• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2020

The internship is essential for the music therapy curriculum and affords interns the opportunity to apply their classroom-based knowledge and skills to real-world clinical settings. However, challenges associated with the internship can result in interns undergoing trial-and-error learning, interpersonal conflicts, and intrapersonal difficulties. An experiential music therapy group may be useful in helping interns process these incidents and develop their personal and professional skills. We explored the experiences of music therapy interns participating in therapeutic song writing. In this study, five music interns completed two 4-hour sessions of therapeutic song writing. Following the second session, a group interview was conducted with participants to gather data on their experiences. The interview was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Six themes and 18 sub-themes were derived from the data. The six themes were preconceptions of therapeutic song writing, meaningful lyric creation, challenges in song composition, structured experiences during song writing process, development of self-awareness through music, and relational experiences resulting from the group process. Participants were able to incorporate their individual internship experiences into a single song by communicating with group members during the step-by-step process. Participation in therapeutic song writing was found to help music therapy interns identify and process challenges encountered during their internship and further their personal and professional development.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.41-67
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this case study was to examine how a supportive songwriting program could facilitate resilience for adolescents with school maladjustment. Participants included four middle school students with adaptive difficulties. The participants received eight 50-minute sessions of a supportive songwriting program. The program consisted of singing and discussing selected songs, followed by the participants creating their own lyrics about their current adaptation issues. The Resilience Scale for Adolescents was completed by each participant before and after the intervention, and the participants' lyrics were analyzed for how the factors of resilience were reflected in their lyrics. The results showed that all participants' scores on the resilience scale increased. It was also found that the factor on the resilience scale that increased the most for each participant was related to the issues expressed in their lyrics. The results suggest that the process of writing songs can be effective in eliciting adolescents' school related issues and accessing their positive resources, which can lead to behavioral and psychological improvements.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.43-67
• /
• 2022

This is a case study of therapeutic song making activities aimed at improving the self-identity of adolescents in residential treatment facility. The participants were three male teenagers (16 to 18 years of age). The song making intervention was conducted individually with the participants once a week over 13 weeks, and each session lasted 60 minutes. The participants took the lead in making songs by discussing on the self-image and his/her role in the relationship and using musical elements to reflect his/her perception. For analysis, an evaluation method was used to analyze the pre- and post-test results for each sub-domain of the self-identity scale, and changes in the verbal and musical responses during each session. Two of the participants demonstrated higher post-test results compared to their pre-test performance, and their highest post-test scores were for the subdomains of intimacy and initiative respectively. In terms of verbal and musical responses per session, all three participants improved their subjectivity through the self-exploration process, which contributed to the establishment of a more positive self-image. This study suggests that facility youth engaging in making creative songs can positively change their perception of their present and future selves and have a positive effect on their sense of identity.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.69-92
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a songwriting intervention would improve self-expression of adolescents with cochlear implants (CI). In this study, the songwriting intervention was designed to incorporate previous research findings on music perception of individuals with CIs and to provide musical experiences in which adolescents with CIs could be successful in using music resources for their self-expression. Accordingly, stepwise songwriting procedures were constructed and music technology (i.e., GarageBand as an iPad application) was used. Two adolescents with CIs participated in the intervention once a week for 8 weeks. Changes in level of participation in songwriting tasks, verbal expression, self-reports about the songwriting process were examined. The results demonstrated that the participants showed increased attempts to express themselves via music making. It was also shown that their negative perception of their ability to verbally express themselves decreased. They were observed as becoming more competent in creating music by deciding how various musical elements should be played and making rhythm or melodic patterns by themselves. These results indicate that the songwriting intervention can facilitate self-expression of adolescents with CIs. Further implications in terms of the psychosocial needs of individuals with CIs are presented.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.67-92
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study is to give an overview of the clinical process of songwriting with pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment. Many literatures have proved that music therapy aids patients during their cancer treatment to relax, reduce anxiety and feelings of isolation, and promote self-esteem and quality of life and so on. However, among music therapy methods, I found songwriting proved to be very effective method. By using songwriting as therapy with pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment, songwriting helped patients express difficulties of dealing emotionally with their illness and ongoing aggressive and invasive treatments. Also the process of songwriting established trust and relationship between therapist and patient which promoted normalization of hospital environment. In my case study, patient N has expressed her feelings and thoughts through writing songs about her current life which revolved around treatment of her brain tumor. Moreover, patient N found her creativity and developed ways of getting touch with her inner strength.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.55-80
• /
• 2022

This study aimed to examine the effects of songwriting on the self-acceptance of adolescent in palliative care. Three participants were recruited from a university hospital in an urban area in South Korea. The songwriting intervention was conducted in six sessions, and each session was composed of an introduction, song writing and wrap-up. Participants were asked to complete the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) before and after the intervention. Their verbal expressions and written song lyrics observed during the intervention were also measured. The results showed that the USAQ scores increased after the intervention, indicating the improvement in their acceptance of the self without judgement or high reactivity to feedback. In addition, the participants exhibited greater recognition of their emotions and acceptance of themselves as they are. They were also better able to discover internal resources and psychological competence. The participants reported that they could more freely express their emotions through song writing and that recording the songs they created was a means of communicating their feelings to others. Based on this study, it is expected that adolescents in palliative care will be able to experience self-acceptance through such brief song writing interventions.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.19-39
• /
• 2014

