аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û2023

This essay is an adapted version of a plenary presentation given at the аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û2023 Conference in April 2016 'Revisioning our voice: Resourcing music therapy for contemporary needs' (Aravinth et all., 2016). Health and Care Profession Council Statistics give an up-to-date view of the music, dreama and art therapy professions within the United Kingdom. In turn, consideration of these statistics links with how music and arts therapies practice within a large National Health Service arts therapies service is revisioning its voice and adapting to increase innovation opportunities and workforce development.

This article considers the theoretical and practical use of the systemic approach in music therapy. An overview of the basic elements of the systemic approach is given. The potential benefits the approach can bring to music therapy practice are outlined with reference to the author’s work with young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and their families. The potential for the systemic approach to contribute to the ongoing development of music therapy theory and practice is also explored, with particular reference to community music therapy. Two case studies are used to illustrate the use of the approach in practice.

For individuals with motor neuron disease, the transition to using non-invasive ventilation has a number of associated stressors, which can negatively impact adherence to ventilation and its benefits to quality of life. Music listening interventions have been linked with a reduction in anxiety and physiological stress responses in mechanically ventilated patients. This article presents four case studies from a feasibility study that investigated the experience and effect of a music-assisted relaxation intervention on anxiety, quality of life, and non-invasive ventilation use during the first 3?months of using non-invasive ventilation. The experiences of these four participants demonstrated how music-assisted relaxation served to distract from non-invasive ventilation and promote relaxation, indicating that for some, music-assisted relaxation could be a useful strategy to optimize their non-invasive ventilation experience. Early music therapy intervention in motor neuron disease progression could be beneficial to address obstacles faced by one participant in using music-assisted relaxation.

Inspired by the author’s experience of a short-term placement in Rwanda while training, this essay aims to address the issue of culture, specifically, the question of how being in a different country and culture affects a Music Therapist’s clinical work, and how they might approach their practice. The essay presents a literature review and then an in-depth look at five pieces of literature and the issues that arise from these. The essay concludes that there is a need for further dialogue as to how to approach this area of practice, and how Music Therapists work within different cultural settings.

Text Watch is intended to alert readers to material they may find of interest in books and journals, but excluding music therapy journals available online. Book reviews and articles of under three pages are omitted. Abstracts can be supplied by the compiler for most items. Readers are reminded that, by notifying the compiler of their own publications in good time, these may be included in British Journal of Music Therapy (BJMT) in advance of their appearance in databases.