What I'm Reading - Week One of Emotional Processes in Music Therapy by John Pellitteri

I have finished the first week (and first chapter) of John Pellitteri's Emotional Processes in Music Therapy book, written in 2009, and published by Barcelona Publishing. I am enjoying this perspective about therapeutic relationship and how emotion plays a part in all that we do and perceive. I am actually excited about what I am being challenged to consider, and it is only the end of the first chapter!

I started off with the table of contents as well as the "About the Author" portion of the book. I like getting a bit of perspective about what I will be reading about and who ends up writing books like these. I know another person named Pellitteri, so I admit to wondering if there is a link between the Pellitteri I know and this one - I have no clue, but it is interesting to think about...

ANYWAY...

The author started off by discussing the relevance of emotion research to music therapy and why we need to know about it all. The author makes a point to indicate that the theory presented is not unique or part of any one way of working within health care structures but is a consideration of all philosophies and techniques. (Side note: This may be a counterargument to those who believe that we should not be concerned with the affect of our clients but strictly adhere to protocols.) I took notes on what I read, and here are some of the concepts that I found energizing.

p. 3 - "The affective exchanges of interpersonal interactions that convey meaning and intent have a musical form." - I took this to mean that all interpersonal interactions are similar to music. There are elements of music in all sorts of interactions - form, melody, timbre, pitch, rhythm, style, etc.

p. 6 - "Emotions energize and motivate an organism for rapid action and also form the attachment bond between infant and caretaker which are crucial for survival." - This came in a section where the fight/flight response was discussed. We respond based on the emotions that past experiences have demonstrated to us. We experience things and assign emotions to them. This constant stimulus/response cycle is fueled by emotion.

p. 6 - "Thus emotions serve the function of communication of intent and convey information about the immediate environment." (Italics are in the original text.) - It does not matter what happens in the environment, what matters is how the human being in the environment responds. Our responses are shaped by our experiences and our emotions are part of those experiences.

p. 10 - "scientist-artist" - use this as a perspective for both therapist and client in music therapy setting.

p. 13 - "Every therapist will, intentionally or unintentionally use theories and constructs to guide clinical judgment and interventions." - I think that this statement acknowledges that we all enter music therapy sessions with specific biases that affect how we interact with others. What I like about this section is that it acknowledges that these biases are present and affect how we interact, but by knowing these things and centering our understanding through an emotional theory lens, we can work through them rather than be crippled by them.

p. 14 - "In applying aesthetic learning to the music therapy process, one can use use the metaphor of the client as an artistic work in progress. (Italics are in the original text.) - Reframing the concept of how we work with clients...this feels good to me.

p. 14 - "This metaphor is useful in that it avoids mechanistic and reductionistic views of the client." - My client is not simply a Parkinson's case working on gait. My client is a complex, emotional, and multidimensional human being. By acknowledging the complexity of emotion and how it affects humans, we continue to view the people who come to us for assistance as rounded people. This fits into most of the philosophies that I strive to work within - humanism, trauma-informed care, sensory integration. Focus on the person - the whole person.

Kurt Lewin - I need to investigate a bit more about this person. Field theory...

p. 18 - Therapist is "significant force within the psychological field." There is power within a therapeutic relationship. We cannot shrug off this power or pretend that it doesn't exist. It does. We need to be aware of this differential and do our best to work within that relationship in a way that allows the client to take the lead and to also realize that our thoughts and actions will affect our client. We have to be self-aware of what we bring into therapy sessions as the therapists in order to realize how we affect the client. This is true of all interactions with others, not just those in the music therapy field - this is important to understand because we respond to all of our experiences and emotions all the time. As therapists, though, we have specific responsibilities to our clients that we do not hold when we are interacting with family members or friends. If we ignore that fact, we are not doing what we need to do as therapists.

p. 20 - a person must..."alter thinking and behaviors in order to respond differently in certain environments in a manner that leads to desirable outcomes." - Mind blown here. This is the statement. This is what therapy is - the process of change. When I work within my various perspectives, I try to remember the past experiences that led to specific emotional responses and then try to modify those responses in a way that is consistent. This has implications for my primary clinical population and explains much about why it takes so long to reroute those emotional responses.

p. 20 - The music therapist creates an environment that adapts to specific needs of client which can decrease demands for individual change to manageable levels for the client. - small changes or adaptations can happen in music therapy that cannot happen in other situations - paraphrased - I am still contemplating this one - I agree with it and have seen this happen time after time, but I am not entirely sure how to explain it to non-music therapists yet.

The last part of the chapter is a discussion about intelligence being related to adaptability, creativity, problem-solving, critical thought, and executive function - most of those labels are my own, by the way, but it makes sense why my clients do not change their responses easily.

I am looking forward to the next chapter of this book. Thanks, John Pellitteri, for shifting my view just a bit - I am starting to see more of the whole picture...

See you next Sunday.

 

 

Pellitteri, J. (2009). Emotional processes in music therapy. Barcelona.