Music Therapy
1996, Vol. 14, No. 1, 29-43
The Role of Improvised Music
in Psychodynamic Music Therapy
with Adults
PSYCHODYNAMIC
DIANE S. AUSTIN
MUSIC THERAPIST
PRIVATE PRACTICE
This is an exciting time to be a music therapist. The field is
rapidly advancing. There are many music therapists now work­
ing as primary therapists and in private practice. In light of this
development, there is a growing need for a theory that unites the
concepts of depth psychology with the practice of music therapy.
This article defines and describes a theory of psychodynamic
music therapy that emphasizes the role of improvised
music.
Three ways in which improvised
music functions
within
a
psychodynamic
framework are illustrated: as pure experience in
the here and now; as a mediator between conscious an uncon­
scious contents; and as a symbolic language. Special attention is
given to Jung’s theory of complexes as it relates to psycho­
dynamic music therapy. Case examples from private practice
with adults are included.
Bridgebuilding
and Theory Making
Building bridges and making connections are important. Therefore, I
have always been drawn to psychoanalytic
theories that bridge art and
science, and to therapists who feel the creative process is central to
their work. Winnicott (1971) is one such therapist who wrote about the
connection between play and creativity. He believed that there could
be no healing until the client had learned to play, for playing is the
source of creativity and “it is in being creative that the individual
discovers the self” (1971, p. 54). Winnicott also addressed the thera­
pist’s role and stressed the importance of the therapist’s ability to play.
Creativity is central to C.G. Jung’s (1968, 1969) psychology. Jung’s idea
is that we become ourselves through the process of working with
symbols in multiple creative acts. Rollo May (1975) described the
creative act as an intense encounter between a person and his or her
29
world. This encounter is characterized by “an intensity of awareness, a
heightened consciousness” (p. 44).
The creative process is intrinsic to music therapy. The music therapist
also bridges the worlds of art and science (Bonny, 1973, 1985; Eagle,
1990; Hesser, 1995; Kenny, 1989; Ruud, 1980). The psychodynamic music
therapist bridges the theories and techniques of depth psychology with
the practice of music therapy. Some examples of various styles of
psychodynamic music therapy can be found in articles by Austin (1991),
Austin and Dvorkin (1993), Bruscia (1991, 1995), Diaz de Chumaceiro
(1992), Lecourt (1991), Nolan (1994), Priestly (1994), and Scheiby (1991).
Author’s
Stance
Psychodynamic
music therapy is a creative process that utilizes
music and words within a client/therapist
relationship to facilitate an
ongoing dialogue between conscious and unconscious contents. A con­
nection between music and words is established by verbally processing
the musical experience and/or musically processing the verbal experi­
ence. Psychodynamic music therapy draws on ideas of transference,
countertransference,
resistance, ego development and other concepts
associated with analytical theory. The creative process of exploring and
integrating unconscious aspects of one’s psyche enables the client to
become the unique self he or she truly is.
I came to the field of music therapy because I had a passion for
music and the arts as well as a passion for depth psychology. With a
musical background in theatre, composition, and more than 15 years
experience as a professional jazz/pop singer, the psychological lens 1
look through is 25 years of involvement
with Jungian theory and
process as an analyst as well as a student. For the past eight years, I
have been working to integrate Jungian psychology and music therapy
in my private practice with adults. Since I have recently been studying
other schools of depth psychology, 1 realize that I have important
theoretical influences besides Jung and the Jungian theorists. By study­
ing object-relations theory, ego psychology and self psychology, I have
gained valuable insight into myself and my clients. The bridge meta­
phor continues to be a potent one for me.
My stance as a clinician comes not only from my own personal
history and influences, but also from the clients with whom I have
chosen to work. The people I see in private practice are high-functioning
adults, most of whom are in the creative arts professions. The majority of
them have preverbal wounds. They suffered traumas at a time in their
development (age l-3) when vocabulary and syntax were not fully
The Role of Improvised
Music in Adult Psychodynamic
Music Therapy
31
available to communicate the experience and/or the feelings associated
with the experience. Many of my clients have histories of emotional,
physical and/or sexual abuse. As a primary therapist I need to under­
stand the dynamics and intrapsychic structure of the unconscious. The
combination of improvised vocal and instrumental music with verbal
processing is an effective working method.
