Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

(quoted from Bonny 2002, chapter ten, p. 133-34). Grocke (2002) connects the
“container” metaphor to Winnicott’s ideas on containment as applied to clinical
BMGIM practice (Goldberg 1992; Kasayka 1988; Moe 2002; Summer 1992, 1995,
1998). 20
Daniel Stern (1985) and contemporary developmental psychology make extensive use
of musical metaphors, like “crescendo” and “diminuendo”, and the basic elements of
communication in Stern’s theory are the same as in music: tempo, rhythm, tone,
phrasing, form and intensity. This is one reason for the popularity of interaction
theory within contemporary music therapy theory (Hannibal 2002, Holck 2002,
Trondalen 2004) 21 .
Hougaard (2004) discusses “root metaphors of psychotherapy”, each based on
implicit analogies showing how the concept of psychotherapy is influenced by other
experiential areas. With reference to Orlinsky (1989) seven root metaphors or meta-
models are identified (Table 3.5).
Table 3. 5 Root metaphors in psychotherapy
1. Psychotherapy as treatment – relating psychotherapy to the medical model:
psychological problems are disturbances to be treated with specific methods or
techniques (e.g. psychoanalysis).
2. Psychotherapy as education or training – relating psychotherapy to teaching and
learning: psychological problems are defective learning processes to be corrected
through new learning (e.g. psycho-education in cognitive therapy).
3. Psychotherapy as social control or adaptation - relating psychotherapy to moral:
psychological problems are deviations from social norms to be treated through
persuasion and social influence (e.g. behavioural modification)
20 De Backer (1999) relates the “containment” metaphor to the theories of Bion (1962).
21 For a discussion of Stern’s, Trevarthen’s and Malloch’s contributions to the psychological
understanding of the mother-child interaction and its relevance for music therapy, see Holck (2002).
Trondalen (2004, p. 103) has also examined the relationship between the psychological process in
mother-child interactions and musical interplay (in music therapy). She concludes that the similarities
expressed in the musical metaphors has deep meaning and recommends the use of musical and
aesthetical concepts also in the further development of interaction theory.
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