“The screams crashed into silence”: A therapeutic songwriting project for young adults with life-shortening illnesses
Citation
Edgar, J., Tsiris, G. & Rickson, D. (2019) “The screams crashed into silence”: A therapeutic songwriting project for young adults with life-shortening illnesses. In: Ludwig, A. (ed.) Music therapy in children and young people's palliative care. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp. 159-173.
Abstract
Songwriting is widely practised within diverse music therapy
contexts (Baker 2015a; Baker and Wigram 2005; Baker et al. 2008).
However, little is known about its potential role and application
with young adults facing a life-shortening or life-limiting illness1
– a gap that reflects the limited music therapy provision for this
population more generally.
This chapter introduces the Moving On With Music project,
which is facilitated by Joanne and researched by Giorgos and
Daphne. Through the lens of a case study, we reflect on the
songwriting processes, including considerations regarding the use
of technology that have emerged during this ongoing project. In
setting the context for understanding this work, we first consider
the broader profile of young adults living with life-shortening
illnesses, as well as some existing music therapy literature pertaining
to songwriting with this population.