Music As Therapy A Dialogical Perspective

there has for some years now been a debate within the field of music therapy on the issue of music centered therapy this book relates to this discussion and presents a contribution the thesis that is put forward is that a dialogical perspective may serve to frame such therapy or rather for music as therapy which is the term that is used here some might want to claim that there is no such thing as music as therapy that the only real therapy there is is some already established mode of therapy in which music plays a subordinate part music in therapy in this book the attempt is to show a different picture one which includes also the possibility of music as therapy that is to say therapy based on qualities of the medium itself a particularly much debated issue has been whether verbal processing is necessary for actual therapy to take place this book presents and discusses some of the crucial issues involved and develops a theory to bring out potentials of an experiential transformative music therapy in which verbal processing talking cure style is not necessarily incorporated the models related to and exemplified through vignettes from practice are mostly improvisational but the perspective drawn is applied to some extent also to other modalities such as community oriented practices and receptive listening based music therapy 2006 paperback 344 pages table of contents preface acknowledgements 1 frame and picture the term music therapy music centered therapy analysis and synthesis music problems the need for verbal processing questioning the need to verbalize psychodynamically informed music therapy recent analytical developments development of theory early interaction analogy not the same as music new musicology health musicking the meaning of words and of music clinical and music based theories community music therapy differences of assumptions general theory recognizing and accepting difference indigenous and imported theory music centered thinking insight and transfo