Improvised
Music as Pure Experience in the Here and Now
In the past ten years, some music therapists have put forth the need for
a new language in music therapy. Aigen (1991, 1995), Amir (1995), Hesser
(1988), and Kenny (1985, 1989) have emphasized the importance of the
aesthetic experience of music. Kenny (1989) focuses on “aesthetics, cre­
ative process and the musical personality of both client and therapist”
(p. 17) in her theory of music therapy. Aigen (1995) emphasizes the need to
establish the “primacy of aesthetic considerations in determining clinical
interventions” (p. 254). These music therapists stress the pure experiential
aspect of music as essential to the therapeutic process.
Improvised music in a psychodynamic music therapy context can be
viewed in three complementary ways: first, as pure experience in the
here and now; second, as a mediator between conscious and uncon­
scious contents; and third, as a symbolic language. The first aspect of
improvised music that is a vital part of psychodynamic music therapy is
the pure experiential component of the musical encounter. This compo­
nent relates to what I call “the musical moment,” when the music
resonates with the depths of one’s being and the client can experience a
connection to his/her true self. Spontaneity is evoked and it is possible
for the client to be directly involved on a sensory and feeling level with
another (the therapist), who is also fully present and available for
relationship. The client’s need for mutuality is met in this encounter, and
he/she has the experience of being companioned. This is a timeless
moment when one feels free to experiment and transcend previous
limited self-definitions. The whole being of the person, body, soul, mind
and spirit is engaged. The feeling of unity and the sense of self-cohesion
that is experienced restores and revitalizes. “The musical moment” is a
moment of healing, when change and growth can occur.
The aesthetic properties of music-melody,
harmony and rhythm-are
an essential part of the therapy process. As Aigen (1995) has expressed,
these elements of music “have the ability to frame raw experience into a
whole experience” (p. 241). Salas (1990) also stresses the healing potential
in the beauty of the music and points out that “the client can find
intimations of universal order and purpose in music” (p. 9).
32
Austin
Also crucial to psychodynamic music therapy is the human interac­
tion between client and therapist. In order to grow and transform, the
client needs an experience of having his/her feelings and true self heard,
seen and valued in relationship. Over time, this relational structure
becomes internalized and the ability to relate to oneself and others is
developed. When working with improvised music, this process is inten­
sified. To quote from a client’s log of a therapy session:
I was playing a melody alternately on the marimba and the
gato drum. After playing it several times, Diane began to hum it.
This had a deep impact on me, to hear my newborn melody
outside me. It was even stronger because it was her voice rather
than an instrument. I felt validated and even though I had not
played the melody in an effort of communication,
I felt I had
been heard and answered. This feeling went deep inside.
When I reflect on the intensity of the musical encounter, I return to
something I learned as a singer. At that time of my life, singing was the
main outlet I had for expressing my feelings and I realized how thera­
peutic singing was for me. Within the holding structure of a song, I felt
contained and safe enough to allow myself to surrender to the emerging
sensations and feelings. What I learned in the past is still true. When I
improvise, the music comes from a natural impulse. I feel more sponta­
neous and alive, more fully myself. Nordorff and Robbins (1977) de­
scribe this experience well: “A new emotional stream begins to flow,
nourishing a new awareness of self and of expressive capability” (1977,
p. 56). Kenny (1985) speaks about the organizing aspects of musical
improvisation
that allow one’s natural patterns of being to emerge.
In my experience, feelings are accessed more easily through music
than through words, and are readily transferred through the musical
field between client and therapist. This transfer of feelings intensifies the
interpersonal encounter as well as the intrapersonal encounter of the
client with his/her inner world.
