Containment and Communication Through Musical Preference

Abstract

This study was one of the 8 case studies conducted on an acute unit of a psychiatric hospital as part of a research project focused on listening to participant-selected music with patients who were in the early stages of psychosis. The central research question was to explore whether listening to music with patients could help facilitate their emotional containment and expression. What the case study illustrated was that the participant case musical selections expressed her identity and aspirations and gave form to emotional expressions that she otherwise might have had trouble assigning directly through verbal expression. Music as a meta-communication tool helped this participant articulate and contain unbearable feelings. By listening to music with the participant, the researcher was allowed brief and meaningful access and attunement to the participant’s inner world. This case study provides background information about the participant, describes highlights from 10- to 30-minute listening sessions, and offers analysis of the participant’s musical choices and responses to music. It is hoped that the methodology and findings of this in-depth case report might provide a means for processing, analysing, and reporting for those who practice music psychotherapy and music medicine. This may serve as particularly useful with patients who have psychiatric diagnoses or psychotic episodes.