Speaking with Clients

Abstract

This article describes the process and results of a project undertaken to research the place and significance of verbal communication between therapists and clients in Creative Music Therapy. Six music therapists were interviewed for the study, all of whom were experienced in working with clients with normal language skills. The study examines ways in which the therapists converge and diverge in their ways of thinking about and using words in the clinical setting, and a theoretical model is presented in an attempt to elucidate the fluid relationship between words and music. The bulk of the analysis is presented in categories originating from the therapists' comments. It is concluded that this aspect of music therapy requires careful consideration by music therapists, being both highly complex and intertwined with personal ideologies¹.