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

to the experience of having our close attention on them and students may
find it encouraging to bear this in mind during their clinical work.
The group experiences described above illustrate three points in
particular. First, the introduction of one of the main functions of their
group supervision: providing a ‘containing’ (Bion 1962b) environment
that enables them to bear the emotional communications and
disturbances of their clients. This support is crucial for the therapists
during and after training.
Secondly, we have looked at the tendency for observers to jump to
passing judgement and the way this might be seen as defence against the
discomfort of some painful feelings that surface in response to events
witnessed or described. This closely parallels a concurrent experience
within the training - that of weekly seminars in which students share their
individual experiences of a series of visits to potential work settings.
Difficult situations often arise on these visits and both clients and staff
impact strongly on the observing student. This can lead to descriptions
which imply criticism of staff attitudes or overtly blame them for the
painful conditions of the clients. It is important that students have a
framework for examining their own judgement of others and what this
actually reflects. For instance, helplessness and a fear of their own
ignorance. It is vital that before embarking on their own casework,
students become of their own habitual responses as well as the dynamics
and unconscious assumptions which occur in all groups from families to
institutions.
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