E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

Turry, Alan: Performance and Product ....
accomplishment which helped him continue pursuing music as a career,
without relying on me to participate with him. I did attend the concert, and
we processed what it was like in the subsequent therapy session.
Austin (personal communication 1999) has performed with clients and
also chosen not to perform. She feels that there are certain clients who are
too fragile and unable to tolerate experiencing their therapist as not
attending solely to their needs. Austin described one client who thanked her
for saying no after the client asked to perform together. This was a
significant moment in the therapy relationship, as Austin felt the client
could trust her and experienced a sense of safety as they continued to work
together.
There have been times when I have chosen to perform with a client.
In order to maintain the therapeutic alliance it may be vital to share
thoughts and feelings about the performance or product after it is shared.
During these kinds of public events, the therapist may reveal parts of
themselves that the client had never been exposed to before. This can have
a powerful effect on the relationship. When the client sees their therapist
not functioning solely as the container and caretaker of the therapy process,
but also as a performer focusing on their own performance or producer
working on a product, strong feelings may arise. Feelings of being
abandoned, and anger toward the therapist may manifest. What if the
therapist makes an obvious mistake as a performer-how will the client
experience this? What if the client makes a mistake? Will the client feel that
they let down the therapist as well as feeling disappointed in their own
performance? What if the therapist gains more applause? Are there feelings
of competition between therapist and client that get played out? Will the
therapist develop personal feelings over the product they created with a
client? Will there be issues over who controls the product created in a
therapy session? These potential issues are "grist for the mill" if the
therapist is ready to work with them.
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