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

instruments. For example, there was a child in one group that we ran
who could not bear it when the group became cohesive and musical
interactions were taking place. He did everything he could to destroy and
disrupt the session including turning the light switch on and off and
throwing instruments. One therapist was able to focus on managing his
destructive behaviour, acknowledging it, supporting it and maintaining
the safety boundaries whilst the other maintained the musical line. It was
important that the groups’ music was not allowed to be completely
broken as we felt this would be damaging for both the child and the
group.
These roles create a predictable structure that help the children to
eventually feel safe and secure in their therapy. They are not
interchangeable and we feel it is vital that these boundaries do not
become blurred. Despite the fact that we both play the piano and flute,
we stay with our allocated roles for the duration of the group. This
splitting of our roles provides a strong structure for the group.
The flautist has a more subjective role which allows the pianist to be
more objective. This is particularly useful when the group presents with
chaos, anxiety or challenging behaviour. On the whole the therapist on
the floor becomes involved with individuals and the pianist is able to
have a more global view of the group.
Throughout the sessions we are aware of the projections that are
happening within the group. We examine the transference and counter
transference. One of the benefits of having two therapists is that we are
both open to projections from different children within the group. The
525