Den terapeutiske relasjonen i musikkterapi: En kvalitativ studie med voksne i psykisk helsevern

Abstract

In this critical commentary ("kappe"), I attempt to map out the context of my research work, which is presented in the article Exploring the Client-Therapist Relationship in Music Therapy: A Qualitative Study in Adult Mental Healthcare. I present a literature review, which works as a background for my study. In this chapter, I have divided the literature into two categories: "the therapeutic relationship" and "user perspectives". The reasoning behind this is that there is a lot of music therapy literature covering both concepts, but limited amounts of literature that combine both. Further, I elaborate on all parts of the research process, going indepth on the theoretical foundation and methods used in this research project. The reader gets an insight into every step of this research process, from start to finish. Then, I present the study's relevance in relation to the current research field. I attempt to compare the findings of this study with those of previous studies, as well as existing theories, thus either confirming or questioning previous findings and ideas. I also present new findings that are similar or relevant to previous studies and theories but not explicitly written about before – all with a critical overview. Lastly, based on my findings, I suggest implications for future research, practice, and education: (1) Music therapists should be aware of how they communicate, in terms of body language and choice of words, with their clients; (2) Music therapists should be aware of the importance of the first impression because it may be crucial to whether the client wants to keep attending music therapy; (3) Music therapists should reflect on how they present their musical abilities to the clients, given that some clients may find it intimidating if the music therapist is clearly showing that they are at a professional level musically.