Psychodynamic Music Therapy

Abstract

This paper introduces and explores the basic principles of psychodynamic approaches in music therapy. Music is used as a means to explore both conscious and unconscious issues as well as the internal world of the individuals involved in music therapy. However, the focus of therapy is on therapeutic relationship, especially the dynamics of transference and counter-transference between the client and the music therapist. Musical experiences, such as music listening, songs, and improvisation, can be used to facilitate the therapeutic processes, and to achieve individualized therapeutic goals. When clinically appropriate, verbal processing might play as crucial a role as the musical processing. ..