An exploration of the mental distress experienced by music therapists and music therapy students - a hermeneutic phenomenological thematic analysis

Abstract

This empirical study explores the mental distress experienced by forty-seven music therapists and music therapy students across Europe. The age of the participants extended from eighteen to over sixty-six years old, with the average length of practice of music therapists of twelve years and the average length of study of over two years for students. A thematic analytical approach, guided by hermeneutic phenomenology was used to analyse the data produced by the participants. This generated three main themes of ‘mental distress’, ‘self-awareness’ and ‘self-care’. Significant results which emerged from the findings included the stigma of discussing mental distressin academic and professional environments. This caused most participants to only share their mental distress in ‘private’ environments, such as personal therapy and supervision, which they felt was not enough. The use of selfcare was also a prominent finding explored throughout the survey. The research explores how most participants engage in many different forms of self-care, including dog walks, music and journaling. Finally, many participants found that through studying to become a music therapist, they gained self-awareness. This theme emerged through the understanding of self, learning of psychodynamic theories and other aspects.