Music Therapy and Mourning

Abstract

Music therapy is a profession that emerged in the post-World War II era in response to the identified needs of veterans who had been traumatised and injured by their experiences of war. A music therapy bereavement support group can be seen as a way of establishing a mourning ritual for young people in the context of contemporary school-based services. People who participate in music therapy frequently address issues of grief and loss associated with their other experiences of disability, mental and physical illness, or abuse. The age-old relationship between music and emotions makes this connection almost unavoidable. This chapter focuses on times when music is used to facilitate the grievin..