Proceedings, Oxford, UK (2002) - World Federation of Music Therapy

Depending on the aim of the music therapy treatment the therapist
attempts to create a favorable context for the client’s / the child’s change
or development in proprioception, in perception and in participation.
To achieve this a specific kind of relation is established in the music
therapy session. This layer of relation is characterized by the coherent
frame, by the synchronizing resonance and the mutual exchanging
reciprocity of the situation.
The following interaction grafic demonstrates how these patterns of
interaction are established in the music therapy session.
The category system for the computerized microanalysis of music
therapy sessions KAMUTHE, that I developped, consists of four
categories for the child and three categories for the music therapist. The
behavior of the music therapist is categorized in musical, verbal and
nonverbal communicative behavior. The communicative behavior of the
child is categorized into gaze, vocalizations, musical activity, and
gestures.
Here you see the interaction analysis of a dance, that is repeated some
times. The music therapist is creating a sustainable frame of coherence
by accompaning her dancing with a song, by praising the child after each
dance session and by asking her before the next session if she wants
another dance. The child, a four year old girl with Cornelia-de-Lange-
Syndrome, that is not able to speak obviously is especting the question
and is signalling by a gesture that is referring to the music therapist her
wish for repetition.
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