Improvised Music as a Mediator Between
Conscious and Unconscious Contents
The second way I conceptualize the role of improvised music in
psychodynamic
music therapy is to view music as medial. This term
refers to the ability of music to mediate contents from the personal and
collective unconscious to the conscious mind. Music can give voice to
what is still inaudible. Music can give us access to the invisible world­
the world of image, memory and association. Music can function as a
The Role of Improvised Music in Adult Psychodynamic Music Therapy
33
bridge over which aspects of the self normally not heard from can cross
over into consciousness where they can be experienced, related to, and
eventually integrated (Austin, 1993).
C.G. Jung was a pioneer in observing and documenting the psyche’s
tendency toward dissociation. He wrote about the “little people” who
inhabit the inner world. Jung believed that we are born in a state of
unconscious unity. The ego is identified (or merged) with the Self (the
central archetype of wholeness). As one moves toward consciousness,
there is a breaking up of the original unity. Parts of one’s personality that
never get seen and related to get left out in the course of one’s ego
development and in the process of adapting to parental values and
expectations. These part-personalities
remain unintegrated (Jung, 1968,
1969; Edinger, 1972).
We all have dissociated or unintegrated partial aspects of the self.
These “little people,” our inner cast of characters, have their own goals,
music and songs. In psychodynamic music therapy these songs can be
heard and brought into awareness. Then the energy contained in the
music can be used to enlarge and enrich the conscious personality.
An example of this process is seen in the case of a 26-year-old man I
will call Peter. Peter grew up in a household with a mother who was
emotionally unstable and an alcoholic father. Peter became his mother’s
caretaker and a “mother” to his younger sister. In order to cope with this
situation, he split off from his own child self and his own needs. This was
how he survived.
At this point in his therapy process Peter began to realize the extent of
his emotional deprivation. Suffering from anxiety and depression, he
worked and ate compulsively. He longed for intimate connections but
his fears of engulfment and abandonment caused him to distance him­
self from people.
Peter loved music and particularly enjoyed singing. When we sang
together, he said he felt as if his “wall” was melting. For Peter, this meant
he was less defended and more able to access his feelings. The music
allowed him to feel closer to his real self and to me. The music broke
through his isolation.
Free Associative
Singing
When I worked with Peter, I often used a technique I call “free
associative singing.” This technique involves creating a consistent and
stable musical holding environment. If the client is musically knowl­
edgeable, I begin by asking him what two chords he would like me to
play. If he has little or no knowledge of chord structure, I play examples
34
Austin
of major and minor chords and ask him which he would prefer. Some­
times a client describes the quality of sound that captures a feeling or
mood he would like to evoke, and together we find the desired chords.
This technique is limited to two chords in order to create a predictable,
secure musical container in which the client does not have to think too
much, but can relax and allow his spontaneous self to emerge. I also ask
if he would like a particular rhythm, and play this chord pattern repeat­
edly to allow him to improvise. This simple technique is very effective in
creating a safe and predictable environment for self-expression (clearly,
something Peter never had). I vocally mirror the client’s sounds and/or
words. My mirroring offers support and encourages him to continue
singing. This technique facilitates a musical stream of consciousness.
The repetition of the two chords and the rhythmic pattern, can induce an
altered state in which images and associations flow freely.
During a significant music therapy session, Peter began the hour by
talking about his weekend. He described it as “depressing.” He had little
affect when he spoke and seemed removed from his experience. I
suggested that we sing about his weekend. He agreed and requested
major chords. I played a continuous pattern of C major 9 to F major 9. He
began by singing about the concrete events of the weekend; what he did,
where he went. Eventually, he began to sing about the loneliness he felt
on Sunday afternoon. His voice became softer, lighter and sounded
younger. Some of the words he sang were: “I’m lonely.
it's empty here
it’s sad here
I’m all alone.
it’s cold and I’m scared here.” He had
an image of himself as a child hiding all alone in the attic. As I continued
to mirror his words and melody, I sang, “What do you need Peter?” He
said, “There are no words.”
