Therapy Group Work Research Articles

Exploring the professional experiences of mental health occupational therapists during a period of COVID-19

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about disruption in the way health-care professionals carry out their day-to-day practices across communities. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the professional experiences of occupational therapists working in community and rehabilitation mental health settings during a period of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help gain an understanding of how their day-to-day work practices have been affected. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative phenomenological research study explored the lived experiences of ten occupational therapists working within Health Service Executive community and rehabilitation mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included eight community mental health occupational therapists and two rehabilitative mental health occupational therapists. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Three themes were identified: holding on to what we do;technology: friend and foe;and COVID as a catalyst to clarify the occupational therapy role. These themes capture the community changes, challenges and frustrations experienced by the occupational therapists while striving to provide quality mental health occupational therapy services during the pandemic. Originality/value: The findings demonstrate the adaptive nature of the profession, the importance of traditional observation methods of community-based care, the experiences with telehealth approaches and an opportunity to clarify misconceptions of aspects of the profession’s role in relation to employment-related issues and occupational therapy group work within such mental health settings. © 2021, Brendan Culleton.

Playing With Chaos: Broadening Possibilities for How Music Therapist’s Consider Chaos in Group Work With Young People

Abstract Many music therapists have alluded to challenges in their work with groups of young people. However, chaos, incorporating experiences of disintegration and destruction, is a construct often overlooked in music therapy literature. Some music therapy authors have related experiences of chaos to the struggles faced by young people referred for therapy. These experiences require management, modification, or resolution. The authors of this article synthesized broader understandings and approaches towards chaos described in literature from fields including music therapy group work, drama therapy, the arts, psychoanalysis, organizational studies, and philosophy. Chaos is positioned as an inherent and necessary aspect of music therapy groups with young people, situated within a mutually potentiating relationship with more ordered features of a group process. From this paradoxical perspective, therapeutic transformation is enabled through creativity that holds the tension between order and the destructiveness of chaos. When chaos is welcomed in music therapy groups and framed within appropriate boundaries, the authors argue that experiences of chaos can be harnessed to support engagement with the paradoxes of creativity and destructiveness. The provision of a space to play with chaos supports young people who are required to flourish within adverse, chaotic life circumstances. The significance of this position for a group of young people who have committed offences in the South African context is highlighted.

Art Making Through Change: New Journeys with Gender and Identity

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2018) 4(2):214–224 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2018/4/32 Art Making Through Change: New Journeys with Gender and Identity Abstract This paper discusses the role of the art making process within art therapy to support experiences of change, loss, and new identities, where themes of social change, pioneering and new narratives create challenge and opportunity for those within the therapeutic art making space. The paper discusses a heuristic art-based process, and examples and considerations for art therapy group work practice in relation to gender transition, and non-binary identity.

Musicking Together: Affective, Cognitive and Physical Aspects of a Music Therapy Group Work

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and discuss the affective, cognitive, and physical events that occur when people gather to make music. Using a theoretical framework derived from community music therapy and sociology of music, this work focuses on the experiences and perceptions of five women who participated in music therapy group work. Structured observation was used to register the participants’ affective, cognitive, and physical manifestations during the group work. Results suggested that music therapy collective music making stimulated participants to interact and develop different forms of feeling, thinking, and acting. Making music together encouraged participants to think about their feelings, roles, and judgments, reflecting that the collective experience promoted positive changes in their lives.

I could hear my heart beating*: music therapy group work for people struggling with everyday stress

I could hear my heart beating*: music therapy group work for people struggling with everyday stress

Music Therapy Groupwork with Special Needs Children: The Evolving Process (Karen D. Goodman)

Music Therapy Groupwork with Special Needs Children: The Evolving Process (Karen D. Goodman)

Brief Report: Effects of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Group-Work on Promoting Post-traumatic Growth of Mothers Who Have a Child with ASD

The study evaluated the impact of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) group-work on the post-traumatic growth (PTG) of mothers who have a child with ASD. A quasi-experimental design was used in which 43 mothers participated. 18 mothers in 2 SFBT groups (n=9 in each group) received a 6-session SFBT group therapy while 25 mothers in a control group received no treatment. The Post-traumatic Growth Inventory was used to measure the PTG levels of the participants at baseline, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up assessments. Mothers who attended SFBT group-work reported higher PTG scores both at post-treatment (t=4.065, p=.001) and 6-month follow-up (t=2.980, p=.006) assessments. Further investigations to prove whether SFBT in groups can increase the positivity of clients would promote the use of SFBT.

