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

she sang. Jane appeared excited and flattered at this new attention she
was receiving.
Music therapy sessions continued daily for 2 weeks before the topic of
song writing was discussed. This came about during an improvisation by
the music therapist aimed at reflecting Jane’s feelings on a particular
day. She had thought it amusing. It was agreed that the words of a
favourite song could be changed to better reflect how she felt. Hence a
song parody exercise began. Jane altered the words to the tune “What’s
Up” by the 4 Non-blondes with minimal assistance from the music
therapist. She chose this medium to express how she felt about her
ongoing chronic illness and the daily battles she faced.
Jane decided that she should “perform” this song for the staff. A concert
was hosted in her room where 30 – 40 people attended. Jane’s mother
and aunt provided food and drinks adding to the party atmosphere. The
concert was a great success. Each song was accompanied by guitar and
select percussion. Her song choices included favourites such as
Aladdin’s A Whole New World, and songs that were suggestive of her
unresolved fears such as Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven. Her song
parody had references to suicidal ideations. This had been discussed in
music therapy and with Jane’s permission a copy of the words had been
forwarded to the psychiatrist. He chose to attend the concert and discuss
this rather than directly discuss the song words.
Music therapy provided Jane with much needed psychosocial support
during her long hospital treatments. Song writing had enabled her to
express thoughts and feelings she had been unable to discuss with her
family or doctors. Performing allowed her to experience mastery and to
have some control over aspects of her life again. Positive feedback from
staff and peers boosted her feelings of self esteem, evidenced in increased
social interaction, laughing, smiling and a more relaxed state during
and after music therapy sessions. Staff reported that Jane would hum all
afternoon and be more approachable and more willing to comply with
treatments after sessions
Lansky & associates (1993) viewed adolescent refusal to comply with
treatment as their way of asserting their independence and to demonstrate
that they are in charge of their own lives. They stated that providing
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