Music technology usage in music therapy: A survey of practice

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) how many music therapists use music technology in their clinical work, (b) trends regarding music technology usage related to gender, age, and/or geographical location, (c) how music therapists acquire knowledge and/or training in music technology, (d) barriers to using music technology in clinical work, (e) types of music technology music therapists currently use, and (f) why music therapists do or do not use music technology in their clinical practice. Participants (N = 600) completed a 27-question survey with a 95% completion rate. The return rates for participants by country were: (a) US 27%, (b) Australia 6%, (c) Canada 9%, and (d) UK 9%. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data were conducted. A majority of the music therapists surveyed (71%, n = 443) reported using music technology in the clinical setting. Differences in technology usage were found according to age and gender of the participants. Most of the participants reported to be self-taught (61%, n = 464). Results of this study indicated that more training in music technology related to clinical practice is needed, with attention given to ways to make more technology accessible to a variety of learners.     

Taking gender into account: Brief report on a survey of music therapists’ attitudes to future use of a proposed computer aided evaluation system: The music therapy logbook

Analysis of an international survey of music therapists working in the field of neuro-disability (N = 44) identified differences in attitude between female and male therapists towards future use of a computer-aided recording and analysis system, the main purpose of which is to track changes in a client's and therapist's use of music over time. This article, a follow up report on the original survey ( Streeter, 2010), examines the effects of respondent gender on attitude in order to identify issues that will need to be taken into account during the next phase of research and development. Results indicate that male music therapists may hold more positive opinions about computer-aided practice evaluation than female music therapists. However, the data also shows that female respondents were more concerned than their male counterparts about the ethical and practical issues that might arise if they were to introduce computer-aided evaluation at work. Both genders expressed excitement at the prospect of a specialist system designed to record, store, and quantify changes in music play between a music therapist and a patient.     

Music therapy in children's hospices: An evaluative survey of provision

This paper presents the results of a survey of the range of music therapy practice in children's hospices in the UK. Music therapists are challenged to work with children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions during short periods of respite care over several years or at end of life. Flexibility is fundamental to working both individually and in small groups in response to the shifting needs of the children and their families. In the context of a children's hospice music therapists are called upon to work creatively with siblings and family members and members of the multidisciplinary team in addition to the children themselves. A questionnaire and focus group for music therapists working in the children's hospices provided evidence of the range of work, priorities and future plans for development. Telephone interviews with specialist staff at children's hospices where music therapists were not currently working provided evidence of how music and musical activities were perceived and utilised, with any plans for future provision for a music therapy service and some of the practical and resource issues being itemised.     

Music and healing in cancer care: A survey of supportive care providers

This paper explores the role of music activity and music therapy in health care drawing on a survey of UK cancer care providers offering music interventions and music therapy. The survey examined the extent and type of music provision and explored providers’ views about the role and contribution of music and music therapy in healing. As well as music, the survey organisations offered a range of supportive therapies including complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) and creative therapies such as art therapy. The results provide insight into the way in which music and creative therapies are viewed by those responsible for care provision in this sector. The data point towards some of the challenges facing music therapists in the changing world of cancer care. These include responding to changes arising from developments in treatment and the organisation of care as well as increased collaboration with a diverse range of supportive care practitioners. These include providers of music and arts for health activity as well as complementary and alternative therapy practitioners who are increasingly involved in cancer care provision. We discuss the implications of these changes for the development of music therapy in cancer care.     

Computer aided music therapy evaluation: Testing the Music Therapy Logbook prototype 1 system

Research indicates that music therapists are likely to make use of computer software, designed to measure changes in the way a patient and therapist make use of music in music therapy sessions. A proof of concept study investigated whether music analysis algorithms (designed to retrieve information from commercial music recordings) can be adapted to meet the needs of music therapists. Computational music analysis techniques were applied to multi-track audio recordings of simulated sessions, then to recordings of individual music therapy sessions; these were recorded by a music therapist as part of her ongoing practice with patients with acquired brain injury.The music therapist wanted to evaluate two hypotheses: one, whether changes in her tempo were affecting the tempo of a patient's play on acoustic percussion instruments, and two, whether her musical interventions were helping the patient reduce habituated, rhythmic patterning. Automatic diagrams were generated that gave a quick overview of the instrumental activity contained within each session: when, and for how long each instrument was played. From these, computational analysis was applied to musical areas of specific interest. The results of the interdisciplinary team work, audio recording tests, computer analysis tests, and music therapy field tests are presented and discussed.     