As the playing continued, he began to sing without words using “la”
and “oo,” I sang with him. He began to cry. He said Sundays were
“miserable” when he was a kid. His father was drunk all day and his
parents fought for hours on end. Peter said that what he needed was to
talk to and just be with somebody calm. He needed to feel safe.
The improvised singing enabled the young, wounded part of Peter to
enter the therapeutic relationship. The music provided a safe space so
that Peter could begin to meet his early dependency needs and move
forward in his life.
Working With Complexes
Jung had a benign view of dissociation. He believed that it was an
essential, natural process in the differentiation of the personality. Unlike
Janet, Breuer and Freud ( Breuer and Freud, 1937), Jung put forth the
The Role of Improvised
Music in Adult Psychodynamic
Music Therapy
35
idea that dissociation extends along a continuum from “normal” mental
functioning to “abnormal” mental states.
In Jung’ s theory, parts of the self are directly related to complexes. A
complex is an emotionally charged energy center comprising a number
of associated ideas and images. At the core of the complex is an arche­
type-a
transpersonal, universal pattern of psychic experience and
meaning (IJlanov, 1971). An archetype is made up of emotion and image
(and, I believe, sound). The archetype contains the most primitive form
of the affect (Edinger, 1972: Jacobi, 1942; Kast, 1992).
Complexes often have a traumatic etiology. According to Jung,
complexes are psychic fragments that have split off as a result of
traumatic influences or certain incompatible tendencies (Jung, 1969).
Jung believed that contents of the unconscious first present themselves
to the ego in the form of complexes. If the constellating complex is not
made conscious it will surface as a projection. On the other hand, when
a person’s ego interacts with a complex, there is a noticeable change in
his/her mood and attitude. When one is “caught in a complex” (iden­
tified with it) emotional reactions are exaggerated. One has the sense
of being in an altered state. As Kast (1992) explains, at that moment the
person is reacting not only to the current situation that triggered the
fear or anger, but “to all similar situations experienced in the course of
one’s life” (p. 36). Kast goes on to say, “in this condition we feel
trapped
and at the mercy
of inner activities
we cannot
influence.
we
feel we have lost control, that we are far less autonomous than we
believed ourselves to be” (1992, p. 36).
The implications of Jung’s complex theory for psychotherapy
are
apparent. The client’s healing involves experiencing the feelings, im­
ages and memories associated with the complex and bringing them into
consciousness. The contents of the complex can then be assimilated by
the ego and integrated into the client’s self-image, making the energy
available for conscious use. According to Jung, the energy that consti­
tutes the complex is precisely the energy that the client needs for
continued development and healing (Kast, 1992).
It is interesting that Jung referred to the complexes as “feeling-toned”
(Jacobi, 1942, p. 39). As Ansdell points out: “Our emotions share with
music the qualities of speed, force, attack, intensity and so on” (1995,
p. 12). Our emotions are mirrored in the way music works. Music gives
sound to inner feeling states. As I have previously illustrated, impro­
vised music provides the client with both a bridge to the inner world and
a direct experience of the feelings, fantasies and memories therein. As
both a catalyst and a container, music is a uniquely effective way of
working with complexes and their archetypal cores. In Jung’s words:
36
Austin
“Music reaches the deep archetypal material that we can only some­
times reach in our analytic work with patients” (1977, p. 275).
Do particular complexes (i.e., abandonment complex, inferiority com­
plex) have recognizable musical aspects? In other words, can the client’s
music help to identify the complex that is being constellated? To my
knowledge, the answer to this question has not been researched.
However, I have found similar qualities in a client’s music when he/
she is caught in a traumatizing aspect of the power complex. In several
instances, clients who improvised music around issues involving ex­
treme judgment, verbal and/or physical abuse, produced music with
similar qualities. In each case, the tempo was very fast. The rhythm,
melody and harmony were repetitive and had an insistent, compulsive
quality.
