Understanding how humour enables contact in music therapy relationships with persons living with dementia: A phenomenological arts-based reflexive study

Abstract

This article details part of a phenomenological arts-based reflexive study investigating humour in music therapy with persons living with dementia. Rooted in psychosocial and relational-centred methodology, the study arose from the first author’s experience as a music therapist. As part of a larger study, three interview-encounters with persons living with dementia and their music therapists (n=8) provided opportunities for shared reflection on humour in their work. Arts-based reflexivity within a phenomenological frame was used to address the question of how humour enables contact in music therapy with persons living with dementia. Furthermore, Christopher Bollas’ (1987) concept of “aesthetic moments” is used to think into the relational and existential importance of humour in this context and explore more deeply what contact may mean. Links between methodology and topic are explored and the correspondence between humour and intersubjective experiences in music therapy is highlighted in relationships with persons living with dementia.