Women's issues and music therapists: A look forward

This study surveyed 1890 American and Canadian music therapists in order to examine present-day men and women music therapists’ experiences as they compare with each other and as they compare with their 1990 counterparts in terms of their situations, their practices, their approaches, and their personal, work, and family concerns (Curtis, 1990). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the structured and open-ended survey items revealed commonalities and differences among the 682 respondents. In comparison to their 1990 counterparts, present-day women music therapists are significantly different: they are older, more educated, more often in academic settings, more satisfied with their career choice, and with many different concerns. Present-day men and women respondents’ experiences reflect more commonalities, differing only in that the men are older, more educated, more often in academic settings, and higher paid. The present-day women and men are similar to each other and differ significantly from their 1990 counterparts with 68%, 66%, and 91% respectively feeling that sex discrimination has a general impact. Similarly 31% of the present-day men and 25% of the women are familiar with feminist music therapy, as opposed to 16% in 1990. Present-day men and women music therapists share a passion for their work, with 98% and 95% respectively recommending music therapy careers, as opposed to 56% in 1990.     

The use of music therapy to promote attachment between parents and infants

The promotion of attachment behaviours between parents and infants through music-based interventions is an emerging specialism in music therapy practice. The theoretical formations and research to support this work are increasingly being elaborated, and the work of music therapists with clients throughout the lifespan increasingly draws on this rich theoretical base.This paper provides an overview of the theoretical underpinnings that inform the work of qualified music therapists in promoting healthy and secure attachment between parents and infants where disruption to a secure relational bond has occurred, or is vulnerable in some way. Characteristics of the innate musicality of the very young infant are considered, and the mutual regulation potentials of music making between caregivers and their developing infants is presented.Recognising the musicality of early parent-infant interactions allows for a deeper theorising of the effects and benefits of music therapy for this population as well as a unique insight into how sensitive responding through shared timings and synchrony builds capacity for the essentials of emotional intimacy for the developing couple. For the purposes of this review the definition of infant used is the broadest possible: from birth until 3 years and 11 months of age.     

A qualitative study of Korean music therapist's turnover experiences

Nine Korean music therapists’ turnover experiences were examined using consensual qualitative research. Five domains and 24 categories were created from the cross-analysis of the data. The domains of this study were: (a) factors contributing to turnover; (b) burnout; (c) turnover procedure; (d) changes after turnover; and (e) factors contributing to retention. Based on the frequency label of each category, three types of categories were generated: general (8–9 cases), typical (5–7 cases), and variant (2–3 cases). The result showed that the lack of recognition for music therapy among administrators, supervisors, and peer therapists contributed to music therapists’ turnover decision. However, it was found that these participants had a strong sense of professionalism, which was expressed through their work, regardless of the various challenges posed by environmental conditions. In fact, financial sources such as work conditions and salary were only categorized as variant whereas the professional incentives were identified generally across participants in this study.     

Music therapy: A community approach to social justice

This theoretical paper demonstrates how music therapy—and more specifically, community music therapy (CoMT)—can contribute to social justice. CoMT is a creative approach that the liberates expression, potentially empowering people of all ages, races, and statuses to build a better society. It also reveals how the leadership literature presents the concept of service in addressing social justice and how the fields of psychology and sociology of music shed some light on the use of music for social justice. Finally, future implications for training music therapists for social justice are explored.     

Aggression in music therapy and its role in creativity with reference to personality disorder

This article describes a project that explored the relationship between aggression and creativity in music therapy. It examines the role of aggression in psychological growth and how music therapy might have a unique role in channelling aggression. An exploratory qualitative study included a mixed methods approach of a case study and thematic analysis of interviews. It included three interviews with three experienced music therapists who were asked about their experience of aggression in music therapy. The case study supports the evidence gathered in the interviews, and describes short-term individual music therapy treatment with a man with a personality disorder diagnosis and a history of extremely aggressive behaviour. The study suggested a strong link between aggression, affect and body movement. Gathered information and results from interview analysis showed that aggression and creativity share important similarities in areas of mastery and control, affect and emotion, and action and intention. Conclusions of the study showed that music therapy can sometimes provide a context for safe exploration of aggression and deeper feelings. It can also enable the individual to sublimate negative emotions through appropriate expression.     

