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

of the therapy input at the Centre.
2. To look at some of the specific features of the
music therapy input with a view to improving the service.
3. To begin to compare processes in music therapy
and counselling.
Questions and method
Our overall general question was to discover how the
residents viewed the music therapy session. There
were three other groups of questions:
1. In terms of the developing group relationship and
the therapeutic programme, was the positioning of the
music therapy session on Wednesday morning at the
most appropriate time?
2. What did the session achieve in terms of the
overall aims of the Centre? Did, for instance, the music
therapy help the residents to express, relieve or gain
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access to feelings that could then be worked with further
in counselling or through the other therapies?
3. Should there be any changes of the format and
length of the sessions?
The following very basic procedures were adopted:
a. Before and after each music therapy sessions the
assessor did a quick 'brainstorm' with the group on the
subject 'music and us.' She invited the group to give
words and phrases which described both positive and
negative aspects of music.
b. The assessor observed the sessions as a
participant observer and collected impressions of the
procesees and effects of the music therapy
c. The assessor collected comments about the
sessions from the residents, the music therapist and the
counsellor. This was done by means of informal