Aspects of Containment in the musictherapeutical relation with ego-weakness patients

Abstract: The therapeutic containment function is of great importance in the handling of psychotic and borderline patients, as practised in the University Psychiatric Centre of Kortenberg (Louvain). These patients, particularly the persons with ego-weakness suffer chaotic feelings in musical improvisations during music therapy sessions (acting out, frequent interruptions in playing, fragmentary, chaotic playing, difficulty in maintaining contact, etc.) It is important that the music therapist contain these feelings within the therapeutic process. In other words, he must create a physic space (intermediary space) in which every communication, however, confused and alarming, can be actively caught up in a musical game, held and mentally digested. These feelings should thus become easier to bear and easier to understand so that they can be integrated in the patient's experience. Specific music therapy techniques are used for this purpose. Through these techniques and musical interventions the patient learns to contain his fears and accept them, and by so doing to absorb the containment function. There are several aspects of containment in music therapy; receiving, accepting, collecting, keeping. The containment function of the music therapist includes several dimensions such as experiencing that psychic content can be bearable, that fragmented expressions can be joined together etc. The meaning of containment in relation to music therapy of 'persons with ego weakness' is discussed following practical examples from individual and group therapy sessions. This paper will be published by the BSMT late l992, price on application.

Note: University Psychiatric Centre of Kortenberg (Louvain),Belgium

Keyword(s): Psychotic, patient, improvised-music, ego-weakness.

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