This study investigated whether a song psychotherapy based on the change stages of alcohol addiction impacted the change readiness of alcoholics. The song psychotherapy intervention consists of six activities (listening to a song, singing, songwriting, song sharing, lyrics analysis, and discussion and analysis of a song), which considers the change stages of alcohol addiction. A total of 64 inpatients diagnosed with alcoholism were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 33) or experimental group (n = 31). The experimental group took part in the intervention program for 45 minutes twice a week for 6 weeks (total of 12 sessions). The intervention effect was evaluated with SOCRATES-K. The results showed that the SOCRATES-K score significantly increased by 14.6% (p < .001) for the experimental group, whereas it remained almost unchanged (0.8% increase, p = .141) in the control group. For subcategory scales, the experimental group showed the highest increase in the ambivalence factor, followed by the recognition and taking-steps factors. Meanwhile, no significant changes in all three scales were found in the control group. Therefore, the song psychotherapy intervention based on the change stages of alcohol addiction was found to significantly increase the change readiness of alcoholics.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.21-46
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study is to discover how therapeutic music making affects the way of communications in single-parent families. To do this, the study conducted a therapeutic music making program in two families consisting of a mother and a child. Songwriting, Ostinato-creating, improvisation imitation, and ensemble were used as musical interventions. The results of this study are following. First, the participant group B improved from 59 to 69.5 point after the program. However, the group A decreased from 81 to 75.5 point mainly due to frequent absences, differences in applying music. Second, the analysis of the results of verbal, nonverbal and musical responses from the program suggests that the group B gradually improved functional communications as each session develops. For the case of group A, at the initial stage, dysfunctional communications in verbal and nonverbal ones could be found. After the eighth session however, functional communications had increased. The result of the study shows that overall therapeutic music making has been an effective musical intervention in improving communication in single-parent families.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.15-31
• /
• 2005

Terminal pediatric patient include congenital metabolic abnormalities, chromosome aberrations, congenital anomalies, neuromuscular diseases and other incurable conditions as well as malignant tumors. One third of these diseases are cancers, and two thirds of cancers are lymphadenoma and leukemia. Terminal pediatric patient may feel fear, anger and frustration against treatment process in hospitals, lose control of themselves and stay in helplessness due to restrictions within controlled hospital environment. This study examined the relationship between hospitalized childrens behavior and music using Contextual Support Model of Music Therapya theory stating therapeutic music environments possess three elements of Structure, Autonomy support and Involvement, and increase childrens active engagement. Focused on these three therapeutic elements, this study analyzed music therapy cases of terminally ill children to examine the relationship between childrens behavior and music as environmental supportive medium in the environment. This study is on a single case case subject, a 10-year-old girl with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Nine sessions of music therapy activities were conducted and analyzed using qualitative method. Focusing on three therapeutic elements of Contextual Support Model, analysis of sessions was made on the basis of activities specifically designed for this study. Main music therapy activities included singing while playing musical instruments, singing while listening to music through CD player, making up songs, and searching for song lines. The findings of this study are as follows: a) in terms of Structure, music therapy suggested a direction for effective musical activities for terminally ill children by providing environments where child can sing, play musical instruments and make up songs; b) in terms of Autonomy support, music therapy encouraged childs voluntary participation by giving her chances to make choice while singing or playing musical instruments; c) in terms of Involvement, child could gain positive approval of the therapist and conduct musical activities in cooperation with the therapist. Music therapy serves as supportive medium in the environment, develops spontaneity and self-reliance in emotionally depressed children, and promotes voluntary attitudes in the restricted hospital environment. Based on the positive effects of music therapy, more studies need to be conducted with an approach to more various terminal pediatric patients.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.27-51
• /
• 2019

This case study aimed to investigate changes in self-expression following participation in a rap making program with adolescent survivors of childhood cancer. The rap making program was constructed based on the contextual support music therapy model. Three adolescent survivors of childhood cancer participated in six 80-minute individual sessions. During the sessions, each participant engaged in the following tasks: song discussion, lyric creation, and rapping over a selected beat. At pre and posttest, the Self-Expression Scale was completed by participants. Their verbal expressions lyrics were observed during the sessions, and individual interviews with the participants were conducted at the completion of the program. The results demonstrated that the mean rating of the Self-Expression Scale increased after the rap making intervention. Analysis of the participants' verbal expressions and lyrics demonstrated that participants were experiencing difficulties adjusting to school that they wanted to resolve. Furthermore, the analysis of the interviews at posttest found that participants experienced positive changes in self-perception, self-expression, and expectations for their future, compared to the pretest when the participants expressed negative self-perceptions due to difficulties in interpersonal relationships at school and physical limitations. This indicates that rap making can be an effective resource for providing this population with the means to recognize positive attributes about themselves and improve self-expression.