How does my background as a performing musician compliment or disrupt a music therapy process with adults living with a traumatic brain injury?

Abstract

This autoethnographically informed self-reflexive case study explores how a background as a performing musician compliments or disrupts a music therapy process with adults living with a traumatic brain injury. The study is set in a neurorehabilitation centre and aims to investigate the concept of the self as performer or therapist and how both are present within a therapeutic space. It also explores how music therapy methods such as improvisation, receptive music therapy and songwriting can differ between the performative and therapeutic self. The literature available suggests that performance with clients has been used and researched in multiple context settings. However, the research was found to be limited in respect of the perception of the therapist and how a performative background affects decision making in the therapeutic space. A qualitative approach, guided by a thematic analysis, identified several instances where the researcher contemplated over his decisions due to contradicting thoughts on whether it was more entertainment than therapeutic work. Key findings indicate that transferences and countertransferences played a significant role in thought processes that occurred in music therapy sessions. Another finding was the adult attachment style of one client and how this behaviour influenced decisions made in the therapeutic work. The thematic analysis was undertaken using data collected through reflective journals, clinical notes and audio recordings. The methodology was effectively a multiple case study based on sessions with three clients during a university placement in a neurorehabilitation centre. However, the work was based on one therapist’s experiences and thought processes. It was established that a performative background can encourage complimentary and disruptive therapeutic outcomes. If the therapist was able to avoid making decisions based on their own desires, be fully present with the client and work with the clients’ interests in mind, then therapeutic was achievable. Limitations included the risk of biased research and small sample size, however, future research involving more participants and opinions could lead to more informed outcomes and conclusions.