versa. Part I titled New Name, Old Game?, takes the reader on journey into the world of CoMT through vibrant vignettes. Chapter 1 chronicles Mercedes Ravliceviks work in South Africa with the women of Thembalethu, training facility for home-based care workers. South African women, raised in culture where musical self-expression integral, need no encouragement and/or facilitation for music-making. This creates discomfort and insecurity for Pavlicevik, whose purpose in traveling to Thembalethu to share ways in which art therapies can contribute to their work. As she questions her role and professional abilities in light of the cultural context, Pavlicevik makes it easy to relate to her struggle with role shifts, session interruptions, and levels of leadership. While the sentence structure of the chapter can at times be confusing, the chapter an enlightening attempt to raise awareness of the cultural context of music therapy, something to which North American music therapists may need to become more sensitive. idea of equal opportunities for musical participation for all persons permeates chapter 2, From Therapy to Community: Making Music in Neurological Rehabilitation, authored by Stuart Wood, Rachel Verney, and Jessica Atkinson. Thoughtprovoking, the chapter seeks to provide rationale for utilizing music therapy to assist patients in rejoining their community upon discharge from hospital. Following threestage program, the participants move from individual music therapy to group music therapy and workshops to workshops, concerts, and learning opportunities. …

Music therapy for in-patients with schizophrenia

Music therapy may provide a means of improving mental health among people with schizophrenia, but its effects in acute psychoses have not been explored. To examine the feasibility of a randomised trial of music therapy for inpatients with schizophrenia, and explore its effects on mental health. Up to 12 weeks of individual music therapy plus standard care were compared with standard care alone. Masked assessments of mental health, global functioning and satisfaction with care were conducted at 3 months. Of 115 eligible patients 81 (70%) were randomised. Two-thirds of those randomised to music therapy attended at least four sessions (median attendance, eight sessions). Multivariate analysis demonstrated a trend towards improved symptom scores among those randomised to music therapy, especially in general symptoms of schizophrenia. A randomised trial of music therapy for in-patients with schizophrenia is feasible. The effects and cost-effectiveness of music therapy for acute psychosis should be further explored in an explanatory randomised trial.

Music Therapy with Sexually Abused Children

Music is part of everyday life, and is generally regarded as therapeutic. There is increasing interdisciplinary interest in innate human musicality and the link between music and the emotions. Innate musicality is evident in the dynamic forms of emotional expression that both regulate and cultivate the foundations of meaning in human communication (intersubjectivity). This article discusses music therapy, drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives, and illustrated by case material of individual music therapy with a sexually abused child. Where the growth of mind and meaning is devastated at its core by early relational trauma, music, when used with clinical perception, may reach and work constructively with damaged children in an evolving, musically mediated therapeutic relationship.

The Grief Song-Writing Process with Bereaved Adolescents: An Integrated Grief Model and Music Therapy Protocol

