The practical side of improvisational music therapy. National Association for Music Therapy California Symposium on Clinical Practices (1987, Costa Mesa, California)

Journal/Book: Music Therapy Perspectives. 1989; 6: 11-15.

Abstract: Examines principles pertaining to treatment with improvisational music therapy (IMT), focusing on preparing for therapy and conducting sessions. IMT refers to any model of therapy that relies on musical improvisation (MI) as the chief means of assessment, treatment, or evaluation. Pretreatment decisions based on preassessment and assessment information involve possible contraindications, session format (individual or group), client participation levels, and types of MI. An IMT session involves preparing, engaging, and musically interacting with the client, and reviewing the experience afterward. Descriptions of 13 different IMT models are appended. (0 ref) ABSTRACT 2: The author describes improvisational music therapy from a practical perspective. Improvisational techniques are employed for assessment, treatment, or evaluation. Under the heading, "Preparing for Therapy," topics include contraindications, the use of music and improvisation, individual versus group sessions, active versus receptive participation, choices of modalities, the physical environment, and the organization of the sessions. In conducting an improvisational session, the author stresses four important tasks: Preparing the client for therapy, engaging the client in therapy, musical interaction, and reviewing the experience. In closing, the author stresses that guidelines presented in this paper should not be taken too literally due to the intense personal nature of improvisation. Thirteen different improvisational models along with a brief description of each are also tabled in the paper.

Note: Using Smart Source Parsing issues in preparation for & delivery of improvisational music therapy; conference presentation

Keyword(s): Music therapy; clinical judgment not diagnosis; professional meetings and symposia. music-therapy, improvisation, music, group, individual, assessment, treatment, evaluation.

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