Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

possibilities for a better life. Ricoeur identified the mimetic structure and dynamics of
the narrative. This structure and dynamis are also found in the BMGIM session, and
Ricoeur’s theories and concepts have proven useful in the imagery analysis.
However, on a meta-theoretical level it is important to stress that in a
phenomenological-hermeneutical study such as the current one, the process of
understanding is always more important than the result of the investigation (Alvesson
and Sköldberg 2000). Even if interpretations appear as more or less solid results of a
structured and clear analytic procedure, these results are always provisional, more or
less opaque snapshots of moments in a process with a long prehistory and an
unknown future. The process of understanding itself, and its implications for future
investigations in the field is the primary goal of such a study. In this study it was
obvious that the participants’ imagery style and the types of image configurations
were highly idiosyncratic and personal. The analytic procedures and hermeneutic
interpretations of the imagery presented here are more interesting from a method point
of view than from a strict outcome oriented point of view, since results of future
studies may vary highly as to content categories of the imagery.
9.2.3.2 The role of Will and Willing in the therapeutic process
This study demonstrated that BMGIM therapy resulted in existential transformations
– or refigurations – in at least five of the six participants. The grounded theory
proposed in Table 7.7 was an attempt to describe and explain the dynamics of this
process. However, it is necessary to discuss a specific and very important aspect of
the theory - the role of a participant’s “will” and how BMGIM may influence that. A
common feature in INLAs and PIJØs experiences emerged. Both participants had the
courage to face their problems (in the imagery, turning round and facing xyz, not
running away). INLA managed to heal a split between two conflicting aspects of her
worldview – represented in the imagery by a ‘split screen’ that was dissolved. PIJØ
had the courage to explore dangerous and emotionally challenging imagery, such as
‘the polluted lake’ and ‘the tangle surrounding the castle’, in order to learn something
new. Both participants were able to establish a trustful, sometimes even playful
relationship with their core metaphors and to acknowledge and enjoy their returns and
transformations. It does not seem to have been of vital importance whether images
were configured into narrative episodes or complete narratives. The important thing
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