Author: Andre Laboy

Music as a Bridge to the Therapeutic Alliance 

Music can play a powerful role in the therapeutic relationship between an adolescent client and the therapist (i.e. social worker, clinician, school counselor, etc.). There is less research in this vein, but the findings to date demonstrate the potentially profound impact music can have on the therapeutic relationship. Given music’s prominent role in adolescents’ lives, it is typically viewed by adolescents as a positive and non-threatening form of therapy, which is particularly beneficial when working with distrusting, skeptical or hard to reach teens. Therefore, it is not surprising that music has proven successful in facilitating engagement in the therapeutic process with minimal resistance as adolescents are able to relate to the music and the therapist becomes viewed as a trusted and safe adult.

Moreover, therapists using music techniques in their practice have found that music often opens the lines of communication between them and their clients, which is essential to facilitating real progress and change. Because music provides a familiar, “safe, non-confrontative means of expression,” it helps adolescents develop more positive and socially acceptable ways of releasing anger, fears, and anxieties (Keen, 2004), while simultaneously increasing self-esteem, self-awareness, self-confidence and overall well-being in adolescents.

Additionally, utilizing music in therapeutic work with adolescents has shown to help them regulate their emotions, which is incredibly beneficial during a developmental period characterized by heightened emotions that adolescents are in the process of learning how to self-regulate.

References:

• Dingle, G.A., Hodges, J., & Kunde, A. (2016). Tuned in emotion regulation program using music listening: Effectiveness for adolescents in educational settings. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, article 859.
• Keen, A. (2004). Using music as a therapy tool to motivate troubled adolescents. Social Work in Health Care, 39(3-4), 361-373.
• Kivland, M. J. (1986). The use of music to increase self-esteem in a conduct disordered adolescent. Journal of Music Therapy, 23(1), 25-29.
• Lochner, S.W., & Stevenson, R. G. (1988). Music as a bridge to wholeness. Death Studies, 12, 173-180.
• Papinczak, Z., Dingle, G. A., Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., and Zelenko, O. (2015). Young people’s use of music for wellbeing. J. Youth Stud. 18, 1119–1134

Behavioral & Developmental Issues

Music therapy has proven to have a positive impact on a number of behavioral and developmental disorders and issues commonly seen in the school setting with adolescence, including emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and ADHD. More specifically, researchers have found that music therapy has the capacity to significantly reduce adolescent aggression and hostility by enabling self-expression and providing a channel for transforming frustration, anger, and aggression into the experience of creativity and self-mastery.

References: 

• Gold, C., Voracek, M., & Wigram, T. (2004). Effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1054-1063.
• Montello, L. M., & Coons, E. E. (1998). Effect of active versus passive group music therapy on preadolescents with emotional, learning, and behavioral disorders. Journal of Music Therapy, 35, 49–67.
• Papinczak, Z., Dingle, G. A., Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., and Zelenko, O. (2015). Young people’s use of music for wellbeing. J. Youth Stud. 18, 1119–1134.

Grief, Loss, & Death
Music has been identified as a critical form of creativity that facilitates the expression of the complex emotions associated with grief. A number of studies looking at music therapy’s effect on mood and behaviors related to various types of bereavement, including trauma, death, loss of a loved one, and terminal illness, found that music therapy significantly reduced symptoms of grief, taught positive coping skills, and conveyed emotional support.

References:

• Atilio, T. (2002). Helping children, helping ourselves: An overview of children’s literature. In J. Lowey & A. Hara (Eds.), Caring for the caregiver: The use of music and music therapy in grief and trauma (pp.138-147). Silver Springs, MD: American Music Therapy Association.
• Gaffney, D. (2002). Seasons of grief: Helping children grow through loss. In J. Lowey & A. Hara (Eds.), Caring for the caregiver: The use of music and music therapy in grief and trauma (pp.54-62). Silver Springs, MD: American Music Therapy Association.
• Hilliard, R. E. (2015). Music and grief work with children and adolescents. In C. Malchiodi, & B. Perry (Eds.), Creative interventions for traumatized children (pp.75-91). New York: The Guilford Press.
• Hilliard, R. E. (2001). The effects of music therapy-based bereavement groups on mood and behavior of grieving children: A pilot study. Journal of Music Therapy, 38(4), 291-306.
• Lochner, S.W., & Stevenson, R. G. (1988). Music as a bridge to wholeness. Death Studies, 12, 173-180.
• Robb, S.L. (2003). Music therapy in pediatric healthcare: Research and evidence-based-based practice. Silver Springs, MD: American Music Therapy Association.