E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

Sutton, Julie; Beyond the Ordinairy
3. A third perspective draws upon the fields of neurobiology and
neuropsychology, where increasingly more research looking at the
neurochemical processes relating to trauma has been undertaken.
These processes include normative stress responses, the
developmental perspective and the symptamology of PTSD itself 14 .
4. A fourth and final perspective relates to where music therapy might
have a specific role within the support and treatment of those who
have experienced psychological trauma either originating in a single,
overwhelming event, or as a result of living in a community where
violent conflict has taken place.
It is useful to first consider defining trauma and I will do this before
expanding on the four perspectives I have outlined.
Trauma in general
I would like to begin with an excerpt from a music therapy session of one 8
year-old boy, who I will call "Jerry". Jerry lives in Northern Ireland:
e.g. "Big Bomb 1"
AUDIO 1a - OHP
I think this demonstrates the impact of trauma. We will pick up Jerry's story
in a while; at this stage it is important to consider briefly basic definitions
of trauma.
TRAUMA (basic definitions) OHP
14 van der Kolk, B. A. (1994) "The body keeps the score: memory and the evolving
psychobiology of post traumatic stress" Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 1, pp253-65
Davidson, J. R. T., Nemeroff, C. B.. (1989) "Pharmacotherapy in PTSD: Historical and
clinical considerations and future directions" Psychopharmac. Bulletin L, pp422-425
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