Music is My Whole Life - World Federation of Music Therapy

Horesh, T. (2006) “Music is My Whole Life” - The many meanings of music in addicts’ lives. Music Therapy Today
(Online) Vol.VII (2) 291-317. available at http://musictherapyworld.net
PREFACE
Here are some of their comments on the importance of music in their
lives:
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Sasha (age 25) “... the music never leaves me. Music is always with
me”
Dima (age 24) “ I can’t imagine my life without music. I see my life
and my music always together”
Yelena (age 28) “ I’m always with music. I live in it”
Nahum (age 43) “I have a relationship with that word – music”
Ella (age 29) “Music was like drugs”
Zohar (age 20) “If I had to go stay on a desert island , and I could take
either my music or my girlfriend – I would take my music.
Boris (28) “I grew up with those songs”
Yonatan (32) “It’s amazing how the music is half and half – with some
of the experiences, like milestones …on my way down, with the
drugs.
When I first started to work with addicts, 10 years ago, in various rehab.
centers, my thoughts on addicts and the kinds of music they listen to –
were quite stereotypical. But as time went by, I learned that above and
beyond the kind of music addicts may listen to, it’s important to investi-
gate the quality of the relationship many of them form with their music –
whether it’s electronic music, Russian criminal songs or Janis Joplin. I
have come to the conclusion that music therapy with addicts should
include, among other things, working with the music in their lives. The
music, in therapy, then changes from being a means – to becoming the
goal. In our music therapy groups we listen to, discuss, negotiate and re-
evaluate the music the addicts listened to in their drug-using past, and
their present period of therapy and rehab. For many of the people these
sessions enable a first time opportunity to examine their relationship
with music, in the secure and containing environment of the group; what
emotions it evokes, what memories and life-stories it awakens. How it
defines their personal, social and ethnic identity; how they use music in
their daily life; how their music relates to their drug abuse and what dan-
Introduction
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