23.7. 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz / Spain - World Federation of Music Therapy

about such things will depend on the ethos of the
hospital concerned, but we ourselves need the
background information in order to relate apropriately in
the music therapy sessions, empathising with grief, fear;
relief or disappointment.
Our work, whatever form it takes, must be on the basis
of knowledge and not of wishful thinking !
Another example: how do the parents of a child with a
congenital disability feel about this tragedy? Do they
blame themselves for it, do they blame the medical
profession for failing to avert it, do they wish the child
was dead? Do they cling unrealistically to a hope of total
reversal of the disability or can they accept the child for
the unique individual he is without making their
acceptance of him dependent upon his changing into
something totally different?
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All these matters affect their attitudes towards
therapists, their relationships with their child, and - by a
follow-on effect - also affect that child's perception of
himself, probably for the rest of his life. The feelings of
the parents thus affect our work in music therapy, since
we are dealing with the whole child (or adult).
Here too we have a professional responsibility to try to
understand, as far as we can, what has gone before.
These are just two examples from an endless range of
clinical situations which music therapists meet in their
daily work, depending upon their area of specialisation.
We cannot learn all about everything but we need to
learn about the problems of client and family, problems
encountered by the particular population with whom we
work.