Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

He started to be more honest in sessions and did not need to make up stories about a
glamorous lifestyle past. His playing became very expressive and he seemed more
confident about who he was. This was demonstrated by his decision to make a DVD
of his drumming to show other people. He wanted to upload it to YouTube and we
discussed this and the public’s access to something that is very personal. I had to
leave the decision to him and could not abandon the task of making a DVD which
was the real and important record of his achievement. He chose to play along to
‘Apologize’ by One Republic (2006), which was maybe a reflection on his turn
around We filmed him playing the song, watched clips back together, discussed the
good bits and other parts that we felt could be edited out. At the end he told me “It’s
for my dad”.
In the last session, Joe did not play any drums and only talked about horror films and
natural disasters. Everything was about loss and he told me how many tens of family
members had died through disasters in America. It felt as if Joe was telling
exaggerated stories for my sympathy and concern. Finishing music therapy was
harder for him than I had anticipated. He wanted to continue with music therapy after
the project and just before he left school in year eleven, he attended two sessions. In
the first he chatted about the past and things he had done, about the present and how
he felt about leaving school and going to the prom, and about his future plans to
return to America to make links with his family. In the second session Joe and I
improvised for the whole time, creating a medley of songs from previous sessions and
some new ones, which included the American national anthem.
The initial block of sessions had helped him to settle and be more confident in
himself and his own ability. He was now a confident, mature and honest young man.
At the end of his block of music therapy, two of his support staff completed feedback
forms. The first wrote: ‘Joe has seemed much calmer and happier at break times
recently. He was being provoked by another boy yesterday who was calling Joe
names but Joe was able to stay calm and not respond physically’. The second wrote:
‘Joe seems to have more concentration and more enthusiasm and willingness to learn.
Before, he could be quite destructive – picking apart objects or drawing on resources,
but now he makes more eye contact and engages more in conversation’. Staff now
generally talked about Joe as a more sensible student and one who usually told the
truth.
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