Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

way, were able to comment with understanding on her emotional well-being rather
than focus on her behaviour.
8.3 Case study 2: Joe
Joe’s history was sketchy but when he began music therapy at the age of 14, it was
clear that he had not been offered any other therapeutic input to help him address or
deal with his complex emotional issues. Despite a moderate hearing loss, Joe
manages all mainstream classes with some support; he wears hearing aids and can
communicate clearly with speech.
When he began music therapy he lacked motivation at school and his behaviour could
be aggressive. He was regularly caught stealing and frequently involved in fights. He
had few friends and seemed to live in a fantasy world, often telling elaborate stories
and lying to both peers and teaching staff to impress them or elicit sympathy.
Unsurprisingly, Joe lied in his first music therapy session and told me that he had
been a drummer in a successful rock band that had toured America. He also managed
to take a pair of drum sticks away with him which he hid up his sleeves. It was clear
that Joe had very low self-esteem, wanted to be liked and needed friends, but he did
not know how to go about it. As I logged incidents that he was involved in at school,
it became evident that he was getting into trouble for doing things that other students
had asked him to do, such as climbing up on a roof to get a football.
Sessions were built around Joe’s fantastic imagination. His favourite role was that of
an American rock star. I felt that he could distinguish between truth and fiction but he
seemed much happier and perhaps safer in make-believe play. I wondered if it felt too
risky for him to unravel honest feelings which perhaps related to his past.
Sessions followed a similar pattern each week. He chose tracks on CDs, ranging from
heavy metal band Metallica to pop ballads by Will Young, and played along to them,
replicating the bands. He was the drummer and I was usually the guitarist. The music
was amplified and the lights of the sound levels on the PA system helped him to keep
time. One of his favourite songs was called ‘How You Remind Me’. These words
! #+"!