Infant research and Music Therapy – Musical characteristics in early mother-child interaction and their significance for Music Therapy
 

Author:

Frauke Schwaiblmair
 

Abstract:
This study documents the need to illustrate the effectiveness of improvisation processes in music therapy on the basis of musical-tonal characteristics in the early relationship between mothers and infants. It calls for a critical use of musical metaphors and assesses the work done so far on the subject. It confirms the importance of biologically determined intuitive behaviour and suggests that a therapeutic attitude informed by theory is nevertheless possible. This attitude and the pertinent behaviour may be taught and propagated.
Recent studies in psychotherapy have increasingly referred to findings from infant research and research of mother-child interaction to describe and understand processes of therapy relationship and treatment (e.g. Beebe & Lachmann, 2002; Dornes, 1993/2001; Stern et al., 1998). A similar trend among emerged music therapists (compare Lenz & von Moreau, 2003; Plahl, 2000; Schumacher, 1999; Decker-Voigt, 1999) who describe processes in music therapy on the basis of observations from early mother-infant interaction.
The objective of this study is to illustrate in which way biologically determined abilities like infant directed speech may be learned and the implications for the curricula of training courses (compare Warner, 2002, p. 416).
The studies by both Papoušeks, Stern, and Trevarthen were analysed for content. The focus was restricted to them as representatives of different theories. The work done by these researchers is the basis of psychotherapeutic practice and research also among music therapists. The core statements were defined and presented in chronological order and analyzed for similarities or discrepancies. The relevance of their results for therapeutic interventions outlined by the authors was compared to the references to theory formulation in music therapy. The extent to which music therapists quote infant researchers in original articles published in international music therapy journals was presented in order to assess the relevance of mother-infant research results for theory generation in music therapy.
A comparison between Papoušek, Stern and Trevarthen reveals that Stern underlines the active role of infants in interaction and in particular describes their emotional and mental progress, whereas Papoušek looks at language development and the importance of mother-infant interaction in this context. Trevarthen's focus is on the interaction between infant and caregiver in dependence on basic neurological assumptions. But despite their respective focus they all take other factors into account as well.