The effect of the music on these clients, was also consistent. Each one
experienced his/her music as “intense” and “having a life of its own.”
Each felt that he/she could have continued playing for hours without
any change in the musical patterns.
One client described feeling as if she were “possessed.” Another said
she felt “attacked by self-hatred.” Two of the clients, when asked to
draw what they experienced during the improvisation,
drew whirling
patterns that looked like cyclones. These drawings are reminiscent of the
circular, spiraling pattern that has been referred to as a “trauma vortex”
by Dr. Peter Levine. Dr. Levine specializes in working with traumatized
people through a process he calls somatic experiencing (Levine, 1995).
When playing music with a client caught in an attacking aspect of the
power complex, I have found that the music usually lacks feeling and
contains a driven quality When the client associates the music to a part
of his/her personality, he/she has given it names like “the perpetrator,”
“the predator” or “the witch.”
To be caught in a complex is to be metaphorically
captured by the
gravity of another planet. I have described how music can be useful in
identifying
the sounds of someone so captured. Music can also be
extremely effective in helping the client “return to earth”; helping to
differentiate his/her own voice from the state of unconscious identity
with the complex. Music can enable the client to connect to his/her
authentic feeling (the feeling beneath the judgment). The client can then
separate from the attacker and find his/her own point of view.
Case Example
Julia is a 32-year-old artist who entered therapy because of low self­
esteem, an inability to assert herself and problematic relationships.
The Role of Improvised Music in Adult Psychodynamic
Music Therapy
37
These issues, along with a fear of authority figures, made it difficult for
her to move forward in her career.
Julia is an only child and described her mother as “aggressive” and
“dominating,”
and her father as “weak” and “ineffectual.”
Her mother
was physically abusive to Julia throughout her childhood and adoles­
cence. Julia had difficulty connecting to her feelings. Like the majority
of people who suffer from childhood trauma, she employed dissocia­
tion as a major defense.
This session began with Julia describing a new work situation. The
woman in charge of her department had an explosive temper. Julia was
intimidated by this woman and sought her approval. This resulted in
Julia working overtime without compensation and then feeling taken
advantage of and angry.
I asked Julia to play what it felt like at work. She chose the piano and
asked me to play with her. Her music was loud and staccato. The tempo
was very fast. She played clusters of notes: G, A, Bb, C, played together
in a repetitive pattern. The music was dissonant but related to the key of
G minor. I supported her playing by musically reflecting and holding in
the lower register of the piano. I would describe the quality of the music
as energetic, compelling and driven, with no space to breathe or feel.
This music continued for five minutes or more. Then the tempo
gradually slowed. She stopped playing clusters and began to play one
note at a time in G Dorian mode. To me the music had a sad, soulful
quality.
Afterward, we listened to a tape recording of the improvisation.
We
both recognized the similarity between the first part of the improvisa­
tion (very fast, dissonant music) and music she had played in previous
sessions to describe her home life. Julia said, “Work is hectic, constant
confusion
always a crisis.
I feel like there’s no calm spot, no center
I used to feel this way at home, like everything was whirling around
me-then I would fly off.”
Julia had images of her mother hitting her and screaming at her
because Julia was working too slowly or because she was clumsy and
bumped into something. Julia said, “This beginning music is like my
mother-compulsive,
intense, always moving, attacking.” Julia realized
that when she gets caught up in this rhythm, she becomes driven like her
mother. She appears efficient, hardworking
and unfeeling but under­
neath she is judging and underneath the judgment there is fear.
When the music slowed down she said, “the self I show to the world
is breaking down
it’s like I dropped through the floor into the
basement.
this music is sad, dark and lonely but it’s my music and my
rhythm is much slower than my mother’s
I feel much more connected
38
Austin
to my inner core in this music, and my inner core is sad . I don’t mind
the sadness (pause) it’s peaceful.”
