1. Introduction: Finding our muses. PART I: MUSIC THERAPY WITH CHILDREN. 2. Daniel: Blossoms and baptism. 3. Wendy: `I used to be crying every day...` 4. Sinead: `Here is my arm...' 5. Giorgos: Isolation in a hospital ward. PART II: MUSIC THERAPY WITH ADULTS. 6. Martha: Working with wellness. 7. Shireen: Into the void of brain injury. 8. Olive and Jim: Senility and wisdom. 9. Mirian and Seaun: Danger and inimacy in a secure unit. 10. Mary and Steve: Creativity and terminal illness. 11. Conclusion: Intimate notes. Bibliography. Index.
The stories of powerful encounters between nine music therapists and their clients.
Mercedes Pavlicevic was post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Music, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and Academic Supervisor at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre in London. She was also co-director of the Music Therapy Training Programme at the University of Pretoria, and the author of Music Therapy in Context: Music, Meaning and Relationship, published by Jessica Kingsley.
What is striking and engaging in this excellent book is that it
makes us reflect on the whole business of communication - what it
is for us humans to be conversational creatures. It challenges some
over-easy conclusions about who is and who and isn't capable of
conversing - but that, of course, is exactly what the whole work of
music therapy is about. But it also shows the difficulty and
importance of genuine communication: the degree to which we don't
know what we mean unless and until we find an answering rhythm in a
listener; the degree to which we foreclose the processes of
communication because we want to spare ourselves the letting-go and
taking time involved. That our humanity is realised most fully in a
literal shared attunement of some kind is a more suggestive thought
than volumes of ethics or metaphysics. Pavlicevic gives us a real
narrative philosophy in these stories, poignantly and vividly told
and sensitively and self-critically thought through.
*The Most Revd. and Rt Hon Rowan Williams, Archbishop of
Canterbury*
This beautiful and moving book is a riveting collage of nine music
therapy case histories, shared by a group of music therapists who
were interviewed by Mercedes Pavlicevic. Pavlicevic intended these
personalised interviews to be experienced as directly as possible,
as oral texts in the first person. This group of sensitive
therapists speaks openly, not only of their successes; they are
equally candid in sharing their own frustrations and insecurities.
As a result, these "stories" bring the reader much closer to the
living dynamics of exchange that occurs between therapists and
clients than would be possible in a more academic style of
reporting. Each "story" is followed by Pavlicevic's reflections
that conclude each chapter with a helpful kind of discussion and
summary in response to these diverse histories. Through reading
these wonderful stories, the richness of which can only be hinted
at in the context of this review, we clearly see how music therapy
reaches people at the deepest levels of their humanity.
*The Arts in Psychotherapy*
This book retells the stories of nine different music therapists
and their work with one or two of their clients. All the music
therapists use improvisational techniques in their work, and their
clients come from a wide range of backgrounds and have varying
abilities and disabilities… Each story is followed by Pavlicevic's
reflections which examine the story in a more clinical manner where
improvisational techniques are explained and the meaning of the
music is explored. However, this is no textbook with quantifiable
outcomes. Rather, there is an exploration of the complex meaning of
the music and the insights gained from this… As a practising music
therapist who rarely uses the technique of improvisation, I started
reading this book with interest, but perhaps with an underlying
feeling that improvisation in music therapy would be a technique
that I may never personally never grasp. This book, however, has
inspired me to use improvisation more often in my own work as I
feel that I have gained a greater insight after reading this book.
The book in itself is easy to read, but does not trivialise the
issues which are discussed. It would be a valuable text for anyone
who has a basic interest in music those therapy and professionals
who are already working in the field and would like to know more
about other therapists experiences.
*Bulletin of the Australian Music Therapy Association*
The variety of clients, environments and music therapy
interventions described provide a wealth of information to the
reader. Each story is individual, giving a different perspective of
music therapy. The honesty and clarity of the music therapists'
stories is refreshing. It is enlightening to read about the
therapists' fear and to be informed about what approaches are
successful and those that are less successful... This book provides
a friendly introduction to music therapy. The case studies describe
a variety of clients with differing needs and a mixture of
approaches for consideration. The honesty of the therapists is
moving and their intimate stories are enlightening. This book is an
excellent way to gain a greater understanding of what music
therapists can offer.
*OTPLD Newsletter*
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