E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

D'ulisse, M. E..: The Educational Formation Of The Music Therapist ...
interaction which may apply to such a relationship and acquire a direct
experience with the communication and interpersonal processes which are
developed within that given setting.
The music therapist should moreover get used to the dynamics that regulate
the non-verbal context, within which he/she should experiment and refine
his/her observation skills. In order to support the music therapist along
his/her educational and learning path, Benenzon’s theory envisages three
levels of “didactic music therapy” along with a fourth level which
corresponds to a phase of supervision.
This type of experience enables the student to progressively and
independently deepen the universal and relational phenomena that are
developed within the setting: each student will thus have the possibility to
work with his class-mates, both as part of a therapeutic couple and as a
patient, within a group which is coordinated by a professional music
therapist and an observer. At the same time, the student will learn about
the various protocol writing techniques and about how to use indications.
As part of this kind of formation it is therefore essential that each student
be supported in the exploration and elaboration of the unconscious
regressive nuclei that manifest themselves in the non-verbal context and
which he/she shall in turn recognize in his/her patients. At the same time a
personal tutor shall be chosen among all faculty members to act as a point
of reference for the student throughout the entire course of his studies.
Another central aspect of the formation process, concerns the need to
deepen the knowledge and use of one’s own body language and expressions.
The laboratories of dance-therapy and vocal technique allow the student to
acquire the awareness that is essential to the utilization of space within the
setting, and to the creative use of his/her own expressions within a
therapeutic context as well as to his/her ability to listen to the inner
dynamics which determine a patient’s behavior. A music therapist, for
instance, learns how to prevent conflicts and frustrations that are
engendered from the patient’s immobility or hyper-kinetic tendencies from
overtaking him/her: in order to be present to oneself while in therapy, one
necessarily has to first become familiar with one’s own body language, and
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