Marrying together music therapy and participant observation: helping four mothers and their children come together

Abstract

This paper describes combining music therapy and participant observation with a group of four mothers and their children, all of whom had special needs. The quality of interaction between each mother and child is described, as well as the obstacles which hindered each pair coming together in a harmonious way. Factors affecting the mothers’ receptivity are thought about in terms of projective identification and containment, along with the traumatic impact of having a child with severe difficulties. The aim of the group was to engage the mothers actively in observation and to create an environment within which the mother and child relationships could continue to develop.

Keywords:

• music therapy
• observation
• participant observer
• containment
• projective identification
• countertransference

Acknowledgements

The author gives thanks to Sandy Layton for supervising this piece of work and Hilary Stonebridge for supervising the dissertation from which this paper came.