Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy: Methods and Techniques for Clinicians, Educators and Students

by Katrina McFerran

Overview

When guided effectively, the relationship between adolescents and music can offer powerful opportunities for expression and release. This book provides music therapists with the complete 'how to' of working with teenage clients.

Helpful and accessible, the book explains the methodology used in music therapy, a topic that has been considered only briefly until now. The author presents an empowering approach to practice, discussing how the therapist can be placed in a collaborative relationship with the individual or with the group. A range of strategies is explored, including song sharing, improvisation, song writing and various multi-media approaches. Some of the key challenges faced by music therapists working with adolescent clients are addressed, including the constantly changing repertoire and evolving musical tastes, and the author offers practical solutions for overcoming these. Contemporary models of Community Music Therapy are outlined in the second half of the book, and case vignettes illustrate how each of the methods can be applied in practice, and the outcomes that may be expected.

The first of its kind, this comprehensive book is a must for all music therapists working with adolescent clients.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849050197
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	04/15/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Katrina McFerran is Senior Lecturer in music therapy at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She specialises in music therapy with adolescents, and her clinical work spans a range of community and institutional settings, from palliative care to mental health and special education. Katrina has worked with a wide range of teenagers, including those struggling to cope with bereavement, substance misuse, homelessness, mental illness, chronic illness and a variety of disabilities.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Author's note 10

Foreword 11

Introduction 17

Part 1 Background 23

Chapter 1 Taking a Systematic Look at the Literature 25

Chapter 2 The Real Deal on How to Work with Adolescents 47

Chapter 3 What is Healthy Adolescence and How does Music Help? 60

Part 2 Song Methods and Teenagers 75

Introduction 77

Chapter 4 Using Existing Songs 87

Chapter 5 Writing Original Songs 110

Part 3 Using Improvisation with Teenagers 139

Introduction 141

Chapter 6 Group Improvisation 148

Chapter 7 Individual Improvisations 167

Part 4 Contemporary Approaches 185

Introduction 187

Chapter 8 Community Music Therapy 193

Chapter 9 Four Brief Approaches to Grief 217

Chapter 10 Preparing for Performances 241

Conclusion 268

Appendix: List of Literature Reviewed for Chapter 1 281

References 289

Subject Index 297

Author Index 30

Editorial Reviews

Katrina McFerran's Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy is a straightforward, intelligent, and helpful overview of approaches to music therapy with teens, strengthened by engaging examples of using music with adolescents in a variety of practice settings... McFerran brings a joyful quality to her writing about work with adolescents. Her closing remark is a hope that others will find some fun in helping young people through the use of creative, therapeutic activity. What a marvelous idea in any area of practice - and well worth trying.

Mary Bitel

Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy is an invaluable resource for newly qualified music therapists and trainees, as well as for established music therapists and others interested in how music can benefit young people... Writing with such an honest approach, the author captures one's attention immediately... Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy feels like supervision sessions, lectures and conversations with colleagues are all compiled into one book... This is invaluable when starting out. I have found there to be a lack of practical guidance in other literature but this book has an abundance of it... Such insight and enthusiasm is contagious... This is an accessible read, providing insight for those who do not know much about music therapy... engaging, supportive, thought-provoking and practical.

Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education

Mc Ferran Brings us into the young person's world and helps us to better understand it... It is refreshing to read a book in which equal emphasis is made on theory and method... Ethical considerations about limitations and danger zones in specific methods are also well described, and McFerran must certainly be commended for her thoroughness and clarity... This book can be recommended to everyone working with or near young people with different problems or disorders. McFerran writes candidly and engagingly with great respect and sympathy for the young, which can inspire any clinician. Although the book in particular is about how music can be used with the young, other professionals can also usefully benefit from the thorough descriptions of the method and the very illustrative examples.

Dansk Musikterapi

This book not only updates music therapy literature, which had lacked such a text that focused solely on adolescents, but has added a wealth of information. McFerran's writing is genuine, inspiring, and certainly reflects her passion and understanding of work with young people. This book will be helpful to music therapists working with adolescents in any setting and should generate further interest in this area. There is very little research that specifically addresses the value and effectiveness of music therapy for adolescents.

Nordic Journal of Music Therapy

Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy is an invaluable resource for newly qualified music therapists and trainees, as well as for established music therapists and others interested in how music can benefit young people... Writing with such an honest approach, the author captures one's attention immediately... Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy feels like supervision sessions, lectures and conversations with colleagues are all compiled into one book... This is invaluable when starting out. I have found there to be a lack of practical guidance in other literature but this book has an abundance of it... Such insight and enthusiasm is contagious... This is an accessible read, providing insight for those who do not know much about music therapy... engaging, supportive, thought-provoking and practical.

Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education