In subsequent therapy sessions, Julia continued to strengthen her
own psychological standpoint. Gradually she became able to dialogue
with her inner attacker. This was accomplished through musical impro­
visation and verbal processing. Musical role playing was also em­
ployed. At times I improvised the role of the attacker while she played
her “core self.” At other times we reversed roles. Eventually, using these
roles, we were able to have a musical conversation that felt less like a
power struggle and more like a genuine communication of feelings.
The energy contained in this persecutory part is powerful because
although it is related in this case to the personal mother, it is also
transpersonal (beyond the personal) and archetypal. Consciously relat­
ing to this energy humanizes it so that the aggression can be made
available to the ego for positive use in the world. Julia gradually became
able to use this aggression consciously to set boundaries and to protect
herself by asserting her feelings and needs in a direct and effective way.
Improvised
Music As A Symbolic
Language
From a psychodynamic
or psychoanalytic
point of view, music is
most often regarded as a language that gives symbolic expression to
unconscious contents and intrapsychic processes. Mary Priestly (1994),
one of the founders of analytical music therapy, defines her approach
as “the analytically informed symbolic use of improvised music by the
music therapist and client” (p. 3). Priestly believes that experiencing
emotion symbolically
in music or movement reduces the pain of the
experience. In her words: “Symbols are accumulators and transformers
of psychic energy
using them, the therapist is dealing with the
transformation
of force
the music therapist has this unique light­
ning conductor; the tapping off of the surplus emotional dynamism
through shared sound expression” (p. 47).
Scheiby (1991), who was deeply influenced by Priestly, describes
her own work as involving the symbolic use of improvised and com­
posed music by the client and therapist. Scheiby uses verbal process­
ing to relate the music to the clients’ present and past issues. She states:
“Any musical structure which a client presents in an improvisation
is
a mirror of the client’s psychological organization and dominant func­
tion” (p. 289).
Tyson’s (1981) approach to music therapy also includes the accep­
tance of the music of the client as a symbolic communication.
Tyson
The Role of Improvised Music in Adult Psychodynamic Music Therapy
39
believes the music itself can be a substitute for an inadequate or missing
primary object. She states: “In the transitional phase, it is the musical
instrument
which he (the client) touches and holds as a symbol of
feelingful relationship” (p. 71).
Lecourt (1991) describes the concordance between her clients’ musi­
cal improvisations
and the therapeutic relationship (transference and
countertransference). She discusses the symbolic significance of rhythm
and gives an example of a client’s interest in the “offbeat” versus the
main beat. For Le Court, this aspect of her client’s music paralleled his
central issue of problematic toilet training.
There are other music therapists who may not necessarily consider
themselves psychodynamic in orientation, but who do make reference
to music as metaphor and a form of symbolic communication.
It is
beyond the scope of this paper to list them all but some examples
include: Katsh and Merle-Fishman (1987), Miller (1994), Moffitt (1991),
Perilli (1991), Simpkins (1987) and Van Den Hurk and Smeijsters (1991).
It is important to note that the way the client’s symbolic communica­
tion (and therefore his/her musical expression) is interpreted, will be
affected by the therapist’s orientation (Freudian, Kleinian, Jungian, etc.)
In my private practice, I am aware of the client’s improvised music as
being symbolic of his/her intrapsychic and interpersonal dynamics. A
brief example is a 32-year-old client, Lisa, who was identified with her
persona--a “nice” person. Her persona was reflected in her “nice”
music, which was always consonant and never loud. Lisa was uncom­
fortable with disagreement and dissonance. She denied her anger and
projected it onto other people. In Jungian terms, her disowned anger
was part of her shadow.
As Lisa became more aware and accepting of her angry feelings, her
music reflected this change. She began to explore the world of disso­
nance and allowed herself a wider dynamic range. I believe the louder,
more dissonant music also supported her ability to experience anger in
a less threatening way.
This change in Lisa’s attitude was especially visible in the transfer­
ence. The first time she played loudly and “banged” on the piano, she
was playing alone and I was listening (at her request). It seemed that she
stopped playing prematurely. She appeared to be wary of my judgment.
