E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

D'ulisse, M. E.. et al.: Music Therapy Conducted On A Child ...
After the evaluation period, having decided to continue the music therapy
treatment, we made some changes to the setting from the sixth session
onwards so as to establish clear rules of behavior:
1) every time R rushed out of the room, one of the therapists would stay in
the room while the other would follow him without interacting with him;
2) the instruments could not be taken outside the setting;
3) some instruments were changed for others which would enable R to act
out his aggression without any danger.
These new rules immediately gave shape to the sessions and caused a
change in R’s behavior – at first he was surprised, but this was followed by
partial acceptance. Another aim of the changes was to differentiate normal
sessions from those with the parents. From the outset, they had shown
themselves to be incapable of consistent behavior towards their son, always
saying yes to him and giving in to his every wish.
From the seventh session onwards, R began to accept the fact that he would
have to take off his shoes and the heavy corrective brace before starting the
session. Apart from making him feel more at ease, this enabled the two
therapists to relax a little more since these items had been used by R to
show his aggression (throwing the brace around and kicking us with his
heavy shoes).
Generally speaking, during early observation-evaluation sessions with
children, the normal practice in “Anni Verdi” centers is to interview the
parents (or at least one of them) in order to gather all pertinent information
about the child’s background and audio experience, and to set up an
atmosphere of collaboration and comprehension with the family so as to
facilitate the working of the music therapy sessions. In the case of this
family, these interviews proved to be extremely difficult right from the
outset because both parents, especially the father, talked without stopping
not so much about their son’s therapy but more about their situation – their
desire to be recognized as victims of their son’s illness and their desperate
need for every sort of help, in search of someone or something to whom
they could delegate all decisions regarding themselves and their son. The
father’s manner of speaking was excited, overwhelming and often
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