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Vol 2 No 1 1988

Music Therapy with Parkinson's Disease p5 - p9

Jennie Selman

Abstract

Disabilities which start in adulthood produce great frustrations as a result of the loss of skills and abilities.  These losses have considerable influence on relationships and social skills.  Parkinson's Disease patients encounter these problems and the inevitable psychological and emotional problems which they cause.

This case study concerns work with patient using music as a channel for the feelings of frustration.  The shared improvised music aids and allows the establishment of a relationship with strong emotional contact and communication.

Music Therapy in Victorian England p10 - p16

William B Davis

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to trace the growth and development of the Guild of St. Cecilia.  This late nineteenth century organisation was founded by Frederick Kill Harford in London to provide music therapy to hospitalised patients.  All information was derived from letters written by Harford and editorials that appeared in British medical and music periodicals.  Initially, the Guild enjoyed great success and was endorsed by important people such as Florence Nightingale and Sir Richard Quain, physicians to Queen Victoria.  The Rev Harford was astute in his observations that the effects of music must be tested to find the most beneficial ways for it to be used as therapy.  he envisaged an association that would provide live and transmitted music via telephone to London's hospitals.  Ultimately, due to the lack of support from the press, limited financial resources and Harford's ill health the organisation failed to prosper.  Despite this, the Guild of St. Cecilia remains important because it kept alive the idea that music could be used therapeutically to benefit physically and mentally ill people.

A Case Study:  Lara p17 - p23

Anthi Agrotou

Abstract

This paper is an abbreviated version of a longer study concerning the first fourteen music therapy sessions with a ten-year-old girl displaying autistic tendencies.

The reason for the girl's referral for music therapy - and the main area of work during the sessions - was to help her in her difficulties in initiating, responding and maintaining an interactional activity wherein she could communicate her needs and desires.

The paper discusses how the girl's own spontaneous organisation of sound into bursts and pauses - with a longer general cessation marking her time of non-engagement - facilitated the evolution of an interactional musical relationship with the therapist within which she spontaneously communicated her affective experiences.

An Assessment of the Benefits of Micro Technology in Music Therapy p24 - p31

Andrea Fitzwilliam

Abstract

This article aims to summarise the main facilities made available to the music therapist by developments in micro technology, and to assess their benefits.  All issues discussed relate to the author's own personal experience of using such equipment in working with handicapped adults.  The survey covers computer hardware and software developments, from specially developed computer input devices to facilities made available by MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

Book Reviews p32 - p34

The Developmental Psychology of Music, David J. Hargreaves, Reviewed by Leslie Bunt

Improvisational Models of Music Therapy by Kenneth Bruscia/Reviewed by Marjorie Wardle

Vol 2 No 2 1988

Questions and Reflections on Research  p5 - p8

Auriel Warwick

Abstract

At  the outset, I would describe this paper as an attempt to assimilate questions, thoughts and experiences which have arisen from research into music therapy with autistic children and their mothers, carried out from September, 1986, until July, 1987.  The research was undertaken in partnership with Pierrette Muller, a research psychology student working for her Ph.D.  Although results are not yet available, the actual experience of being involved in the project with the follow-up of what has happened since the specified research period ended, raises a number of questions in my mind together with a number of philosophical reflections.  These I wish to share with you and emphasise that they are subjective.

Music and the Listeners p9 - p13

Mary Priestley

Abstract

This paper outlines fourteen sessions of analytical music therapy (Priestley 1975) spread over six months and a follow-up session thirteen weeks later.  The client was a self-referred lady psychotherapist aged 60.  she had one isolated problem which many sessions of psychotherapy had failed to touch, so in fact this was a focal music therapy.  Her problem was that she could not play, or even practise the piano, if she felt anyone (including her teacher) was listening.  If she did she had feelings of panic and had to stop.  This reduced her playing to the very minimum and naturally hindered her progress and her enjoyment of this art.  As she was approaching a more leisured time of life she felt that it was now crucial to try and overcome this anxiety.

This paper is based on brief notes made after her sessions and a re-hearing of the recorded improvisations.  The client's name and some circumstances have been concealed to preserve confidentiality.  She has seen the case study and  has given her permission to publish.  In order to give the feeling of the inner meaning and emotional flavour of an utterance, words or sentences in quotes are the client's own.  Discussion recorded before the improvisation took place before we played.  The supervisor mentioned twice is the Jungian analyst, Dr. Redfearn, with whom the writer has discussed her work for several years.  The 50-minute sessions were weekly as far as possible, but dates are given.

Creative Music Therapy in a Hospital Setting: a Preliminary Research Design  p14 - p17

David Aldridge and Rachel Verney

Abstract

The aims of this study are to find ways of collecting appropriate clinical data consistently and to develop co-operative working relationships with clinical colleagues.  Six hypotheses are generated from the relationship between the playing of improvised music and a person's health.  The method of research is to collect quantitative and qualitative data, and use observations from several perspectives: the doctor, the therapist, the ward staff, the patient and the family.  Data collection and observation would be closely linked to everyday clinical practice.

Music Therapy Training: A Personal Experience  p18 - p20

Judith Webster

Abstract

This article explores a personal experience of a music therapy training course.  It attempts to identify that which constitutes the change from a musician to a music therapist, looking specifically at the personal challenge of self-discovery which is involved in that process.

Book Previews   p21 - p24

Gentle Teaching: A Non-Aversive Approach to Helping Persons with Mental Retardation, McGee, J.J., Menolascino, F.J., Hobbs, D.C., Menousek, P.E., reviewed by Dave Hewitt

Les Techniques Psychomusicales Actives de Groupe et leur Application en Psychiatrie, J. Verdeau-Pailles and J.M. Guiraud-Caladou, reviewed by Amelia Oldfield

Video Review  p25 - p26

Music and the Shadow, produced by Mary Priestley, reviewed by Sarah Hoskyns