The Cinderella of Music Therapy - Child Psychiatry; Working with the rejected, abused, and/or emotionally traumatised child with consequent behaviour disturbance

Abstract: The importance of making the case for music therapy in child psychiatry, as it still meets with some scepticism. In child psychiatry such music therapy is most effective and of diagnostic value when integral and complementary to the work of the multidisciplinary team, its strength lying in its ability to meet, clarify and integrate the child's emotional development. Music reflects and resonates with the whole spectrum of the human condition. When improvising we present telling picture of who we are, how we function anf feel. Therapists use this self-expressive immediacy to build strong musical relationalships with clients. Argument and audio tape illustrations from work with two 9 year old emotionally depreived/abused behaviour disordered girls demonstrate the impact of these relationships, their clinically-guided interplay, how they lead the child to more confidence sense of self and to turst in the developmental thrust of the music-making. This paper will be published by the BSMT late l992, price on application.

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Keyword(s): Child, psychiatry, child-abuse, behaviour-problems.

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