”Shut up and play!”
Music Therapy with a man with schizophrenia – a resource-oriented perspective.

 

Author:

Hans Petter Solli

Abstract:
This presentation is a case report of a 7 month long music therapy with a young man with schizophrenia at a psychiatric inpatient ward. The data material consists of a range of journal notes as well as audio recordings from the sessions. The therapy mainly consisted of free but structured improvisations between the patient, who played the electric guitar, and the therapist, who played a drum set?. During the 7 months of therapy, nurse reports indicated that the patient gradually showed an improved global and mental state. The therapy had especially a positive influence on the patient’s negative symptoms, such as affective attening general loss of interest and motivation, and poor social relationships. The audio recordings also show that there is a great development in the interplay between the patient and the therapist.

This case will be highlighted by Daniel Sterns theory of self-concept and affect-attunement, together with the Norwegian psychiatrist Paul Møllers research on existential perspectives on schizophrenia. The case will also be put in a theoretical context of a resource-oriented approach to music therapy.

The outcome of this practice report supports the findings of Christian Gold and collaboratives' meta analyses of music therapy for schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses, recently published in the Cochrane database.

Keywords:

improvisation, schizophrenia, affect-attunement, existential, resource-oriented.

Biographical details:
Hans Petter Solli is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Grieg Academy of Music – Music Therapy Department, University of Bergen. For the past 5 years he has been working as a clinical music therapist at an acute psychiatric hospital in Oslo, Norway.