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Vol 9 No 1 1995

Why Provide Music Therapy in the Community for Adults with Mental Health Problems?  p4 - p10

Helen Odell-Miller

Abstract

This paper describes music therapy within a community mental health setting for adults using a care programme approach in England.  It describes the setting, and emphasises the importance of multidisciplinary teamwork in order to enable music therapy to be effective.  It provides some statistics and descriptive clinical information which demonstrate the efficacy of music therapy for adults with long-term mental health problems, an argues that music therapy should be a priority for this client group.  To support these points of view, the article includes a case study showing a psychoanalytically informed approach in music therapy.  This paper was given as a keynote address at the 1994 Australian Conference of Music Therapy.

The Acknowledgement of Loss Working Through Depression  p11 - p16

Alison Davies

Abstract

In this paper, I would like to share some of my thoughts about work with depression and how aspects of loss are linked with depressive states.  I will show how, through the use of music, patients stuck in the depths of a painful depression are able to begin to express feelings through an experience in music, and how this gives them access to feelings that can then be articulated in words.  My theoretical basis for understanding depression comes from the field of psychoanalysis.

Music Therapy, A Description of Process: Engagement and Avoidance in Five People with Learning Disabilities  p17 - p24

Peter Toolan and Shirley Coleman

Abstract

A number of approaches exist within the field of music therapy.  Some models for evaluating the efficacy of therapy have been adopted in the UK in recent years.  These have measured the occurrence of specific behaviours within therapy, or compared music therapy with other interventions.  There is a need to find reasonable reliable methods of describing change and the therapeutic process occurring with music therapy.  This paper describes change occurring in five people with learning disabilities, in terms of their levels of engagement in therapy and in the therapeutic relationship.  A method is provided, to evaluate independent observers' perceptions of change in the patients over a 30-sessions period of therapy.  A significant increase in levels of engagement over time was found.  It was also found that the degree of change over time was not related to the mean level of engagement.  We discuss some subtle factors involved in therapeutic engagement for the five patients in the study, and stress the importance of a therapy which emphasises the dynamics of interpersonal communication for people with limited opportunities to express thoughts and emotions.

Stretto

The Use of Verbal Material in Music Therapy  p25

Book Reviews  p26 - p28

Art and Music Therapy and Research - Edited by Andrea Gilroy and Colin Lee/ Reviewed by Penny Rogers

Essays on Analytical Music Therapy by Mary Priestley/Reviewed by Geoffrey Elkan

Vol 9 No 2 1995

Music Therapy Research in Europe: A Context for the Qualitative/Quantitative Debate  p5 - p12

Penny Rogers

Abstract

Research in music therapy has proliferated over the past decade, some conducted by practitioner-researchers, some by academics.  This research includes both clinical and non-clinical studies and encompasses a variety of research methodologies - qualitative, quantitative, new paradigm, and single case-studies.  This paper reports a number of single case-studies.  This paper reports a number of emerging trends in music therapy research across Europe.  It focuses specifically on research conducted at PhD or post-doctoral level, and acknowledges the debate between the adoption of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in music therapy research in Europe.

Case Studies in Huntington's Disease: Music Therapy Assessment and Treatment in the Early to Advanced Stages  p13 - p19

Wendy Magee

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the different stages of Huntington's Disease (HD) and to present methods of music therapy assessment and treatment specifically related to the varying levels of abilities seen in the early to advanced stages of this illness.  Whilst these methods are described here in relation to HD, they are also useful when working with clients with other forms of cognitive or neurological impairment.

Music therapy, unlike other treatments, provides an active outlet for a person living with HD even during the most advanced stages of the illness.  Participation in music therapy can be facilitated for those people who are unable to take part in any other form of activity, thus providing a valuable assessment tool for other disciplines working with the HD client.

This paper will present a progressive picture of life for the HD client. Using case studies, it will suggest different music therapy treatment approaches for the varying stages of the illness.  Special consideration will be give to assessment when working with clients experiencing cognitive degeneration, and methods for optimising clients' remaining skills within individual and group settings.

Is Music an Archaic Form of Thinking?  p20 - p26

Kimmo Lehtonen

Abstract

The central idea of this article is based on the assumption that there is a close parallel between the forms of music and 'archaic' forms of thinking.  The article discusses the Piagetian developmental model of assimilation and accommodation processes and their resemblance to the increasing and decreasing inner tensions caused by music.  At the most general, pervasive level, music can be viewed as being parallel to bodily experienced, non-verbal forms of meaning, and, as such may be described as 'archaic thinking'.  This dimension of musical experience is common to all know cultures, and it is similar to the body schemas and 'bodily forms of thinking' of an infant.

Forms of 'archaic thinking' as a hierarchy are also discussed.  Theories concerning the different developmental phases of thinking are considered.  The cognitive and psychoanalytical theories of Eva Basch-Kahre shed new light on the phenomenon of music, as do the infant developmental research and writings of Daniel Stern.  Basch-Kahre distinguishes different forms of thinking according to the different developmental stages of the individual, e.g. chaotic, emotional-sensomotoric and operational thinking processes.  Stern considers developmental stages of the infant in an interpersonal dimension, the dynamic processes of which manifest 'musically', or in 'musical' forms.  This author's thesis is that, by using music and musical symbols in the therapeutic situation, for example, it is possible to meet and address all these developmental stages within the individual.             

Stretto  p27

Book Reviews  p28 - p32

The Art and Science of Music Therapy: A Handbook - Edited by Tony Wigram, Bruce Saperston and Robert West/Reviewed by Denise Erdonmez Grocke

Arts Therapies and Clients with Eating Disorders - Edited by Ditty Dokter/Reviewed by Marilyn Lawrence

Transforming Depression - A Jungian Approach Using the Creative Arts by David H. Rosen/Reviewed by Alison Davies

Language Development in Children with Special Needs by Irene Johansson/Reviewed by Helen Thorpe