Gentling the Bull: Harnessing Anti-Group Forces in Music Therapy Group Work with Adults with Learning Disabilities

This paper aims to examine music therapy group work with adults with learning disabilities, with a particular focus on the musical manifestations of the ‘anti-group‘ (Nitsun 1996) forces. Anti-group is a concept formulated by the group analyst Morris Nitsun in order to describe the destructive aspects of groups that threaten their integrity and therapeutic development. To illustrate the working of anti-group forces in a music therapy group setting, I will also present a case study of a slow open music therapy group which I ran for 3 years in an NHS clinic for adults with learning disabilities. Finally I will try to illustrate how recognising, confronting and harnessing the forces of the anti-group (firstly by the therapist and then by the group members) provided the group with opportunities for growth and creativity, in particular in the way the members related to each other musically.

The Healing and Spiritual Properties of Music Therapy at a Cancer Care Center

This article explores the theme of spirituality, health, and well-being, in relation to an emerging body of research on the impact of music therapy in cancer care. The focus of this article is a music therapy service established as part of a residential 5-day retreat program at a cancer care center. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of patients with cancer with one-off group music therapy at a cancer care center. Central emphasis is given to exploring a range of themes relating to the healing and spiritual properties of music therapy group work. This is a qualitative study, following a modified grounded-theory approach. Twenty-three (23) in-depth tape-recorded telephone interviews were conducted with people who had taken part in the music therapy sessions. The results focus on those findings relevant to notions of spirituality and healing, drawing on four overarching spirituality themes of transcendence, connectedness, search for meaning, and faith and hope. The authors consider the applicability of broader schemas that attempt to define and explore the role and significance of spirituality.

Quit Now! A Psychoeducational Expressive Therapy Group Work Approach for At-Risk and Delinquent Adolescent Smokers in Singapore

In this article, we review the risk and protective factors for adolescent smoking, as well as current research on evidence-based practices. The relevance of structured expressive therapy in meeting the maturational and emotional needs of at-risk and delinquent adolescents, and the multicultural context of adolescents in Singapore's Asian society are also explored. We present a framework for an evidence-based psychoeducational structured expressive therapy group work model which was pioneered in Singapore residential rehabilitation programs and high schools under the auspices of CARE Singapore.

Narrative Therapy Group Work for Chemically Dependent Clients with HIV/AIDS

This article explores narrative therapy group work (NTGW) as a useful tool for HIV-positive individuals who are recovering from addiction. The use of NTGW for this population brings with it benefits and barriers; these are discussed as they relate to the process of a group led by the author. The implementation of NTGW in an agency supportive of HIV, the opportunity to reframe a life narrative, and the support engendered by mutual aid and the relational process of group work may provide a less stigmatizing environment of support than conventional 12-step programs. The author ascribes his success with the group discussed in this article in part to the use of NTGW in combination with other useful techniques, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Directions for future research and implications of the NTGW for working with this population are offered.

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

Music therapy groupwork with special needs children: The evolving process

Music therapy groupwork with special needs children: The evolving process

Book Review: Music Therapy Groupwork with Special Needs Children: The Evolving Process

Book Review: Music Therapy Groupwork with Special Needs Children: The Evolving Process

Drumming through trauma: Music therapy with post-traumatic soldiers

Combat stress reaction is common among soldiers and can develop to a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This distressing condition embraces symptoms such as feelings of loneliness and isolation from society, intrusive memories, outbursts of anger and generalized feelings of helplessness. Drumming has been receiving considerable attention in music therapy. Only few references relate to such activity among those who suffer from PTSD, and even fewer relate to combat induced post-traumatic syndrome, none of them empirical. The current study presents music therapy group work with six soldiers diagnosed as suffering from combat or terror related PTSD. Data were collected from digital cameras which filmed the sessions, open-ended in-depth interviews, and a self-report of the therapist. Some reduction in PTSD symptoms was observed following drumming, especially increased sense of openness, togetherness, belonging, sharing, closeness, connectedness and intimacy, as well as achieving a non-intimidating access to traumatic memories, facilitating an outlet for rage and regaining a sense of self-control.

