Publication Date
Fall 2018
School
School of Behavioral Sciences
Major
Psychology
Keywords
Therapy, Music Therapy, Phenomenology, Children, Music Therapist, Interviews, Counseling
Disciplines
Child Psychology | Cognition and Perception | Counseling | Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Tortorello, Shelby, "A Phenomenology of the Practice of Music Therapy with Children" (2018). Senior Honors Theses. 799.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/799
Abstract
Music therapy has been demonstrated as an effective mode of therapeutic intervention for children in recent literature. There is extensive research suggesting benefits for various populations of children, namely: children in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), children who have experienced trauma, and children with disabilities. The current study served to address gaps found in the literature by conducting a phenomenology of professionally trained music therapists. Four board certified music therapists near major cities on the east coast were interviewed to comment on how they understand music therapy, and how they live out those understandings in their practice. It was found that music therapy is professional counseling, music therapy is goal based and individualized, and music therapy is often misunderstood in the general public. A comparison of these findings with results from previous studies was addressed. Limitations and suggestions for further study within the realm of utilizing music as a therapeutic tool were discussed.
