The Australian Journal of Music Therapy (AJMT)

Volume 11, 2000

McFerran-Skewes, K From the mouths of babes: The response of six younger, bereaved teenagers to the experience of psychodynamic group music therapy.
This article promotes a psychodynamic approach to music therapy group work with younger, bereaved adolescents based on the results of a phenomenological study conducted by the author. Research and literature from the fields of music therapy, psychology, bereveavement and music studies are used to highlight the significance of these findings in relation to the philosophical stance of the practicing clinician. The Global Meaning Units (results) emphasise the importance of freedom and control in the participants' therapeutic process. The meaning units also reveal the mature and compassionate behaviours displayed by group members, despite the high level as of teasing and verbal banter. Finally, the meaning units demonstrate that the participants had a prior understanding of the importance of the emotional expression and utilised the creative music processes to work towards relief in the intensity of their grief experience.
Forrest, L Addressing the issues of ethnicity and identity in palliative care through music therapy practice. 23-37
In preparing for their death, patients with terminal illnesses may express a need to explore and confirm their identity in terms of their familial, social, cultural and ethnic heritage. This article examines the mechanisms which underlie the construction of individual and basic group identity, the latter of which is also referred to as ethnicity. The maintenance and evolution of identity over time and across different places is explored, and the use of music as a means to construct, express and sustain identity discussed. Finally the role of music therapy and specifically the se of music facilitated life-review in addressing issues of ethnicity and identity in palliative care is explored through the case study of 'Gretel', an Australian woman of Russian decent who was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Tamplin, J

Improvisational music therapy approaches to coma arousal.
The use of music therapy in coma arousal has become increasingly important as music therapy interventions are refined. This article reviews various music therapy methods for coma arousal, in particular, the application of improvisational music therapy for patients in altered states of consciousness. Clinical vignettes illustrate the goals of improvisational music therapy including: internal integration of physiological body rhythms, sensory stimulation and facilitation of communicative contact through music. The question of whether sensory stimulation is beneficial for people in coma is currently being debated in the medical literature. It is therefore of interest to music therapists to be aware of the prominent arguments in this debate and to have an understanding of how music therapy techniques can be employed to facilitate arousal and awareness.