Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

3.7.3 The BMGIM session in a metaphorical perspective
Three of the characteristics of metaphors identified by Siegelman (1990) can be
clearly observed in BMGIM.
• An “outcropping of an unconscious fantasy”: An example in BMGIM is when the
client's initially unrelated images, flowing in a stream-of-consciousness, give way
to emotionally charged experiences or the exploration of a series of interrelated
images, often highlighting a core problem.
• “A combination of the abstract and the concrete in a special way, enabling one to
go from the known and the sensed to the unknown and the symbolic” (p. ix). In
BMGIM, this occurs when a well-known problem of the client is transformed
from a cognitive, verbal report into a meaningful and dynamic image or sequence
of images. An example is when a split-off part of the client’s personality keeps
coming back as a metaphoric figure in the imagery.
• The elicitation or accompaniment of “strong feelings that lead to integrating (i.e.
affectively grounded) insight”. In BMGIM, this is seen when the emotional or
physical exploration of a core image (with tears, laughter, somatic reactions) leads
to a new feeling of openness, freedom or balance in the body, or a greater
awareness towards self & other, or formulation of a new coping strategy.
It is of utmost importance that the music be selected carefully to 1) make the
‘outcropping’ easier, 2) prolong and deepen the experience of meeting the unknown,
and 3) support a deep affective grounding of the whole process. It is the music that
makes these experiences of metaphor more intense in character than in a verbal
psychotherapy model.
Each of the five main phases of a BMGIM session can be seen as having a specific
metaphorical task. In the prelude discussion, the task is to identify a core metaphor in
what the client is reporting about significant events, thoughts, and emotions since the
last session. The therapist must listen carefully, not only to the content and affect, but
also to the metaphors either used by the client, or incipient in the client’s report. If a
dream is reported, it can be considered a metaphorical narrative, which the therapist
can explore by helping the client to identify the most significant image or metaphor in
the dream. A metaphor may also ‘uncrop’ spontaneously, e.g. when the client
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