“It’s Like we Have Our Own Rhythm”. Music Therapeutic Affect Regulation in a Case Study of a Traumatized Patient in Mental Health Treatment

Autori

  • Oda Dypvik Bjørke Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Norway
  • Bolette Daniels Beck Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v23i2.3369

Parole chiave:

case study; trauma; affect regulation; music therapy

Abstract

This article explores how music therapy can contribute to the treatment of individuals with affect regulation challenges related to relational traumatic experiences. Affect regulation was investigated through a case study of music therapy with a man with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The case represents clinical work in a psychiatric hospital, on a ward for ambulatory treatment of people with severe mental illness and substance abuse challenges. Based on theories of communicative musicality, intersubjectivity and traumatology, an analysis of transcripts of music therapy improvisations and verbal interaction is presented and discussed. The method used in the study is an abductive explanatory thematic analysis grounded in hermeneutic interpretation of data. The two main themes emerging from the analysis are “Musical interaction as co-regulation” and “Music as a creative (re)source” with the subthemes “Musical interventions serves as a regulation tool”, “A process from regulation to relationship, “Musical self-agency” and “Music therapy as an experimental playground”. Further studies on affect regulation in clinical music therapy are warranted.

Biografie autore

Oda Dypvik Bjørke, Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Norway

Oda Dypvik Bjørke is a music therapist based in Oslo, Norway. She currently works at Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse at Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, and has been working for several years as a music therapist in adult psychiatry and addiction treatment. She holds her BA and MA in music therapy from Aalborg University in Denmark. Oda is passionate about bridging between different music therapy practices, she was a founding member of Nordic Music Therapist Student Conference, and is a member of ARRIMT- The Alliance for Recovery Research in Music Therapy.

Bolette Daniels Beck, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark

Bolette Daniels Beck, PhD, is associate professor at the music therapy education, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark. She is registered Guided Imagery and Music therapist and trainer by the European association of Music and Imagery (EAMI), and chaired EAMI international conferences in 2020 and 2022. Bolette has been doing research in music therapy with stress and trauma populations, and is deeply interested in intercultural meetings, trauma healing, and spirituality. 

Photo of authors Dypvik and Beck

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Pubblicato

2023-07-01

Come citare

Bjørke, O. D., & Beck, B. D. (2023). “It’s Like we Have Our Own Rhythm”. Music Therapeutic Affect Regulation in a Case Study of a Traumatized Patient in Mental Health Treatment . Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v23i2.3369

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Sezione

Research