The impact of breathing and music on stress levels of clients and visitors in a psychiatric emergency room

Waiting in the Diagnostic Emergency Center (DEC), a busy psychiatric emergency room, can be a stressful and anxiety-producing experience in and of itself. The authors examined the effectiveness of interventions such as therapeutic breathing exercises and music listening on reducing perceived stress levels of clients and visitors in such a setting. These interventions were separately conducted for 30 min once per week over a period of four months. Effectiveness of the breathing and music interventions was measured through a voluntary survey. This survey measured pre- and post-intervention stress levels through self-report on a 10-point Likert scale. The interventions were shown to reduce median stress levels by two to three points on a 10-point scale, reaching statistical significance at the 97% confidence level with a medium to large effect size. The project demonstrated that it was possible to develop music and breathing interventions so they can be utilized in the DEC as well as other branches of our hospital system, providing increased support and comfort to our clients and visitors during their times of crisis.     

Multicultural issues encountered in the supervision of music therapy internships in the United States and Canada

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which multicultural issues are being addressed in music therapy internships in the United States and Canada. Internships are pre-professional, supervised clinical training programs required for certification or accreditation as a music therapist. Music therapy internship supervisors (N = 104) completed an online survey on demographics, multicultural training and experiences, cross-cultural issues encountered in internship supervision, and the extent to which multicultural issues are addressed with interns. Analysis of the data revealed that although the majority of supervisors had supervised interns from diverse cultural backgrounds, many had little or no formalized training in multicultural music therapy. It was also found that multicultural issues were not being consistently addressed within the context of music therapy internship supervision. Implications for supervisor training, music therapy internship supervision practices, and further research are discussed.     

Applying a social learning theoretical framework to music therapy as a prevention and intervention for bullies and victims of bullying

Bullying is a growing worldwide problem largely affecting school-aged youth and, to date, there is no music therapy literature specific to bullying. As a result, there is no guidance for applying theoretical frameworks or for developing music therapy interventions for bullies and victims of bullying. After synthesizing the literature and determining the characteristics and behaviors of bullies and victims, the authors applied social learning theory as a framework to conceptualize the behaviors and cognitions of bullies and victims and to design age appropriate music therapy interventions. Based from concepts of social learning theory and existing music therapy research with adolescents, the authors provide suggestions of music therapy interventions for both bullies and victims. It seems that a social learning theory approach to music therapy interventions might represent an appropriate approach to frame treatments for both bullies and the victims of bullying. Prevention and intervention efforts at various age and developmental levels using music therapy may be more engaging, motivating, and effective than prevention and intervention efforts without music. The proposed interventions may be a helpful initiator for music therapists working with school-aged populations on the issues of bullying.     

Music therapy and social justice: A personal journey

This article examines the emergent trend of social justice in music therapy as evidenced across practice, research, and theory. The diverse nature and scope of social justice is reviewed from such varied perspectives as: feminist music therapy, community music therapy, peace activism, and participatory action research, as well as multicultural and empowerment approaches to music therapy. The author's personal journey in social justice is outlined as it unfolds in both personal and professional dimensions, including work in community music therapy with adults with developmental disabilities and work in feminist music therapy with survivors of violence.     

Indigenous music therapy theory building through grounded theory research: The developing indigenous theory framework

There are diverse understandings within music therapy about what constitutes theory. Also, there is debate about whether research methodology, developed outside of the field of music therapy, is able to support the development of music therapy theory that is indigenous to the profession. In this paper, a framework, called the developing indigenous theory (DIT) framework, which allows for the development of indigenous theory through the use of grounded theory research methodology, is presented. A new definition of indigenous music therapy theory is provided. Here, indigenous music therapy theory refers to knowledge emergent from music therapy relationships which are able to be plausibly generalised across settings and time, allowing for the development of theory that is idiosyncratic to the field of music therapy. The difference between “precursors to theory” and actual “theory” are examined, and the outcomes of numerous studies are considered through the use of the framework. The distinction between complete and modified grounded theory studies is discussed. It is suggested that the DIT framework may hold relevance for the development of theory in other human relationship-based arts therapies.