Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

to me and say “that’s it”. Tom preferred to chat on a telephone as it was easier
for him to tell me his news, or how he was feeling, indirectly.
After this beginning, Tom liked to sing songs he knew, from ‘Be bold, be
strong’ (Chapman, 1984) to ‘Morning has broken’ (Farjeon,1931) at the top of
his voice as he sat alongside me at the piano. This was particularly remarkable
and moving because he had a stutter and normally faltered over spoken words
but when he sang his words came easily. The familiarity and structure of the
songs made him feel safe and seemed to remind him of primary school.
He also enjoyed listening to music and making up songs but it was important
that everything was done together. Through regular sessions and sharing these
activities Tom began to develop a greater sense of self and appreciation of
what he could do. He started to talk about things he was doing at school,
outside music therapy, and what he was achieving. At the same time within
music therapy he started to make up games. He became increasingly
competitive and enjoyed playing against me. Tom needed to win and do better
than me, shouting: “You’ve been mugged!” every time he scored meaning
he’d beaten me.
One of these games was rather like musical statues where, if the player was
spotted still moving after the other player had stopped drumming, he was
penalised and, in this case, given a number of minutes as points against him.
The time related to the number of minutes Tom had had removed from his
break at his old school as a form of punishment for his disruptive behaviour.
Through this game he was able to win and instead of getting detention, could
enjoy playing, feel independent and start to experience control in a playful
way. Tom’s newfound confidence allowed him to face the past when he felt
less in control.
! *(!