Music and the Listeners

Abstract

This paper outlines fourteen sessions of analytical music therapy (Priestley 1975) spread over six months and a follow-up session thirteen weeks later. The client was a self-referred lady psychotherapist aged 60. She had one isolated problem which many sessions of psychotherapy had failed to touch, so in fact this was a focal music therapy. Her problem was that she could not play, or even practise the piano, if she felt anyone (including her teacher) was listening. If she did she had feelings of panic and had to stop. This reduced her playing to the very minimum and naturally hindered her progress and her enjoyment of this art. As she was approaching a more leisured time of life she felt that it was now crucial to try and overcome this anxiety.

This paper is based on brief notes made after her sessions and a re-hearing of the recorded improvisations. The client's name and some circumstances have been concealed to preserve confidentiality. She has seen the case study and has given her permission to publish. In order to give the feeling of the inner meaning and emotional flavour of an utterance, words or sentences in quotes are the client's own. Discussion recorded before the improvisation took place before we played. The supervisor mentioned twice is the Jungian analyst, Dr. Redfearn, with whom the writer has discussed her work for several years. The 50-minute sessions were weekly as far as possible, but dates are given.