Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

oth found the process very exiting, and there was a permanent temptation to discuss
clinical issues and processes in a more professional perspective, but I think we
managed to separate supervision issues – which Ellen took to her clinical supervisors
– and research issues which we discussed when necessary. I also resisted the
temptation to begin processing the data before the clinical processes were terminated,
as this might have made me try to influence Ellen in her clinical work. It has been a
privilege to present the study together with Ellen. We have done this on several
occasions, both in Denmark and abroad. The combination of a research and a clinical
perspective gives each presentation an extra dimension, and I want to express my
gratitude to Ellen for that.
The only validity problem I see in the collaboration with a person so close to me is
related to the discarded aspect of the therapeutic relationship and its role in the
processes of the six participants. I think Ellen has made a highly professional
contribution as BMGIM therapist, and it was documented earlier in this chapter that
the participants have appreciated her work deeply. I chose Ellen as the project’s
therapist because I found her the best qualified available. But if some of the
therapeutic relationships had been cumbersome or participants had expressed
dissatisfaction it would have been difficult for me to analyze the therapeutic
relationship. Thus, I have no reservations to continuing the collaboration with Ellen in
future projects but one: if the therapeutic relationship is included, as a research
another researcher than me should perform theme the data analysis.
From a methodological and philosophical point of view the study has taught me a lot
about both fixed and flexible designs and the potentials of combining them in one
investigation. This experience has also convinced me that music therapists, both
clinicians and researchers, need basic training in quantitative as well as qualitative
methods. Descriptive statistics were not new to me, but inferential statistics were. The
scrutiny and precision needed in the collection, processing and presentation of
quantitative data has been a very important addition to my skills as a researcher and to
my understanding of the positivist paradigm. On the other hand it has been very
rewarding to explore how more well-known hermeneutic and heuristic approaches
could lead to other types of new knowledge in the field of music therapy in cancer
rehabilitation. My intuitive understanding of the therapeutic potential of music and
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