Cognitive behavioural therapy group work with voice hearers. Part 2

This is the second of two papers that present a small, randomized control trial of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) within a group setting for the treatment of auditory hallucinations. In the previous paper, a method was described for an eight-session CBT group. Assessments were undertaken measuring control, power, frequency, and symptoms of distress and anxiety on commencement and on completion of the group. This second paper details the experience of the group and reports on the outcomes of the assessment measures. The study concludes that group CBT was helpful in the treatment of auditory hallucinations.

Cognitive behavioural therapy group work with voice hearers. Part 1

This study presents a small, randomised control trial of cognitive behavioural interventions within a group setting for the treatment of auditory hallucinations. In a sample of 20 voice hearers, 10 were randomly allocated to an eight-session cognitive behavioural therapy group, and 10 underwent psychiatric 'treatment as usual'. Baseline assessments were undertaken. Measures of control, power, frequency and symptoms of distress and anxiety, were recorded on assessment and on completion of the group. The groups achieved a significant reduction in frequency of auditory hallucinations and in the beliefs about the power of the voice. Satisfaction measures also suggested that the group participants valued the group and benefited from the structured sessions. Universality, the recognition that other people experience very similar problems, was one of the most beneficial factors of the intervention. This study suggests that group cognitive behavioural therapy was helpful in the treatment of auditory hallucinations.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Approach in School Settings

ABSTRACT Over the last decade, grandparents have increasingly taken on the role of primary caregiver for their grandchildren. In fact, research of school principals in some urban communities report that 30% to 70% of their students live with grandparents or other relatives at some point in their lives. As a resource to many grandparents, social work practitioners in schools are in a unique position to assist this vulnerable, but valuable population. With such considerations, this article has three purposes. The first purpose seeks to sensitize social workers to some of the adversities and prospects faced by grandparents raising grandchildren. The second purpose seeks to provide an overview of current solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) group work in facilitating and using the model with at-risk populations. The third and final purpose seeks to advance the work done by SFBT researchers and practitioners on using the model with primary caregivers. We then describe and recommend an eight-week SFBT group with grandparents and highlight the key components of each week's focus.

Articulating the Dynamics of Music Therapy Group Improvisations

The generation of indigenous music therapy knowledge is reliant on the creation of relevant and adequate tools for investigation of musical phenomena. This article proposes a model of musical analysis that focuses on articulating the dynamics of a therapy group, as heard in their improvised material. Narrative descriptions are generated that can be used as the musical evidence upon which psychological interpretations may be based. The descriptions are argued to be both relevant and adequately recognizable, as illustrated through an example drawn from research with a group of bereaved adolescents in Australia. The Music Therapy Group Improvisation Analysis Model (MTGI-AM) has been devised specifically for music therapy group work with adolescents, although it may have broader applicability.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Groupwork with At-Risk Junior High School Students: Enhancing the Bottom Line

Despite the preliminary studies that support solution-focused brief therapy, limited research has examined the model as a group intervention with students at risk for academic underachievement and school nonattendance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the model on school attendance and grade point average. Solution-focused brief therapy was evaluated through a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest comparison group design in which 26 students receiving the intervention were compared to 26 students who did not. Compared to students who did not receive the intervention, students in the treatment group increased their grade point average from pretreatment to posttreatment. Conversely, no differences were found between the two groups on attendance. Solution-focused brief therapy shows promise as a group intervention with at-risk students. Moreover, the findings suggest the continued support of the model during a time in which K-12 education emphasizes accountability, hard data, and the bottom line.