When questioned as to why she stopped playing, she said, “I didn’t
want you to feel uncomfortable.”
This comment led to an insight con­
cerning her mother’s negative reaction to Lisa’s anger. Lisa’s expecta­
tion was that I would reject her music if it were too loud or dissonant, in
the same way that she felt her mother had rejected her when Lisa
expressed any disagreement or anger.
40
Austin
I suggested that she return to the piano and that we play together.
This time, the music lacked affect. Afterward, when we discussed the
improvisation,
Lisa admitted that she had not wanted to play again.
She was afraid to say “no” to me because she felt I would be disap­
pointed. Perhaps I would get angry at her if she did not comply. Lisa
was transferring her relationship with her mother onto our relation­
ship. This time, however, Lisa was able to express her feelings and
have them responded to in an accepting way. This was a reparative
experience for her.
My countertransference had to do with the annoyance and judgment
I sometimes felt toward Lisa’s “nice” music. Excited about her progress,
sometimes I felt the urge to push her forward in her process. I had to
clarify whether at times my interventions
were prompted by Lisa’s
resistance or whether they were fueled by my own countertransferential
feelings.
In this last case example, I have illustrated how all three ways of
viewing the role of improvised music in psychodynamic music therapy
are present. One sees what one chooses to focus on. Clearly, Lisa had a
pure experience in the here and now. Lisa was able to experience more of
her capacity for self-expression in the music. This experience could
eventually be integrated and actualized in the world.
One can also appreciate the music in this case example for its medial
capacity Associations and feelings were brought to consciousness, which
led to insight and new experience.
The music can be perceived as symbolic communication
of intra­
psychic processes and interpersonal communication. Lisa’s “nice” con­
sonant music can be interpreted as representing a compliant false self (in
object relations terminology) or as identification
with the persona (in
Jungian terms). The dissonant music relates to the archetype of the
shadow (in Jungian terms). A Freudian might call this “id” music.
Different theoretical schools might interpret the music using their
own language and concepts. It is important that the therapist have a
theoretical framework that informs his/her work. However, the client
and therapist can ultimately benefit by exploring the symbolic commu­
nication inherent in the music. This can be done very effectively and
therapeutically without getting bogged down in psychoanalytic jargon.
The goal is for the client to learn to think symbolically and eventually to
interpret for him/her self. In Lisa’s case, she was gradually able to make
connections between the music she played and her emotional life. This
ability deepened her capacity for insight and change.
In this article I have described three ways of viewing the important
role of improvised
music in the process of psychodynamic
music
The Role of Improvised
Music in Adult Psychodynamic
Music Therapy
41
therapy. The music operates on all three levels simultaneously
in the
clinical session; as pure experience in the here and now, as a mediator
between unconscious and conscious awareness, and as a form of sym­
bolic communication. These three aspects or roles of the music flow and
interweave like music itself. Like rhythm, melody, and harmony, some­
times one takes precedence over the other, but each is essential when
creating the song of the self.
References
Aigen, K. (1991). The roots of music therapy: Towards an indigenous research
paradigm. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, New York University, New
York.
Aigen, K. (1995). An aesthetic foundation of clinical theory: An underlying basis
of creative music therapy. In Carolyn B. Kenny (ed.), Listening, playing,
creating: Essays on the power ofsound. Albany, New York: State University of
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Diane S. Austin, M.A., A.C.M.T.
is a Jungian-oriented
psychodynamic
music therapist with a private practice in Brooklyn Heights, New York.
She is an adjunct faculty member in the music therapy department
at
New York University
where she is also a doctoral
candidate.
Diane
directs the music therapy program for adolescents in foster care at Turtle
Bay Music School in New York City. She is a vice president on the board
of directors for the American
Association
for Music Therapy and is an
honorary
member of the International
Scientific Committee
for the 8th
World Congress of Music Therapy
Author’s Note: I would like to acknowledge my clients, who continue to inspire me.
Special thanks to Barbara Hesser and the doctoral seminar group for their stimulation
and encouragement.