Undergraduate Music Therapy Students' Experiences as Clients in Short-Term Group Music Therapy

Korean Music Therapy Students’ Experience of Group Music Therapy: A Qualitative Case Study

“…This study yielded four themes and six categories regarding personal development, professional development, and musical experiences. The results of this study had much in common with a recent qualitative study by Jackson and Gardstrom (2012), which explored undergraduate music therapy students’ experiences in group music therapy. Both studies found that students benefited from this form of group interaction and from exploring their feelings through music, reporting increased insight about themselves and more confidence in their profession of music therapy.…”

“…These positive aspects of experiential learning through a therapeutic experience as a client are supported by numerous studies: Payne (2010, p. 207) found that a professional development group gave trainees confidence that as dance/movement therapists they were on “the right path for them.” Bellows (2007) explained that trainees not only “enhanced their sense of professional identity” but also “most clearly valued their former therapist as a professional role model.” Bellows found that participants reported personal therapy as having the greatest influence on their own work as a therapist, as well as having a positive impact on their interpersonal relationships. Similarly, Jackson and Gardstrom (2012) indicated that undergraduate music therapy students who were engaged in a short-term group therapy were encouraged to translate their experience to their own clinical work. Trainees who experienced short-term group therapy reported an increased desire to prepare for sessions in a more client-centered way (Probst, 2015a; Lim and So, 2017).…”

“…For music therapy students, the direct experience of group music therapy can be “also excellent for opening up creative potential and exploring the possibilities of music therapy” (Tims, 1989, p. 92). Jackson and Gardstrom (2012) indicated that after participating in a group music therapy, students reported increased self-insight, experienced emotional support, enhanced relationships with others, and cultivated musical creativity and clinical skills. Likewise, Fox and McKinney (2015) reported that receiving Guided Imagery in Music sessions enabled interning music therapists to increase their self-confidence and emotional understanding.…”

“…Despite the benefits that these two programs see in requiring music therapy, concerns have been raised about requiring trainees to undergo personal therapy. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) does not mandate that trainees receive personal therapy as a client, leaving this option up to the directors of individual programs (Jackson and Gardstrom, 2012). Gardstrom and Jackson (2011) reported that most of 41 music therapy directors in their study avoided mandating personal therapy for students, except when students manifested serious personal crises or mental illnesses that interrupted or compromised their training experience.…”

“…Although multiple studies have emphasized the importance of personal therapy as a client, none examine students’ actual experience of personal therapy as a client. Jackson and Gardstrom (2012) further stated that not everyone is willing to pursue self-exploration, and call for more research considering the degree level of specific programs, students’ developmental levels, and program directors’ previous personal therapy experiences to better understand the influence of personal therapy on training music therapists.…”