Facing the Music: Further Thoughts on Integrating Music into Psychotherapy

In this article, I respond to the insightful commentaries by Karen Riggs Skean (2019), by Richard Harrison (2019), and by Ben Adams (2019) on my hybrid case study of "James," a survivor of chronic relational trauma (Blimling, 2019). These commentaries have stimulated me to think further about the impact of music on my individual psychotherapy work, both with James and with subsequent clients, and specifically with regard to its impact on my approach to group psychotherapy work. In addition, these commentaries have raised particular issues that I respond to, including, (a) constructive criticism by Skean and Harrison regarding the potential further use of "metaprocessing" and the developments made in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) since I completed the Case of James; (b) Skean’s perceptive point explaining how an individual therapist can take a personal passion—like music or literary writing or bicultural identity—and use it to enhance his or her enlivened presence in therapy with a client; and (c) Adams’ thesis that music and psychotherapy both have their origins in the shamanistic practices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, suggesting that the combination of psychotherapy and music is a kind of return to our very roots

The Effect of Integrating Music Listening With an Attachment- And Affective-Focused Short-Term Psychotherapy in an Individual With Relational Trauma: The Case of "James"

The purpose of this study is to explore the utility and feasibility of incorporating client-chosen music listening into a short-term dynamic therapy model in an individual with trauma. Specifically, Diana Fosha’s Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) was chosen due to its focus on emotional experience and attachment. Relevant literature regarding the current clinical applications of music is presented, along with research supporting music’s effects on relevant psychotherapeutic mechanisms such as affect, autobiographical memory, and attachment. These effects are illustrated through the use of the hybrid case example of "James," a composite psychotherapy client who struggles with symptoms stemming from relational trauma. In addition to being informed by clinical examples in relevant psychological literature, James' case is assembled from actual psychotherapy cases of the author. Demonstrating this client’s course of treatment provides an avenue for describing key clinical issues related to the utility of music within a more traditional short-term dynamic therapy model. By adopting a qualitative, disciplined inquiry approach, treatment is tailored to the client’s unique psychological struggles within the context of historical, contextual, and relational factors. Following a pragmatic case study research format (Fishman, 2005), case material is analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Discussion explores how an integrative treatment approach, exemplified in the case of James, can effectively combine psychodynamic, relational, and musical elements in treating individuals with relational trauma and the resulting pathology. James’ case is designed to be a resource for therapists who seek to gain additional understanding of a new component in providing effective and meaningful treatment for individuals with relational trauma