Music therapists’ experience of self in clinical improvisation in music therapy: A phenomenological investigation

Abstract

How do music therapists experience themselves in clinical improvisation in music therapy? The aim of this inter-disciplinary study is to show how music therapists describe and experience the life-world of the self in clinical improvisation through phenomenological investigation. Informed by sociological social psychological theory proposing that the self develops in social discourses, this study explores the self within improvisation as a musical and inter-subjective space that is commonly used in music therapy practice. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of transcripts from semi-structured interviews with two music therapists revealed five central themes in relation to the life-world of the self in improvisation. These included; mindful meeting of equals, importance of the fundamentals, flexibility and adaptability, personal fulfilment and, balancing the professional and musical self.These findings support the idea of improvisation as a social discourse and suggest that this may have significant implications for clients and therapists who employ such a means of relating.

“There has probably never been a more important time to be a music therapist”: Exploring how three music therapy practitioners working in adult mental health settings in the UK experienced the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…IPA is an established qualitative approach in exploring service user perspectives in adult mental health settings (Ansdell & Meehan, 2010;McCaffrey, 2018;McCaffrey & Edwards, 2016;Solli & Rolvsjord, 2015), but has also been used to explore the experience of music therapists themselves (McCaffrey, 2013), including those practising in adult mental health settings specifically (Gavrielidou & Odell-Miller, 2017). These studies have provided numerous valuable themes and insights which has furthered an understanding of how participants make sense of their own experiences.…”

An Investigation of Music Therapists' Experiences of Verbal Dialogue in Music Therapy Sessions

“…Many of the concerns that emerged appeared to reflect hesitations regarding participants' personal sense of professional identity, rather than revealing concerns about the professional community on a whole. However, issues surrounding professional identity have arisen previously within the Irish context (McCaffrey, 2013) and may warrant further attention. This may partly reflect the fact that, unlike their counterparts in the United Kingdom, Irish music therapists still await statutory recognition.…”

Core Themes in Music Therapy Clinical Improvisation: An Arts-Informed Qualitative Research Synthesis

“…Studies were rejected where they lacked adequate methodologically positioning, or where thick description was lacking. We embraced methodological heterogeneity, including studies that self-identified as phenomenology Markworth, 2014;McFerran-Skewes, 2000), interpretive phenomenological analysis (McCaffrey, 2013), phenomenology and hermeneutics , hermeneutics , transcendental realism and hermeneutics and naturalistic inquiry . The synthesis process involved an iterative cycle of analysis, including both reciprocal and refutational processes (Noblit & Hare, 1988), using the following steps:…”

“…While this synthesis integrates findings across studies, it is a starting point in understanding the depth of improvisational practices, and readers are encouraged to move between this QRS and the primary studies from which it is drawn, as they broaden and deepen their understanding of improvisational practices. For example, readers may wish to consult , , and to advance their understanding of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, Eyre, (2007), and for research related to or focused on Analytical Music Therapy, , and McCaffrey (2013) to advance understanding of clinical reasoning, and , , , , McFerran-Skewes (2000) and , for research focused on meaning making processes.…”