ABSTRACT: This article describes the development and implementation of the Grief Song-Writing Process (GSWP) with bereaved adolescents. First, a thematic analysis was completed of 123 songs previously written by bereaved adolescents in individual music therapy sessions that expressed core concerns regarding the death of their loved one and how they were coping since the death. Second, existing grief models were compared with these song theme areas, and an integrated grief model was developed that includes five identified grief process areas of understanding, feeling, remembering, integrating, and growing. Third, a systematized seven-session group GSWP protocol was developed and implemented, during which adolescents created music and wrote original lyrics to songs that focused on each of the five grief process areas. Details of this protocol are shared, along with five original songs composed for and during the songwriting process. The death of a loved one can be a difficult and significant life-impacting event, presenting major challenges for adolescents. The grieving process interacts with core adolescent concerns of gaining mastery and control over their environment, having a sense of belonging, seeking fairness and justice, and maintaining their self-image (Fleming & Adolph, 1986). Moos (1995) describes how bereaved adolescents adapt through establishing the personal meaning of the loss, maintaining an emotional balance, sustaining interpersonal relationships, and preserving a satisfactory self-image. Balk and Corr (1996) articulate a cognitive approach to therapy, emphasizing the need for adolescents to develop a variety of coping skills, including dealing with the reality of the loss and learning how to respond to life changes as a result of the death. However, many adolescents have a strong need to belong and not seem different from peers that may cause them to hide outward signs or expressions of grieving (Corr & Corr, 1996). This may result in acting out behavior, running away, delinquency, promiscuity, excessive drug use, or depression (Raphael, 1983; Wass & Scott, 1978). Various models of grief have described stages, tasks, phases, processes, and dimensions of healthy grieving for children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced the death of a loved one. In the development of the current study, many of these models were reviewed by Dalton (2001) for common characteristics and features. Some theorists have described task-based models for a healthy grieving process. These tasks include understanding and accepting the reality of the death, working through and bearing the emotional pain of the loss, and adjusting and resuming life without their loved one (Fox, 1985; Furman, 1974; Worden, 2002). Baker, Sedney, and Gross (1992) also described psychological tasks of forming a new personal identity integrating the experience of the loss, investing in new relationships, and returning to normal life activities. Bowlby (1980) described four phases of mourning including a numbing and denial of the reality of the loss; yearning for the loved one; intense emotions including sadness, anger, despair and hopelessness; and a reorganization where new bonds with others are formed. Rando (1993) described the R process of complicated mourning, including recognizing the loss, reacting to the separation, recollecting and re-experiencing the deceased and the relationship, relinquishing the old attachments and old assumptive world (i.e., what was taken for granted when the deceased was still alive), readjusting to move adaptively into the new world without forgetting the old, and reinvesting in life activities. Wolfelt (1983) described dimensions of children's grief, including a lack of feelings, shock, denial, numbness, emptiness, sadness, guilt, fear, self-blame, acting out behavior, explosive emotions, disorganization and panic, the big man/ woman syndrome (i.e., the bereaved child taking on adult roles previously held by the deceased), physiological changes, regression, and reconciliation. …

Glassman, Lorna R. (2004). Here Comes the Music Lady: Memoirs of a Music Therapist. Bloomington, IN. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1-4184-2307-6 (softcover)

Journal Article Glassman, Lorna R. (2004). Here Comes the Music Lady: Memoirs of a Music Therapist . Bloomington, IN. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1-4184-2307-6 (softcover) Get access Glassman Lorna R. ( 2004 ). Here Comes the Music Lady: Memoirs of a Music Therapist . Bloomington, IN . AuthorHouse . ISBN 1-4184-2307-6 (softcover). Sister Mary Margaret Delaski, FSE, MA, MT-BC Sister Mary Margaret Delaski, FSE, MA, MT-BC Franciscan Life Process Center , Lowell, MI Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Music Therapy Perspectives, Volume 24, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 53–54, https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/24.1.53 Published: 01 May 2006

Individual Music Therapy with Persons with Frontotemporal Dementia

It is possible to slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease with pharmacological treatment. When this treatment is given to people with types of dementia that affect the frontai and temporal lobes (Frontotemporal Dementia) the results are discouraging. It is observed that the patients show pronounced restlessness and mania. In this article we describe a nonpharmacological psychosocial approach, music therapy, and how it is possible to work with this method when constitutional, regulative, dialogical, and integrative aspects are included. The focus is on therapeutic singing where well-known songs are applied in order to build up structure and stability and/or as means of arousal regulation. Songs with personal meaning make it possible to acknowledge the person 's emotions, breaking the social isolation, and meeting the music therapy participant's psychosocial needs. The clinical approach is an integration of a relational music therapy approach and a more physiologically based arousal model, and is here illustrated in a case study that integrated both qualitative and quantitative data in a flexible research design.1

Music Psychotherapy and Community Music Therapy: Questions and Considerations

In his article on community music therapy, Aigen (2004) recognizes the challenges that can emerge when a new form of practice develops and he emphatically states that when these changes take place, "new ethical, self-reflexive, and conceptual signposts" (p 216) are needed. My purpose in writing this paper is to contribute to the development of these signposts by sharing a course of therapy that has stimulated relevant questions in this newly emerging area of work. This paper does not present definitive guidelines, but attempts to identify important considerations when a course of individual music therapy includes the public sharing of the content of therapy sessions in the community in a variety of forms.